All of the Rams’ preseason games have to be taken with a grain of salt, more so than most other teams because of the way they treat these games. They don’t play their top starters, which means players such as Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee and Rob Havenstein won’t be suiting up in these three contests.
Saturday night brought another preseason loss for the Rams, once again falling by a score of 34-17 – this time against the Raiders. Jake Hummel and John Johnson III were two of the bright spots on defense, while Stetson Bennett had a tougher night against Las Vegas than he did last week.
Below are our studs and duds from the Rams’ 17-point loss.
Stud: S John Johnson III
Johnson got the start next to Russ Yeast and he didn’t waste any time making his presence felt. He picked up three quick tackles, including a play where he came downhill aggressively and made a stop on tight end Michael Mayer. Overall, he had four tackles in the game despite playing limited snaps. The Rams are thrilled to have him back in the building and on the field, and it looks like he hasn’t missed a beat since being here last in 2020.
Stud: RB Ronnie Rivers
Rivers is going to make the Rams’ final roster. He showed that last week against the Chargers and played well once again against Las Vegas. He’s not a big running back but he runs hard and is elusive in the open field, doing a nice job of making defenders miss with his agility in the hole. He picked up 19 yards on his first three carries alone, including a nice run on a cutback to the right side, and finished with 42 yards on just nine carries.
Stud: CB Tre Tomlinson
Tomlinson plays with a ton of energy and confidence, which is needed to be a cornerback in the NFL. He stood out in the preseason opener last week and did so again on Saturday night, recording two tackles and a pass defensed on a deep shot down the left sideline. There’s no question he’s making the team and he could end up playing meaningful snaps this season.
Tre makin' a play!
6️⃣ @TreTomlinson | 📺 @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/QKnA5KkSF3
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 20, 2023
Stud: LB Jake Hummel
Hummel was everywhere on defense. He was one of the two starting linebackers in the middle and stood out in a big way. His pick-six in the first half provided a spark for the Rams when they were down 10-3, tying the game at 10 apiece and preventing the Raiders from moving the ball further down the field. He’s expected to be the third linebacker on the roster and is inching closer to securing his spot this season.
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
Stud: OLB Zach VanValkenburg
Andrew Whitworth mentioned on the broadcast that VanValkenburg is one of his favorite players on the Rams right now and he gave Big Whit a lot of reasons to be excited against the Raiders. He and Earnest Brown IV combined for a tackle right at the line of scrimmage in the first half and then he drilled the running back for a loss on a carry up the middle a few plays later.
Stud: TE Davis Allen
Allen only returned to practice last week and this was his first preseason action, but he certainly impressed in his debut. Right off the bat, he made a tough grab down the seam for 15 yards, leaping to make the catch in traffic. He was one of Stetson Bennett’s favorite targets, catching eight passes for 53 yards, both of which led the team. His wide catch radius could become useful in the red zone.
Dud: CB Timarcus Davis
From start to finish, it was a night Davis would probably rather forget. At the end of the first half, Davis gave up two big plays in coverage. The first was a 43-yard completion to Phillip Dorsett on a great route toward the sideline, and just a few plays later, Davis was called for pass interference after grabbing Dorsett’s jersey and holding him. In the second half, he gave up a 40-yarder to Tre Tucker down the seam and a few plays later allowed a touchdown by Cam Sims. It’ll be tough for him to make the team regardless and performances like Saturday’s certainly won’t help.
Dud: Defensive line
For the second straight week, the defensive line didn’t do much to make life difficult for the opposing offense. It’s an undersized unit to begin with, which makes defending the run challenging, but there was very little pressure generated by the big guys up front. Without Aaron Donald, the Rams’ defensive line is one of the weakest in the NFL and it’s shown in the preseason. They allowed 98 yards rushing on 25 carries, with 29 of those yards coming on the opening drive when many of the starters were in.
Dud: QB Stetson Bennett
After a solid showing in the opener last week, Bennett took a little bit of a step back on Saturday. He threw an ugly pick-six in the first half that was the result of a miscommunication between him and Tyler Johnson, but he just wasn’t sharp overall. He made a couple of dangerous throws into tight coverage and tried to force a throw down the field while rolling to his left, which nearly resulted in an interception. One of the lone bright spots was his 4-yard touchdown run in the second half.
