The Rams changed things up a bit on offense in their second preseason game, giving John Wolford an opportunity to play – his first extended game action since 2020. He started the night against the Texans and played the first half before giving way to Bryce Perkins for the second half. They combined for 265 yards passing, but neither had a touchdown pass.
The Texans ultimately pulled off the victory, 24-20, thanks to a late touchdown in the fourth quarter to erase a seven-point deficit.
Here are some of our studs and duds from the narrow loss in Week 2 of the preseason, highlighting the best performances and those who struggled a bit.
Stud: Cobie Durant
Durant looks like the real deal at cornerback, and he was all over the field in his limited playing time against the Texans. On the Texans’ first drive, Durant forced a fumble after Nico Collins made a catch. Then on the next possession, he recorded his first sack of the preseason, blitzing off the edge and chasing down Davis Mills.
https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1560814827093692420
Just before halftime, Durant nearly pulled in an interception after undercutting a route and leaping to break up the pass. It was a really good play that he almost completed for the turnover.
He’s going to be a fun player to watch in the regular season, even if he doesn’t become a starter until later on in the year.
Stud: Jonah Williams
Someone needs to step up along the defensive line behind the starters, and Williams might be that guy. In the first half alone, he had three tackles, a strip-sack and a tackle for a loss on a running play.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1560818184353038336
The Rams’ starting defensive line is set, but there’s plenty of room for movement among the backups as the regular season approaches. Williams has a decent shot to make the team if he keeps this up.
Stud: Robert Rochell
Rochell is building some momentum going into the regular season, putting together another nice performance for the second straight week. In the first half, he broke up one pass on third down, breaking on the ball and sticking his arm in to deflect the ball.
https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1560825211548618752
Rochell was also in on a forced fumble, which was credited to Jake Gervase. It was an all-around great half by Rochell, who also nearly had an interception after a deflection by Terrell Burgess.
Stud: Lance McCutcheon
McCutcheon kept doing his thing for the second straight week, coming up with some clutch plays for a Rams offense that struggled throughout the night. In the first half, he had two catches for 51 yards, including a 29-yarder down the right side where he spun to avoid a defender and pick up extra yardage.
https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1560827684111847424
He also ran a nice route against Derek Stingley, who was in zone coverage, to get open for a 22-yard gain in the first half. Four of McCutcheon’s receptions went for first downs, finding ways to move the chains for the Rams once again.
He finished with five catches for 96 yards, though he did make the mistake of not getting out of bounds with a few seconds left in the game after a catch down the right sideline.
Stud: Duron Lowe
Lowe was sneaky good against Houston. He made several key plays in the game, the biggest of which was a forced fumble on punt coverage, which turned into a touchdown by Roger Carter Jr.
https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1560843859143233536
On the Texans’ next drive during the fourth quarter, Lowe broke up a deep pass in the end zone, preventing a touchdown and forcing the Texans to settle for a field goal. He finished the night with five tackles and that pass breakup, doing a nice job as he pushes to potentially make the Rams’ practice squad or another roster; he’s unlikely to make L.A.’s 53-man roster.
Stud: Bryce Perkins
Perkins looked much more confident and comfortable than Wolford in this game, perhaps because he got better play from his offensive line and was going up against a weaker Texans defense. But no matter, he’s worth highlighting for the second straight week. His athleticism was on display a couple of times, avoiding Obo Okoronkwo’s pursuit once, making a ridiculous leaping attempt at the goal line on a two-point try and picking up positive yardage after scrambling and getting his facemask pulled.
Perkins may not beat out Wolford for the QB2 spot, but he’s going to make it really tough for the Rams to cut him – and McVay said after the game that the team is “continuing to evaluate” the backup quarterback position.
Stud: A.J. Arcuri
Arcuri was one of the lone bright spots on the offensive line. After playing right tackle last week, he lined up on the left side in the second half of this game and looked like he’d played that position for years. He was solid in pass protection, allowing very little pressure, and he helped open a nice hole for Trey Ragas on the Rams’ go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.
https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1560850955813261313
For a guy who hasn’t sealed up his roster spot yet, this was a positive performance by Arcuri with only one preseason game left.
Dud: Logan Bruss
Bruss did not look the least bit comfortable in pass protection at right guard. He allowed two sacks in the first half and then left the game with a knee injury. It was a rough night for the rookie lineman, who clearly still has some developing to do before he’s ready to be a starter in the NFL.
It’s no time to panic, of course, but Bruss needs to improve in pass protection.
Dud: A.J. Rose
Rose was outshined by the Rams’ other running backs in this one, specifically Trey Ragas. Rose only rushed for 10 yards on three carries, dropping a handoff on a key third-and-1 run. That forced the Rams to punt, ending the drive in frustrating fashion for McVay.
Rose had a good debut last week against the Chargers, but he didn’t do much in this one.
Dud: Bobby Evans
For the second week in a row, Evans looked overmatched at right tackle. He was allowing pressure deep into the fourth quarter, and he also gave up a sack with under a minute to go in the game, which really hurt the Rams’ chances of completing a game-winning drive.
He could be in danger of not making the team, despite being considered a “veteran” among the Rams’ backup offensive linemen.
