Surging Rams host Buccaneers on Sunday night, look for sixth straight win

Tampa Bay (6-4) at Los Angeles Rams (8-2)

Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC/Peacock

BetMGM NFL Odds: Rams by 6 1/2

Against the spread: Buccaneers 5-5, Rams 7-3

Series record: Rams lead 19-10.

Last meeting: Buccaneers beat Rams 16-13 in Tampa, Florida, on Nov. 6, 2022.

Last week: Buccaneers lost to Bills 44-32, Rams beat Seahawks 21-19.

Buccaneers offense: overall (17), rush (22), pass (15), scoring (T-10).

Buccaneers defense: overall (22), rush (10), pass (27), scoring (T-21).

Rams offense: overall (8), rush (18), pass (6), scoring (6).

Rams defense: overall (13), rush (11), pass (21), scoring (2).

Turnover differential: Buccaneers plus-9; Rams plus-10.

RB Sean Tucker. He ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries versus Buffalo, and Tucker also caught a TD pass. The third-year back from Syracuse is averaging 4.6 yards per carry, helping Tampa Bay overcome injuries at the position.

OLB Byron Young has been held without a sack each of the past three weeks, but he is still finding ways to bother the quarterback. Young already has a career-high nine sacks, which lead the Rams, and his nine tackles for loss also paces the defense.

Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka vs. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes Jr. Egbuka leads all rookies with six TD catches and is second with 717 yards receiving as the latest Ohio State product to quickly adapt to life in the NFL. Forbes did a solid job last week against Egbuka’s former Buckeyes teammate, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Smith-Njigba finished with nine receptions for 105 yards, with a good chunk of that coming on a difficult one-handed sideline grab, reflecting the continued development of the 2023 first-round pick Forbes in his first full season in Los Angeles.

Buccaneers: WR Mike Evans (clavicle) and WR Jalen McMillan (neck) remain out. OLB Haason Reddick (knee, ankle) isn’t expected to play. LG Ben Bredeson (hamstring), RB Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder) and WR Chris Godwin (fibula) are closer to returning, though it’s uncertain if that will be this week.

Rams: S Quentin Lake (dislocated elbow), TE Tyler Higbee (ankle) and RT Rob Havenstein (ankle, knee) were all put on injured reserve Wednesday. Lake is likely out for the remainder of the regular season but could be available for a postseason run.

The Rams are 8-2 in their past 10 games against the Buccaneers, but Tampa Bay scored the final 10 points in a 16-13 win when they met in 2022. … The Rams are 3-0 versus the Buccaneers in the playoffs, with an NFC championship triumph after the 1999 season and a last-second divisional round victory following the 2021 campaign helping lead to the franchise’s two Super Bowl titles.

The Buccaneers rushed for a season-high 202 yards last week at Buffalo. ... Baker Mayfield has thrown 17 TD passes and only three interceptions. .... Mayfield has run for a first down on 12 of his 14 carries on third down. It’s the highest third down run percentage among QBs. ... Rookie WR Tez Johnson has four TD catches. ... DB Tykee Smith has 11 passes defensed. He’s the first DB since 2023 with 75 tackles, 10 passes defensed, multiple sacks and at least one interception in a single season. ... CB Jacob Parrish is the first rookie defensive back since Devon Witherspoon in 2023 with seven or more tackles for loss, multiple sacks and an interception in a season. ... K Chase McLaughlin is 8-for-8 from beyond 50 yards on field goals. … Rams QB Matthew Stafford leads the NFL with 27 touchdown passes. He has 22 touchdowns and no interceptions over his past seven games. … WR Davante Adams has caught a touchdown pass in four straight games. He has seven scores in that span, none longer than 4 yards. … The Rams have won 20 straight games, including the playoffs, when holding the opposition to 20 points or fewer. … Warren McClendon Jr. will make his fourth start of the season at right tackle. He started in Weeks 5-7 when Havenstein was injured. … Los Angeles is allowing a league-low 18.4 yards per kick return.

The Rams had already embraced a committee approach at tight end before Higbee’s injury, turning the position into a fantasy scramble. Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and rookie Terrance Ferguson could all have lottery ticket value any given week as Stafford has made good use of the group in the red zone, resulting in six total touchdowns.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) cannot make a catch against Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard (8) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker (44) celebrates with quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) after scoring a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, let, passes while under pressure from Los Angeles Rams linebacker Byron Young during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Rams cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, right, breaks up a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is not immune from civil claims that he incited a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol on Jan, 6, 2021, a federal judge has ruled in one of the last unresolved legal cases stemming from the riot.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Tuesday that Trump's remarks at his “Stop the Steal” rally, held on the Ellipse near the White House shortly before the siege began, “plausibly” were inciting words that are not protected by the First Amendment right to free speech.

The Republican president is not shielded from liability for much of his Jan. 6 conduct, including that speech and many of his social media posts that day, according to the judge. But Mehta said Trump cannot be held liable for his official acts that day, including his Rose Garden remarks during the riot and his interactions with Justice Department officials.

“President Trump has not shown that the Speech reasonably can be understood as falling within the outer perimeter of his Presidential duties,” Mehta wrote. “The content of the Ellipse Speech confirms that it is not covered by official-acts immunity."

The decision is not the court's first ruling that Trump can be held liable for the violence at the Capitol and it is unlikely to be the last given the near-certainty of an appeal. But the 79-page ruling sets the stage for a possible civil trial in the same courthouse where Trump was charged with crimes for his Jan. 6 conduct, before his 2024 election ended the prosecution.

Mehta previously refused to dismiss the claims against Trump in a February 2022 ruling that Trump was not entitled to presidential immunity from the claims brought by Democratic members of Congress and law enforcement officers who guarded the Capitol on Jan. 6. In that decision, Mehta also concluded that Trump’s words during his rally speech plausibly amounted to incitement and were not protected by the First Amendment.

The case returned to Mehta after an appeals court ruling upheld his 2022 decision. He said Tuesday's ruling on immunity falls under a more "rigorous" legal standard at this later stage in the litigation.

Mehta, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, said his latest decision is not a “final pronouncement on immunity for any particular act.”

“President Trump remains free to reassert official-acts immunity as a defense at trial. But the burden will remain his and will be subject to a higher standard of proof,” the judge wrote.

Trump spoke to a crowd of his supporters at the rally before the mob’s attack disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory over Trump. Trump closed out his speech by saying, “We fight. We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

Trump’s lawyers argued that Trump's conduct on Jan. 6 meets the threshold for presidential immunity.

The plaintiffs contended that Trump cannot prove he was acting entirely in his official capacity rather than as an office-seeking private individual. They also said the Supreme Court has held that office-seeking conduct falls outside the scope of presidential immunity.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who at that time led the House Homeland Security Committee, sued Trump, Trump's personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani and members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers extremist groups over the Jan. 6 riot. Other Democratic members of Congress later joined the litigation, which was consolidated with the officers' claims.

The civil claims survived Trump’s sweeping act of clemency on the first day of his second term, when he pardoned, commuted prison sentences and ordered the dismissal of all 1,500-plus criminal cases stemming from the Capitol siege. More than 100 police officers were injured while defending the Capitol from rioters.

The plaintiffs' legal team includes attorneys from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Damon Hewitt, the group's president and executive director, praised the ruling as a “monumental victory for the rule of law, affirming that no one, including the president of the United States, is above it.”

“The court rightly recognizes that President Trump’s actions leading to the January 6 insurrection fell outside the scope of presidential duties," Hewitt said in a statement. “This ruling is an important step toward accountability for the violent attack on the Capitol and our democracy.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from West Palm Beach, Fla., to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)