twitter & etc.+ on the Chargers PS game

Brock Vierra@BrockVierra
Brennan Presley and Mario Williams had the Rams moving downfield but another red zone stall led to fourth down. The Rams were set to go for it but a KT Leveston false start forced a field goal.

Rams lead 10-9

All bruh team preseason week 2 @PatMcAfeeShow pic.twitter.com/C0dblnY6UN

— HoldenCantor (@HoldenCantor) August 17, 2025

Five takeaways from Rams’ 23-22 Preseason Week 2 win over Chargers: Stetson Bennett delivers game-winning TD pass to Tru Edwards, Brennan Jackson’s two sacks, Jarquez Hunter sees extended action and more

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/five-takeaways-rams-23-22-preseason-week-2-win-over-chargers-stetson-bennett-and-brennan-jackson-shine-jarquez-hunter-sees-extended-action-and-more

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Quarterback Stetson Bennett IV threw the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Tru Edwards with five seconds left and outside linebacker Brennan Jackson chipped in two first-half sacks to lead the Rams to a thrilling 23-22 win over the Chargers Saturday night at SoFi Stadium.

Here are five takeaways from the contest, presented by Paramount+.

1) Bennett delivers in the clutch, continues to look comfortable and confident. He completed 28 of 40 pass attempts for 324 yards and three touchdowns against one interception Saturday night against the Chargers. His best throw of the day was on his second touchdown pass, a 38-yard laser to wide receiver Mario Williams at the end of the third quarter. Bennett also rebounded from an interception thrown to Chargers defensive tackle TeRah Edwards to lead the Rams on the game-winning drive at the end of the fourth quarter.

Through the Rams’ first two preseason games, Bennett has completed 44 of 64 passes for 512 yards and five touchdowns against two interceptions.

2) Outside linebacker Brennan Jackson shines with two sacks in the first half. One of which was against quarterback Justin Herbert and the Chargers’ first-team offense (more on that below). He also added two total tackles (two for loss) in Saturday’s game.

3) Reserves get some run versus Chargers’ first-team offense and defense. The Chargers were planning to plan the majority of their starters in this game, and did so for one series. For the Rams defense, it held the Justin Herbert-led offense to a field goal on the opening drive. For the Rams offense, it manufactured a nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive completed by a 2-yard touchdown pass from Bennett to wide receiver Konata Mumpfield for an early 7-3 lead.

4) Shaun Dolac wears green dot. We’ll see if this trend continues into next week, but for the second-straight preseason game, the Rams had a rookie inside linebacker manning the role of on-field defensive signal caller as the primary communicator between the play caller – for this game, defensive coordinator Chris Shula – and the rest of the defense. Dolac led the defense for the first half before being subbed out for the second half.

5) Rams continue to evaluate the running backs behind Kyren Williams; Hunter sees majority of carries. Head coach Sean McVay mentioned wanting to evaluate the running backs behind Kyren Williams in a live game setting – which was why they gave Blake Corum and Jarquez Hunter about 10 touches each last week against the Cowboys – so it wasn’t a surprise to see Corum and Hunter out there again versus the Chargers. Corum finished with four carries for 22 yards; Hunter a team-high 15 carries for 55 yards. Hunter consistently gained yards after contact and was difficult for Charger defenders to bring down. Cody Schrader had 13 carries for 48 yards with some tough running of his own, too.

GRAB THAT PRESLEY ‼️

📺@ABC7 | 📲 https://t.co/4beUdm4vkg pic.twitter.com/Ekm7T3rYPp

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 17, 2025

Preseason takeaways: Rams QB Stetson Bennett IV solidifies roster spot
Bennett throws three touchdowns and caps a 10-play drive with a strike to Tru Edwards with five seconds left as the Rams edge the Chargers 23-22

Adam Grosbard

* https://www.ocregister.com/2025/08/16/preseason-takeaways-rams-qb-stetson-bennett-iv-solidifies-roster-spot/

INGLEWOOD — Here are five takeaways from the Rams’ 23-22 preseason win over the Chargers:

Comeback kid

The smile on Mike LaFleur’s face as Stetson Bennett IV got to the sideline said it all.

Bennett had just unleashed a laser, hitting receiver Mario Williams in stride for a 38-yard touchdown. LaFleur’s face was red and stretched wide as he greeted the quarterback back to the sidelines, eyes wrinkled in mirth at the accuracy of the throw.

Bennett followed up his steady preseason debut with another strong effort. He completed 28 of 40 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. He led the Rams on a nine-play touchdown drive to open the game against the Chargers’ starting defense, hitting rookie Konata Mumpfield on play-action for a touchdown.

But it was the way that Bennett shook off his one mistake that really stood out. Bennett threw an interception to a defensive tackle dropping into coverage in the fourth quarter. After chasing down and making the tackle, Bennett was able to reset and eventually lead the Rams on a game-winning, 10-play drive.

“I think it’s very important when you give up an interception the way you do in that situation and then you come back and you just respond, that’s what life’s about and that’s what we want to see specifically from a quarterback,” assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant said. “We’ve all seen him win a couple national championships in college and you see some of that thread work with his confidence and his belief in his teammates.”

He started the two-minute drill with a chunk play to Mark Redman, picking up 15 yards. He converted two fourth downs, including a 40-yard gain to Brennan Presley, the undrafted rookie leaping up and using strong hands to make the catch in double coverage.

Then Bennett fired a bullet to Tru Edwards for the game-winning score with five seconds left, solidifying his hold on a roster spot in the process.

“It was pretty cool, I’m not going to lie,” Bennett said. “Because I was tired out there. That was a hard-fought one and … it was pretty sweet.”

Secondary concerns

As the battle for the final cornerback job continues, veteran A.J. Green and second-year undrafted player Charles Woods probably made the best cases for the roster spot. Green responded well to an early mistake letting a receiver behind with two pass breakups, including one on a fade route at the goal line. And Woods had strong coverage on two key plays, a third-down play at the end of the second quarter and a two-point conversion on the third, that resulted in incompletions.

On Green, Pleasant said, “I thought A.J. really came out hot. I think the thing that we understand really early is they were taking those three-by-one isolations into the boundary. And after a couple of plays back-to-back he kind of stood up and realized what it was going to be. … I was very proud on how he responded.”

Pressure up front

Third-year defensive tackle Desjuan Johnson had a strong day. He had two pressures that resulted in Brennan Jackson sacks, then added a run stuff in the second half.

O-line watch

Justin Dedich started the game at right guard and Beaux Limmer at center as the Rams continued to sort through their options for backup interior offensive linemen. The pair swapped spots to open the second half before Limmer left the game. Willie Lampkin also got reps at center and left guard before leaving the game with an undisclosed injury.

No Stafford update

Asked to confirm that quarterback Matthew Stafford (back) completed his scheduled workout on Saturday, a Rams spokesperson declined to comment, adding that head coach Sean McVay would address the situation in his Monday press conference.

Stafford, 37, has missed all of training camp and the preseason with an aggravated disc in his back. He was scheduled to return to practice Monday before experiencing increased soreness in his back that morning, which delayed that milestone.

Stafford was not present on the sidelines for any of the Rams’ practices this week, and was not visible on the sidelines during the game against the Chargers. Stafford was on the sidelines for last week’s win over the Cowboys.