Rams @ Chargers
Final Score: Rams 13, Chargers 9
Michael James on Reddit and X/Twitter
Today’s preseason week two match-up pits the Rams against the Chargers, two teams that call SoFi Stadium their home. Can you really have an “away” team in this one? Fun fact, head coach Sean McVay of the Rams has a tradition to go to the booth for a preseason game and let one of his assistants be the ‘head coach’ for the game. Today would see assistant Aubrey Pleasant coach the Rams to victory today to add to his resume. Let’s get into the game and note some players who stood out. Today featured a game where Los Angeles traveled to SoFi to take on Los Angeles. While Los Angeles was down at halftime against Los Angeles, Los Angeles battled back and capitalized on Los Angeles’ mistakes to take the victory today against Los Angeles.
Three Up
- Jordan Whittington – Had an impressive stat line when considering he only played for the first half. Was Bennett’s go-to man of the game.
- Xavier Smith – Took over Whittington’s role in the second half, bringing in 5 of his 8 targets on the day.
- Kimani Vidal – Was the best running back on the team today, ran like he was not going to be denied a roster spot with a 4.5 YPC with double-digit attempts.
Three Down
- Easton Stick – Did not improve on last week’s performance at all with another two turnovers today. This does not look like the player who started five games last season.
- Elijah Dotson – Six total yards on four carries and two targets.
- Drake Stoops – the son of Sooner coaching legend Bob saw a 50% snap count but only one target for zero receptions.
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback
Stetson Bennett: 17 of 31 for 213 yards 1 touchdown 1 interception | 3 carries for -1 yards and a fumble (lost)
The second-year product out of Georgia looked a bit more composed after last week’s four-interception game. Bennett will be the direct backup to Matthew Stafford for the start of the season as Jimmy Garoppolo serves his three-game suspension for a PED rule violation. Bennett would come out on the first play of the game on a play-action rollout to find Whittington on the sidelines for a first down. This would set up a theme for the day as he would lock on to a receiver and proceed to provide a good set of targets for them. He was settled down and looked calm progressing through his reads even from the back of his own end zone later in the game.
However, that all goes out the window when he takes off running. There were multiple inaccurate throws on the run resulting in incompletions including a panic throw that was nearly intercepted. Something I spotted that was also addressed on the broadcast is that he’s putting too much air under the ball instead of throwing line drives which is resulting in time spent for the defense to close the gap and contest every reception. He was also hit or miss on deep balls downfield with a huge completion to get them into the red zone to Smith on one drive, but under underthrew him on the next drive before hitting JJ Laap in stride for a 47-yard touchdown.
Missed Opportunities
- Forcing deep balls to Whittington and Smith despite double coverage, resulting in passes defended.
- Executed the one-minute drill fairly well at the end of the first half, but the receiver couldn’t keep his feet in bounds or go get the ball instead of waiting on it.
- Completely misread the coverage and threw the ball right to the defense in the end zone.
- Not respecting ball security led to a turnover when the ball was stripped from him as he took off to run.
Running Back
There were no designed pass plays to get the backs involved in the passing game and Bennett never looked to dump it off to his backs once this game.
Zach Evans: 16 carries for 62 yards
The second-year player from Ole Miss ran strong, possessed vision for the crease, and punched through holes without hesitation. The stat line doesn’t jump off the page with just 3.9 YPC on 16 carries, but none of his runs went for more than nine yards so he earned just about every yard. He appeared to be more of a north-south runner as he looked great hitting the hole and muscling after contact. There was a play early on in the game where he tried to bounce outside but wasn’t fast enough to turn the corner only making it the the sidelines for a yard gain.
Notes
- His biggest gain on the day met contact at the line of scrimmage and proceeded to bulldoze his way through defenders for an additional nine yards.
- Left the game hurt midway through the third quarter but returned to play in the fourth quarter.
Missed Opportunities
- 3rd and goal from the two but only got one-yard gain.
Boston Scott: 10 carries for 55 yards
The veteran from the Eagles showed he still has it with some punishing one-cut and runs for chunk yards of 9, 7, and the 34-yard run that ended the game. However, he was also met in the backfield three times each resulting in a tackle for a loss. I attribute this more to the O-line getting overwhelmed. It will be interesting to see how this backfield depth chart shapes up when it comes time to trim the roster to 53.
Notes
- Left the game hurt at the start of the second quarter but returned to the game in the second half.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jordan Whittington: 5 receptions on 8 targets for 52 yards
The rookie from Texas showed up today playing in just the first half and looking like Bennett’s go-to receiver this game when either long yard downs or when he was escaping pressure. Whittington converted for three first downs on the day.
Notes
- First completion of the game to set the pace on a rollout from Bennett.
- Had a short catch and run in the second half that went for 10 yards and another 14 after the catch
Missed Opportunities
- Had a drop in the second drive that would have converted the down but instead moved the drive toward a punt
Xavier Smith: 5 receptions on 8 targets for 45 yards; 1 carry for 9 yards
This rookie from Florida A&M was the only Rams receiver to play a full game worth of snaps. He took over the go-to role in the second half as seven of his nine targets and touches came in the second half of the game.
Notes
- Deep ball in the third quarter an absolute dime from Bennett going for 22 yards that set them up in the red zone.
Missed Opportunities
- Was the target of Bennett’s interception that would have gone for a touchdown.
- Was interfered with on another deep ball that went for 17 yards.
JJ Laap: 2 receptions on 2 targets for 50 yards and a touchdown
The rookie from Cortland was relatively quiet on the day but showed up when his number was called. 47 of his 50 yards came when Bennett hit him in stride on a deep go-route for the touchdown.
