Rams tumble to 0-3

TAMPA, Fla. -- Maybe now it's time for the St. Louis Rams to get concerned.

The defending NFC champions dropped to 0-3 Monday night, hardly resembling a team that's been to the Super Bowl two of the past three seasons in a 26-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs' vaunted defense knocked running back Marshall Faulk out of the game and intercepted Kurt Warner four times to key their third straight victory in a heated rivalry that began with the Rams' 11-6 win in the 1999 NFC championship game.

Brad Johnson threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Rickey Dudley and Martin Gramatica kicked field goals of 39 and 47 yards to help the Bucs (2-1) build a 13-7 halftime lead.

Brian Kelly's interception and 31-yard return to the St. Louis 1 set up Mike Alstott's TD plunge to put Tampa Bay up 19-7 with 10:42 to go. The Rams pulled within five points on Lamar Gordon's 20-yard TD run, but couldn't score again over the final 4:21.

Linebacker Derrick Brooks put the finishing touch on the victory, returning an interception 39 yards for a TD, a score assured when Warren Sapp flattened Warner near the goal line. He also scored on a 97-yard interception return in Tampa Bay's 25-0 win over Baltimore last week.

Faulk, who rushed for 9 yards on six carries, left with a neck strain early in the second quarter and did not return. He scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter and finished with 9 yards on six carries.

The Rams opened the season with losses to the Denver Broncos and New York Giants, but maintained there was no reason for alarm. Climbing out of an 0-3 hole will be difficult, though.

In the past five seasons, 28 teams have started 0-3. Just one, the 1998 Arizona Cardinals -- have made the playoffs.

Warner finished 30-of-45 for 301 yards and no touchdowns. He was sacked five times.

Since their memorable meeting in the 1999 title game, the Rams and Bucs have faced each other three consecutive years on "Monday Night Football."

Tampa Bay won 38-35 at Raymond James Stadium in 2000 and 24-17 at St. Louis last season.

The Bucs like to think no defense matches up better with the high-powered Rams, and the results support their contention.

Since the start of the 1999 season, St. Louis has been held to 20 points or less just eight times and Tampa Bay, with three, is the only opponent to do it more than once.

The Rams marched 91 yards on their first possession to take a 7-3 lead on Faulk's 5-yard run. But without the seven-time 1,000-yard rusher for most of the last three quarters, St. Louis was unable to move the ball with any kind of consistency.