The Los Angeles Rams dominated the New Orleans Saints in Week 2 of the preseason behind their defense and the play of Stetson Bennett.
The 28-year-old completed 19 of 31 passes for 181 yards and added a pair of rushing touchdowns on two carries. He played the entire first half after seeing the field for only one quarter in the Rams’ preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Head coach Sean McVay was impressed with Bennett’s performance and believes he is continuing to improve as a quarterback.
“I think he’s getting better and better,” McVay said after the Rams’ 34-0 win over the Saints. “I think part of it is the overall command. I thought he made some really good decisions. I thought he got through some progressions. Then I love the fact that he used his legs. We’ll learn from reaching the ball out on the end zone even though I challenged that and it worked out for us. We want to make sure that we don’t leave ourselves susceptible to getting a fumble in those types of situations where it goes to a touchback.
“But he did a great job. I thought he got an opportunity to be able to really showcase a lot of his skills. Huge credit to Dave Ragone too. I think those two guys were really in sync and it was fun to watch.”
Bennett’s development has been nothing short of impressive since stepping away from the Rams during his rookie season in 2023. Prior to that, he won a pair of national championships with the Georgia Bulldogs in 2021 and 2022.
“He’s an easy guy to be able to root for,” McVay said. “He’s just got a nice swag and a nice presence and especially like what we asked earlier, you feel his game really comes to life in game-day settings. The gamer thing, he’s just got a good feel and it’s not too big. He loves competing and it’s fun to watch him do it.”
After being the third option at quarterback behind Matthew Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo in each of the last two seasons, Bennett has a chance to be the Rams’ primary backup this year.
McVay hasn’t formally announced who will be the Rams’ QB2 this season, but who plays in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers could tell the story.
The Rams usually don’t play their primary backup quarterback in the preseason finale, so whoever starts between Bennett and Ty Simpson will likely end up third on the depth chart this season.
Rams make flurry of roster moves before final preseason game
Ahead of their final preseason game, the Rams announced that they signed cornerback Steven Gilmore and outside linebacker Devean Deal, while also activating offensive lineman Justin Dedich off the non-football injury list.
To make room on their roster, the Rams placed cornerback Zech McPhearson and outside linebacker Keir Thomas II on injured reserve. They also waived inside linebacker Daniel Rickert with an injury designation.
