Connor Wieseman 

ESPN SoCal 

Aug. 27 - The Los Angeles Rams end their preseason 0-3 after losing to the Denver Broncos, 0-41, Saturday night in Denver. 

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 26: Denver Broncos cornerback Essang Bassey (21) pushes off on Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Austin Trammell (81) after an interception in the first quarter at Empower Field at Mile High August 26, 2023. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

The Broncos' offense started the game with a 10-play touchdown drive. Two big plays occurred in this drive. Bronco's quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, threw a 21-yard pass to wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humprey on a 3rd-and-nine play. The next play came from Ram's rookie cornerback, Tre'Vius Tomlinson, as he violently tackled Broncos' wide receiver, Marvin Mims, by taking him down with his facemask. Tomlinson would be ejected this game which affected the rest of the Rams' defense. The next play Broncos' running back, Jaleel McLaughlin, rushed into the endzone for a 1-yard touchdown. From there, the Broncos controlled the whole game. 

Rams' rookie quarterback, Stetson Bennett, started on first-team offense and played his worst game all preseason. Bennett completed 4 of 9 passes for 14 passings yards and threw two interceptions. Nothing went right for Bennett as he played the first quarter. 

Brett Rypien lead the Rams in passing yards, completing 7 of 13 passes for 67 passing yards. 

On the opposing side, Stidham played a majority of the first half throwing for 236 passing yards and one passing touchdown. 

The Rams' secondary had trouble defending the pass, as Stidham threw four big passes for over 20 yards. His biggest pass came in the first quarter as he originally threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Mims. The play was reversed to a 50-yard completion as the officials reviewed the play and claimed that Mims was down after the catch. 

The Rams' offense put up a total 159 yards, whereas the Broncos' offense passed and rushed for 494 yards. This was the Broncos' first win this preseason. 

The Rams play their season opening game at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 10. Looking to not repeat their preseason performance. 

Connor Wieseman 

ESPN SoCal 

Aug. 25 - The Rams will be playing their last preseason game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. This game will give one of these teams their first preseason win as both the Rams and Broncos are coming in with an 0-2 record. 

Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett scrambles away fron Chargers Scott Matlock in the second quarter during the Rams and Chargers preseason game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times/ TNS)

The Rams flew into Denver on Tuesday and had two joint practices with the Broncos on Wednesday and Thursday. 

According to the Ramswire and live tweets, in the first joint practice a big play that occurred was a deep touchdown pass from Broncos' quarterback Russell Wilson to wide receiver Courtland Sutton in a seven-on-seven drill against the Rams' defense. Another event that occurred was Broncos' cornerback Damarri Mathis got in a fight with Rams' wide receiver Van Jefferson. Rams' quarterback Matthew Stafford was reported that he a good day and that his arm is better than last season. Stafford threw a touchdown pass end the practice. Rams' backup rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett IV had a good day as well, as he surprised reporter Vic Lombardi with his arm talent.

In the second joint practice, the Rams dominated the Broncos. Two big offensive plays that were made both came from Stafford. One of them being a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson, and the other being a 30-yard touchdown pass to Rams' running back Kyren Williams. Stafford threw a few interceptions and was rushed more by the Broncos' defense compared to the first joint practice, which was one of the highlights for the Broncos this practice. As for the Rams' defense, they did not allow the Broncos' first-team offense to score.

Broncos' wide receiver Jerry Jeudy was carted off with a right hamstring injury after running an end-around route in team drills. Jeudy is expected to miss several weeks of action. 

Rams' star players such as Stafford, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and defensive tackle Aaron Donald are not playing against the Broncos this Saturday as they haven't played all preseason. 

Bennett IV has so far thrown for 333 passing yards, one passing touchdown and one interception. He also ran a rushing touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders and currently leads the team this preseason in passing yards. All eyes will be on him as he attempts to lead the offense to successful drives against the Broncos' defense. 

The Broncos are not as bad as they look on paper. After the Broncos previous two preseason games, they lost both games by one point in closing seconds. Losing game one to the Arizona Cardinals, 17-18, after Cardinal's quarterback David Blough threw a passing touchdown to wide receiver Brian Cobbs with two seconds left in the fourth quarter, resulting in runningback Emari Demercado to score the two-point conversion to secure the win. In game two against the San Francisco 49ers the Broncos lost, 20-21, after 49ers' kicker, Jake Moody, kicked a 32-yard game winning field goal. The Broncos are looking to break the cycle and get a win at home. 

The Broncos played their starters in the first two preseason games. According to the Broncoswire, head coach Sean Payton said that might change this upcoming game. Payton said that he's not planning on playing the starters, but if he does, the starters will play, "more than a series." 

Time: 6 p.m. pacific time 

Television Station:  ABC7 KABC-TV 

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Quarterback Stetson Bennett #13 of the Los Angeles Rams passes against the Las Vegas Raiders in the first half of a NFL pre-season football game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Saturday, August 19, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

Adam Grosbard
Press-Telegram, Long Beach, Calif.
(TNS)

Aug. 19—INGLEWOOD — Here are five takeaways from the Rams' 34-17 preseason loss to the Raiders:

Unpredictable defense

Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo pitched a perfect, 68-yard touchdown drive to open the game. Las Vegas moved forward on all nine plays and completed four passes. The Rams defensive front — linemen Marquise Copeland, Bobby Brown III and Jonah Williams and outside backer Michael Hoecht — could not get off their blocks, allowing 5.8 yards per carry.

