It was a shaky start for Stetson Bennett in his preseason debut for the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday against the Los Angeles Chargers, but he would end up finding his rhythm as the game progressed. After finishing Saturday’s loss strong, Bennett spoke on being able to find his groove despite the slow start from the offense.
“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,” Bennett said. “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.”
Rypien would lead three drives that all resulted in punts before the Rams handed the keys of the offense to Bennett in the second quarter. Bennett would fail to complete his first few passes, and he nearly threw an interception on his first drive.
But then Bennett would end up connecting with fellow rookie Puka Nacua on a 17-yard pass before ending a 16-play drive with a touchdown pass to Nacua. Once the game concluded, Bennett finished the night completing 17 of his 29 attempts for 191 yards and a touchdown.
There were certainly passes that Bennett admittedly wanted back that easily could have been turnovers, however, the first-year quarterback showed poise in being able to bounce back. While it’s only a preseason game, it was a good sign to see Bennett show an ability to be resilient following a slow start.