ST. LOUIS -- The fans didn't quite pack the Edward Jones Dome on Thursday night, but the 51,295 who came to what might be the St. Louis Rams' final home game made their presence known.

"It was pretty awesome," St. Louis defensive end William Hayes said. "It was a beautiful thing. We haven't always put the best product on the field for them. I can say the support they gave us tonight was awesome."

In return, the Rams offered one of their better performances of the year, leading wire to wire in a 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rams quarterback Case Keenum completed 14 of 17 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with a 158.0 passer rating, just 0.3 shy of a perfect mark.

St. Louis wide receiver Tavon Austin scored touchdowns on the ground and in the air, while running back Benny Cunningham supplied an electrifying 102-yard kickoff return to set up kicker Greg Zuerlein's 19-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

One of three teams angling to move to Los Angeles for next year, the Rams (6-8) didn't allow potential distractions of a short week and a home finale for all time sidetrack them.

"It was very noticeable," St. Louis punter Johnny Hekker said of the loud crowd. "It gave us a little extra gear. You could see the signs they had. ... They were very passionate."

Waving gold towels to go along with the all-gold uniforms the Rams donned, the fans had reason to cheer from the get-go. Cunningham's 43-yard kickoff return set them up with a short field, and Keenum cashed it in with a 17-yard scoring strike to Austin 3:06 into the game.

After kicker Connor Barth bombed a 53-yard field goal for Tampa Bay with 4:52 left in the first quarter, Keenum made it 14-3 when he found wide receiver Kenny Britt yards behind cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah for a 60-yard touchdown pass.

Keenum then went 5-for-5 for 57 yards on a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive late in the first half that running back Todd Gurley finished with a 3-yard run at the 2:09 mark to give St. Louis a 21-3 halftime lead.

Although the teams had just three days to prepare for the game, Keenum said that might have aided the Rams.

"You keep things simple," he said. "A lot of guys prepared really well. You couldn't script a better opening drive."

Keenum maintained his scalding hand on the third quarter's first drive, zinging completions of 25 and 15 yards to tight end Jared Cook and an 11-yard strike to Austin. That set up Austin's 21-yard reverse with 5:35 left in the quarter for a 28-6 advantage.

The Buccaneers (6-8) rallied behind rookie quarterback Jameis Winston, who threw for 238 of his 363 yards in the fourth quarter, finding tight ends Luke Stocker and Austin Seferian-Jenkins for short touchdown passes.

Seferian-Jenkins' 9-yard scoring catch with 1:34 left drew Tampa Bay within a possession, but linebacker Bryce Hager fell on an onside kick to seal the verdict.

"We're headed in the right direction, but we're not there yet," Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith said. "When so much is at stake, you want to play better football. You've got to be able to not give up long touchdown passes and big plays."

Winston completed 29 of 50 passes, losing a fumble and throwing an interception to end promising second-half possessions. Running back Doug Martin collected 91 yards on 18 carries, and wide receiver Mike Evans grabbed nine passes for 157 yards.

However, Tampa Bay's already slim playoff hopes absorbed a fatal blow from a team that might have given its much-maligned fan base a perfect farewell gift.

"I know our future here is uncertain," Hekker said, "but I know our fans are passionate. I hear from them constantly that they hope we stay in St. Louis. You could hear the chants all night."

NOTES: St. Louis RB Todd Gurley reached the 1,000-yard mark with his touchdown run, becoming the team's first rookie to do so since Jerome Bettis in 1993. He finished the night with 48 yards on 21 carries. ... Tampa Bay has allowed just one 100-yard rusher this year, tied for second in the NFL. ... Rams LB James Laurinaitis finished with six tackles, giving him 1,003 in his career.