Nikola Kalinic: 2 receptions on 2 targets for 34 yards
The second-year special teams player from the Colts trying to make the team at tight end came up big on one drive in the third quarter that set the Rams up for a field goal when he caught back-to-back passes for 12 and 22 yards respectively.
Davis Allen: 2 receptions on 4 targets for 13 yards
The second-year tight end out of Clemson played in the first half of the game and came up solid on his first target bringing in a highlight reception contested in traffic over the middle of the field. He would be targeted three more times in a row in the one-minute drill to end the first half but unfortunately, he was unable to get his feet in bounds despite the reaching grab.
Los Angeles Chargers
Quarterback
From what I watched today, I feel like Max Duggan will be the backup to Justin Herbert with Stick and Perez battling it out to see who will be the third string. We will see how things shape up with week three’s game next week. This was a rather underwhelming performance at QB from the Chargers all around.
Easton Stick: 8 of 13 for 85 yards and an interception; 5 carries for 22 yards and a fumble (lost)
Two steps backward before one step forward was the theme for Stick today. Right out of the gate on the first drive, he threw an ill-advised ball that was nearly picked off. That seemed to set the mood for him as he was jittery and panicky the longer the play went on. Any dropbacks that were three or fewer steps to the designed read looked sharp but anything past that was inaccurate and iffy at best. He did have a nice throw while taking a hit that was caught by McConkey for a first down but then fumbled the snap over to the Rams on the only trip the Chargers made to the red zone today. The next drive would end with the receiver tipping the ball to the defense for the interception. He would only go one to attempt one more pass before his day ended at halftime. This didn’t look like someone who started and played full games during the NFL season last year.
Notes
- Arguably his best play of the game came when he pulled the ball down and ran to convert the down with his legs. Very quick speed and ball protection.
Missed Opportunities
- The only red zone trip for him resulted in two handoffs and losing a fumble.
- The interception was thrown behind his receiver.
Luis Perez: 13 of 20 for 78 yards and a fumble (lost)
If I’m being honest, Perez looked like the better passer of the two. The rookie from Texas A&M-Commerce looked poised and calm in the pocket. His mechanics were on point and looked the part with a quick release. He would look to throw it away rather than force a ball. He was facing a lot of pressure as the Rams were getting through the O-line for a lot of the second half. He did have a few bumps like sitting in the pocket for too long rather than looking to get out after his first few reads weren’t there. His ball placement was rather good even when throwing on the run to escape a sack. He looked the part when the offense was in mid-field, moving the ball with strikes over the middle but both times when they got to the red zone the accuracy went out the window and targets were being overthrown.
Notes
- The first play of the second half from him was a 7-step dropback and a 19-yard ball to Johnston on the sideline.
- A lot of dump-off passes to the back or closest receiver.
Missed Opportunities
- Ate a sack from behind resulting in a strip-sack.
- Two throws from inside the 10 resulting in balls thrown too far from their target.
Running Back
It will be interesting to see who the Chargers keep as they deployed four different running backs today. We also saw a few carries from Elijah Dotson and Isaiah Spiller each running it up the middle a couple of times in a power game run style but neither really did anything noteworthy.
Kimani Vidal: 11 carries for 49 yards; 2 receptions on 3 targets for 8 yards
This rookie from Troy was the best-looking ball carrier for the Chargers today. The opening drive for the Chargers saw him carry it three times in a row for a combined 24 yards. His early success came from running to the outside and then in the fourth quarter hammered the Rams up the middle with runs of 9, 8, and 7 yards through the gap respectively. He made a case for himself on the ground today on the depth chart behind JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards.
Missed Opportunities
- Targeted in the back of the endzone on a scramble drill but Perez overthrew him
Jaret Patterson: 4 carries for 10 yards; 5 receptions on 5 targets for 28 yards
The second-year back didn’t get much going on the ground but showcased his abilities in the passing game bringing in all five of his targets. All of his work came in the second half with Perez under center and appeared to be his favorite target for the game. A majority of his touches came on 2nd/3rd and long which makes me think he is the trusted passing down back.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
There isn’t a lot to discuss here because the Chargers rolled out at least 16 different receivers that registered a target and even more that were not targeted. Only one pass catcher saw more than two targets today. I was hoping to see who might round out the Chargers wide receiver depth chart around Joshua Palmer but I don’t think today gave us any clear answers. The tight ends that played today are more known for their blocking and not really anything fantasy-related happened at that position today.
Simi Fehoko: 2 receptions on 3 targets for 52 yards
The third-year receiver vying for positioning on the depth chart was the only non-running back to register more than two targets today. All three targets were big impacts to the game. The first reception went for a big gain on the ground after the catch for 22 yards total. The second catch was a bomb delivered by Stick with pressure in his face brought down by Fehoko on the sideline for a big 30-yard play. The one that he didn’t catch? Well, Stick threw it behind him, and in an effort to haul it in, he tipped it right to the defender for an interception.
Quentin Johnston: 1 reception on 2 targets for 19 yards
Johnston’s biggest play was probably the one that didn’t count. On third and 19 he drew a defensive penalty giving the Chargers a fresh set of downs. Johnston was also the target of Perez’s first completion, a dime delivered to him on the sideline for a 19-yard gain. There was a chance for another big play later on 3rd and 18 down the sidelines from Perez that he went up to snag out of the air with a remarkable reach, but he failed to get his second foot in bounds to convert for a first down.
Ladd McConkey: 1 reception on 1 target for 5 yards
The rookie second-round pick out of Georgia is hopeful for big things with the Chargers but they didn’t play him much at all today. He brought in his only target on the first play of the second quarter able to get both feet inbounds to convert a first down on the sidelines. Hopefully, we will get to see more next week against Dallas.