The Los Angeles Rams lost to the Los Angeles Chargers in their first preseason game, but did see encouraging signs from some of their young players.
The backup quarterback spot has been of some interest as Brett Rypien and Stetson Bennett split snaps against the Chargers. Rypien drew the start, but it was Bennett who shined brightest on the evening.
Despite winning two National Championships at Georgia, Bennett was basically written off in the NFL due to his size before the Rams drafted him in the third round. He looked solid in his NFL debut, completing 17-of-29 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown.
Bennett clearly looked nervous when taking the field for his first NFL game but felt he got into a rhythm as the contest went on.
“Yeah, I mean it’s the first…I know it’s a preseason game, but it’s the first NFL game that you’re playing in. You’re going to come in and be a little nervous, try to make a play when sometimes plays aren’t there, but then as (we) started (to get in) a groove, we started calling plays and you start to settle in once you get hit first, honestly, it’s just like everything I’m taught, almost.”
The rookie expectedly had an up-and-down debut, so he didn’t give himself too high of a grade when evaluating his performance.
“I thought it was alright, I thought there were some boneheaded plays that I made. I thought there were some good plays that I made. I thought we bounced back a few times from some lost yardage plays. I thought we did pretty good on third downs, didn’t turn the ball over, even though I tried to a few times, so got to clean that up a little bit, but I thought it was alright. It’s hard to say without watching the tape.”
However, Bennett said he enjoyed his first taste of action in the league and get back to playing football after the offseason layoff.
“It was cool, it was fun. It was fun to finally get out there and honestly get hit, you know? I’m not going to win with many of those, but it’s good to, I don’t know, feel like a football player again and it’s fun to get out there and compete. It didn’t happen the way we wanted it… there’s a few things to…I wish we would’ve scored on that drive when it was, I think we were down 10 and we started inside our own 10 and we went three and out.
“I wish we would’ve gotten that one and then maybe it’s a different game. But you live and you learn, and I thought we executed pretty well in some situations and I thought we didn’t in some.”
Bennett will have a chance to build off his successful debut when the Rams take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday in their second preseason game. It will be interesting to see if he gets the starting nod or will come off the bench again behind Rypien.
