For the second week in a row, the Rams defense had a hard time slowing down their opponent, giving up 34 points to the Raiders on Saturday night after surrendering 34 points to the Chargers a week ago.
Los Angeles fell to Las Vegas, 34-17, at SoFi Stadium in the second preseason game Saturday, dropping to 0-2 in this exhibition season that means nothing toward their regular-season record. Still, you want to see some improvements from the offense and defense as time goes on, but it’s hard to say that was the case.
Stetson Bennett took a step back after a solid debut last week, while Timarcus Davis on defense was picked on regularly by the Raiders’ quarterbacks and they had a lot of success in doing so.
Though 51 total points were scored, 14 of those were scored on defense; each team had a pick-six in this one, which were two of the biggest plays in the game.
Final score: Raiders 34, Rams 17
Game notes
- Stetson Bennett got the start at quarterback after Brett Rypien did so last week. He struggled in this one compared to his debut last week, throwing a pick-six on a miscommunication with his receiver and nearly throwing another one or two interceptions later on, too.
- Brett Rypien didn’t come into the game until about 10 minutes were left in the fourth quarter, so Bennett played most of the night for the second straight week.
- John Johnson III and Russ Yeast got the start at safety, while Tre Tomlinson, Robert Rochell and Shaun Jolly were the starting cornerbacks.
- The Rams trotted out the same starting offensive line as last week: Alaric Jackson-Steve Avila-Mike McAllister-Tremayne Anchrum Jr.-Logan Bruss
- The pass rush is still borderline non-existent for the Rams, which is a huge problem because some of the players who were on the field Saturday night are expected to be key contributors.
- Logan Bruss left in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return, though no update was given during the game.
- Puka Nacua wasn’t out there in this game despite being dressed for it, a sign that he’s already done enough to show his value on offense. He’s getting the veteran treatment, it seems.
- Byron Young was also held out of this game because he’s seemingly done enough to earn a starting job at outside linebacker.
- Rookie tight end Davis Allen made his preseason debut and came up with a great grab down the middle in the first half, leaping to make the catch in traffic. He led the team with eight catches for 53 yards.
3 stars of the game
No. 3 star: TE Davis Allen –8 targets, 8 catches, 53 yards
No. 2 star: S John Johnson – 4 tackles
No. 1 star: LB Jake Hummel – 5 tackles, 1 INT returned for TD
Play of the game
Coach McVay on Coach Cam for Jake Hummel's pick-6. 🤣
📺 @ABC7 + the Rams app pic.twitter.com/dL5nXbmlxs
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 20, 2023
What's next?
For the second week in a row, the Rams will hold joint practices before a preseason game. Last week it was the Raiders and this week it will be the Broncos practicing with the Rams.
Next Saturday, the Rams and Broncos will square off in Denver int he preseason finale, the last chance for some players to make their case for the 53-man roster.
