Stetson Bennett IV again added to his case that he is an NFL-calibre quarterback by throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner with five seconds to play, to give the Rams a 23-22 victory over the Chargers in a preseason game at SoFi Stadium Saturday.
Bennett has not played in a regular-season game since the Rams selected him in the fourth round of the 2023 draft after leading Georgia to back-to-back national championships.
The Chargers took a 22-17 lead with 12:36 to play when undrafted rookie free agent Luke Grimm returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown.
The Rams drove to the Chargers’ 25-yard line on the ensuing possession but the drive ended when undrafted rookie free agent defensive lineman TeRah Edwards intercepted a pass by Bennett at the Chargers’ 22-yard line and returned the ball 27 yards to the Chargers’ 49-yard line.
The Rams got the ball back on their own 12-yard line with 4:09 remaining after forcing the Chargers to punt after three plays.
Cody Schrader, whose official NFL career consists of 10 plays on special teams and two at running back in the Rams’ meaningless 2024 regular-season finale, ran for 9 yards on the first play of the possession and turned a short pass from Bennett into an 18-yard gain on the second.
However, the Rams turned the ball over on downs when Britain Covey was stopped a yard short of a first down after catching a pass from Bennett on a fourth-and-3 from the Rams’ 46-yard line with 1:50 remaining.
The Rams’ defense again forced the Chargers to punt after three plays and got the back on their own 25-yard line with 1:28 to play and two time outs remaining.
Bennett completed three consecutive passes, advancing the ball to the Rams’ 47-yard line. His pass on third-and-3 fell incomplete, but the Rams converted the fourth down on Bennett’s 5-yard pass to Edwards.
The Rams’ hopes of a comeback appeared over three plays later when Bennett was sacked by Tre’Mon Morris-Brash and the ball was recovered by Emany Johnson.
However, the replay official reviewed the fumble ruling and the call was reversed and the play was ruled an incomplete pass, giving the Rams a fourth-and-10 from the Chargers’ 48-yard line.
Bennett threw a pass a leaping Brennan Presley caught in front of two leaping Charger defenders for a 40-yard gain, the game’s longest play, giving Rams a first-and-goal on the Chargers’ 8-yard line with 11 seconds left.
Bennett threw the winning 8-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Tru Edwards on the next play, concluding a day when he completed 28 of 40 passes for three touchdowns with one interception.
Nyheim Miller-Hines returned the ensuing kickoff 24 yards to the Chargers’ 18-yard line. The game ended with Raheim Sanders being tackled at the Chargers’ 27-yard line after catching a 9-yard pass from Trey Lance.
Bennett called the victory “pretty cool,” then said, “I’m not going to lie. I was tired out there.”
When asked why he was tired, Bennett said, “I think just the number of plays, throws, whatever it was.”
The Rams outgained the Chargers 458 yards to 291, led 26-16 in first downs and 35:57-24:03 in time of possession in front of a crowd announced at 71,249.
When asked for his thoughts on the game, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh responded, “My overall thoughts are that I know it’s preseason. They talk about it’s just preseason, but it feels like regular season to me right now. It’ll probably be for another 24 hours and maybe even longer, but a tremendous thing to learn from in this game. I’m confident we’ll dig into it.”
Lance guided the Chargers to a field goal and their lone offensive touchdown on his first two possessions but they were forced to punt on their next three before the one-play possession at the end of the game.
Lance, who is competing with Taylor Heinicke to be the Chargers’ backup quarterback behind Justin Herbert, completed seven of 15 passes for 121 yards.
Herbert guided the Chargers (2-1) to a field goal in the first preseason appearance of his six-season NFL career.
Herbert completed two of five passes for 46 yards on the game’s opening possession, including a 29-yarder to rookie receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith that gave the Chargers a first down on the Rams’ 14-yard line.
Herbert was sacked for a 7-yard loss on the next play, then threw an incomplete pass. Omarion Hampton ran for 7 yards on third down, to set up Cameron Dicker’s 32-yard field goal.
Bennett IV threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Konata Mumpfield on the ensuing possession. Bennett completed 4-of-4 passes for 33 yards on the 9-play, 60-yard drive that consumed 4:54.
Heinicke entered the game for the Chargers on their second series.
The Chargers were forced to punt on their first and third possessions with Heinicke at quarterback, while Dicker kicked a 39-yard field goal on the second.
Heinicke completed 6 of 11 passes for 56 yards.
Lance entered the game 1:10 before halftime. He completed a 12-yard pass to Tre’ Harris on his first play, then ran 12 yards for a first down, advancing the ball to the Rams’ 45-yard line. On the next play, Lance completed a 37-yard pass to Lambert-Smith, giving the Chargers a first-and-goal from the Rams’ 8-yard line.
The Chargers had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Dicker after an illegal shift penalty and three incomplete passes by Lance.
The Rams (2-0) took a 10-9 lead on Joshua Karty’s 38-yard field goal on the opening possession of the second half, four plays and a false start penalty after Bennett completed a 26-yard pass to Brennan Presley that put the ball on the Chargers’ 25-yard line.
The Chargers pulled ahead 15-10 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Sanders with 3:31 left in the third quarter. Lance’s pass on the 2-point conversion attempt was incomplete.
Bennett threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mario Williams on the final play of the quarter to give the Rams a 17-15 lead.
Harbaugh said receiver Quentin Johnston suffered a concussion and was taken to a hospital “for precaution to make sure that everything was looked at (and for) X-rays.”
“The way it looked there at the time looked like it could have been a lot worse,” Harbaugh said. “He was taken for more evaluation, but he was talking. He remembered the play and he was moving good. So, in that way, it’s a good thing.”
Harbaugh said he did not know the name of the hospital Johnston was taken to.
Aubrey Pleasant, the Rams’ assistant head coach and pass game coordinator, served as the team’s coach Saturday.
“My father always said, `Luck is when preparation meets opportunity,”’ Pleasant said.
“This is something I’ve been preparing for quite some time. It’s something that I’m proud of. I understand that I’m standing on the shoulders of those who have come before me. I think it’s very important that I represent this thing correctly.
“So far from the game, I thought everything was pretty good. Maybe after that long explosive touchdown, I could have gone for two to put us in the field goal-winning situation. I’m already thinking about that because I want to be a little bit better, but that’s my job. I think if my players know I’m trying to get better, they only do the same thing.”