The Los Angeles Rams remain winless in the preseason after suffering a 34-17 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium in their second of three games.
The loss wasn’t a huge surprise considering the Raiders decided to play their starters on both sides of the ball in the first quarter while a majority of the Rams’ starters sat.
Jimmy Garoppolo led his team right down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive, receiving little to no resistance from the Rams’ defense.
L.A.’s defense eventually settled in once Brian Hoyer entered at quarterback though with linebacker Jake Hummel coming up with a big pick-six to tie the game at 10 early in the second quarter. Hummel is competing for a roster spot and certainly impressed his head coach Sean McVay, who was on the ABC broadcast at the time.
Outside of that pick-six though, there weren’t a ton of positives for the Rams on the night as rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett struggled in his first career start.
Bennett finished the night 15-for-24 for 142 yards and an interception, which the Raiders also returned for a touchdown. His best play of the night was a four-yard run for a score, which accounted for the Rams’ only other touchdown on the night.
While Bennett struggled, he played a majority of the game for L.A., which is valuable experience for him moving forward.
Another positive for the Rams was the play of rookie tight end Davis Allen. After sitting out the first preseason game, the fifth-round pick played a majority of this one and led the Rams with eight catches for 53 yards.
The Rams also found some success on the ground as Ronnie Rivers had nine carries for 42 yards while rookie Zach Evans had eight carries for 20 yards along with a seven-yard reception.
Defensively, rookie cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson continued to impress with another pass breakup on a deep ball by the Raiders.
Rookie kicker Tanner Brown also connected on all three of his kicks after missing one last week, which bodes will for him earning the job out of camp.
Up next for the Rams…
The Rams will now head to Denver where they will participate in two joint practices with the Broncos before playing them next Saturday in the preseason finale.
After that, the Rams will take on the division-rival Seattle Seahawks on the road, this time in a game that counts in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season.
