Well, the good news is these preseason games don’t count. The bad news is the Rams looked significantly overmatched in each of their three exhibition contests against the Chargers, Raiders and Broncos.
The Rams were embarrassed by Denver on Saturday night in the preseason finale, losing 41-0 on the road. Neither team played their starters, so this game isn’t an indication of how they will play this season, but it was still discouraging to see the Rams play so poorly in the final preseason game.
It was started by Stetson Bennett and finished by Dresser Winn, with Brett Rypien getting a handful of opportunities in the middle. But no matter who was leading the offense, the Rams struggled to move the ball.
Here’s a recap of Los Angeles’ disappointing finish to the preseason on Saturday.
Final score: Broncos 41, Rams 0
Game notes
- Several players got the night off, including Ben Skowronek, Puka Nacua, Jonah Williams, Russ Yeast and others. That’s a clear sign they’re making the 53-man roster.
- This game was ugly from start to finish. Denver, despite not playing most of its starters, marched down the field with ease on the opening drive, scoring a touchdown to go up 7-0.
- The Rams were sloppy on both sides of the ball, with Stetson Bennett throwing two unsightly interceptions and the defense struggling to get anyone on the ground.
- The defense was once again gashed on the ground, allowing more than 140 yards rushing to Denver. That’s partly because of poor tackling, but the gap discipline and edge contain was bad, too.
- Tanner Brown missed another field goal attempt, his second in four tries this preseason. This one was a 39-yarder, which he pulled left of the upright. He’s gotten very little work this preseason.
- Ethan Evans was busy, punting five times for 281 yards with three of those punts being downed inside the 20-yard line. He averaged 52.2 yards per punt and showed good hangtime.
- Penalties were a big problem for Los Angeles, including a facemask penalty by Tre Tomlinson that was so egregious in the first quarter that he was ejected for the tackle.
3 stars of the game
No. 3 star: Austin Trammell – 5 catches, 55 yards
No. 2 star: Desjuan Johnson – 3 tackles, 2 QB hits
No. 1 star: Ronnie Rivers – 6 carries, 32 yards
What's next?
This game put a bow on the preseason for the Rams, which means Week 1 of the regular season is up next. But before we get to that point, there’s some important business to take care of: final roster cuts.
The Rams will need to trim their roster down to just 53 players, which means more than 35 guys are going to be cut by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. There will be no games next weekend but after that, the real season begins.
It’s so close we can almost taste it.
