No one expected the Rams to play any of their top players in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Chargers, but Sean McVay held back even more players than expected. This game was all about the third- and fourth-stringers who are on the roster bubble and fighting to make the team.
John Wolford, Tutu Atwell, Ben Skowronek, Coleman Shelton and Riley Dixon were all among the players who didn’t take the field on Saturday, an indication that their jobs and roles are safe. It was Bryce Perkins, Lance McCutcheon and a collection of running backs who led the offense on Saturday night, and while things got off to a slow start, they finally found a rhythm in the second quarter.
They played behind an offensive line that experienced plenty of shuffling and experimentation, with Alaric Jackson and Tremayne Anchrum Jr. changing positions during the game and Logan Bruss stepping in and out of the lineup.
It looked bleak for the Rams early when Joe Reed caught a 41-yard touchdown pass to put the Chargers up 7-0 less than 4 minutes into the game, but the Rams scored back-to-back touchdowns to go up 14-7 in the second quarter – including a 60-yard score from Perkins to McCutcheon.
.@TDN_Perk GOING DEEEEP TO @mccutcheonlance!
📺 @ABC7 📱 https://t.co/4beUdmlymg pic.twitter.com/UroH4dWZuo
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 14, 2022
Chase Daniel threw a 16-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds left in the first half to tie things up at the break, however.
In the second half, Perkins scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown to put the Rams ahead again, taking a 22-14 lead with 8:17 left in the third quarter. But again, the Chargers responded, this time with Easton Stick rushing it in from 3 yards out to cap off an 18-play drive and tie the game at 22.
Then McCutcheon came through in the clutch again. He caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Perkins with 6:11 left in the game, a tough contested catch in the corner of the end zone to put the Rams up 29-22.
Thanks to a sack by Earnest Brown IV, the Chargers’ following drive stalled, but so did the Rams’ possession after that, which gave the Bolts another opportunity to win the game late in the fourth.
Dan Isom, a reserve safety, wouldn’t let the Chargers pull out the late win. He sealed the victory for the Rams with a pick on third-and-6 – a pass that looked like it was completed over the middle but Isom somehow came down with the interception.
Game over! @Up_Like7 seals it!
📺 @ABC7 📱 https://t.co/4beUdmlymg pic.twitter.com/Hcz3f8Czk2
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 14, 2022
Perkins and McCutcheon were the stars of the game for the Rams, being the two most important players on the field Saturday night. McCutcheon finished with 87 yards and two touchdowns, while Perkins threw for 133 yards and two scores. Perkins was clutch on the ground, too, rushing for 39 yards and a touchdown.
The Rams will take on the Texans at home in their next preseason game, which comes on Friday night at 10 p.m. ET.