But the Rams settled down and held the Raiders to 19.4 yards across the subsequent five drives, with plays from all levels getting Los Angeles off the field.

Brown was able to shed a blocker and tackle Zamir White for no gain on the second drive. Cornerback Tre Tomlinson continued his strong preseason play by reaching at the last second to deflect a pass downfield intended for Phillip Dorsett II. A play later, fellow rookie Kobie Turner's third-down pressure forced a punt.

Linebacker Jacob Hummel shook off an early blown coverage on third down to sniff out a screen and give the Rams their first stop on one of the Raiders' short passes. Then when Raiders quarterback Brian Hoyer tried to sneak a ball over Hummel's head, the second-year linebacker intercepted it and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown.

Between those plays and a Keir Thomas sack, a Zach VanValkenburg tackle for loss and a Cameron McCutcheon breakup on third down, the Rams seemed to have some swagger back at the end of the half.

"I think it was settling in," safety John Johnson III said. "I think it was all working on our technique, getting better. That's what the preseason's for."

But the Raiders put together three straight 70-plus-yard drives to add 17 more points to the scoreboard. The Rams allowed several big plays through the air as they lost the momentum they had gained.

Head coach Sean McVay was not concerned about the state of the defense, noting how few of the expected contributors suited up for the preseason game.

"I don't get too caught up in the overall big picture," McVay said. "I just want to see guys continue to take steps in the right direction, because it's nowhere near a reflection of what that 11's going to look like when we go out there and play in Seattle [in Week 1]."

Bennett still up and down

Stetson Bennett IV was the starting quarterback on Saturday after coming off the bench in Week 1 of the preseason. He had a quiet first quarter, but was able to put together a nice little run to open the second. He completed five of six passes, including a side-armer to Ben Skowronek and a leaping catch by rookie tight end Davis Allen, to get the Rams on the board for a field goal.

But after getting away with some mistakes in his first NFL action, Bennett wasn't so lucky Saturday.

Running the two-minute drill at the end of the first half, Bennett expected his favorite target, Tyler Johnson, to cut one direction. When the receiver went another, Bennett's pass went straight into the arms of former USC safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, who returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.

"That was completely my fault," Bennett said. "He ran the [route] that was I called and I threw the one that wasn't, and paid for it."

The second half was similarly up and down for Bennett. One possession he very nearly threw another interception, this time into triple coverage. The next, he scampered around the edge into the end zone.

His night was finished after the third quarter with a 15-for-24, 142-yard, one-interception line.

"All we can do is take the next step forward," Bennett said. "That's what I try to do each and every play, is just continuously getting better."

Deja vu

Rams right tackle Logan Bruss left the game with trainers after an apparent injury before heading to the locker room with medical staff. Bruss missed his entire rookie season after an injury suffered in the preseason last year, but he was walking under his own power in the locker room after the game with tape on his right ankle.

Not so special

A fraction of an inch on Raiders receiver DeAndre Carter's cleat was all that prevented the Rams from giving up a punt return for a touchdown for the second week in a row. Carter just stepped out of bounds as he made his way past the final Rams defender, or else he would have been home free.

"There's been a lot of missed tackles," McVay said of the punt unit. "There's been a lot of situations too where I think you want to give some grace to, what are the main 11 guys that we've been working on that unit that we anticipate covering punts when we play the Seattle Seahawks on the 10th? I'm not trying to make excuses but there are some real continuity things that we want to continue to tighten down."

Quick hits

Running back Ronnie Rivers had a strong first three carries on the Rams' opening drive for 19 yards, hitting the hole hard and making good cuts. He finished with nine carries for 42 yards, a 4.7 yard per carry average. ... S John Johnson III got his first action since returning to the Rams earlier this month. He had a couple of tackles on the opening drive, then came down to clean up a screen play. He was also solid in coverage going step for step with Tre Tucker into the end zone.

___

(c)2023 Press-Telegram, Long Beach, Calif.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Adam Grosbard
The Orange County Register
(TNS)

As the Rams gear up for the final two weeks of the preseason, they will get two key contributors back for the final preparations for Week 1 against the Seahawks.

Receiver Cooper Kupp and cornerback Derion Kendrick, both of whom have nursed hamstring injuries suffered in training camp, are expected to return to practice this week, including participating in joint practices with the Broncos, head coach Sean McVay said on his Sunday Zoom call with reporters.

Kupp, of course, is the former Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP. He injured his hamstring running a route during the Rams’ training camp in Irvine. He and Kendrick, a second-year corner expected to play a substantial role for the Rams this year, have been working out together with the training staff at practices and have seemed in high spirits during their rehabs.

But the Rams still have couple of medical question marks along the offensive line this week.

Reserve right tackle Logan Bruss suffered a lateral right ankle sprain in Saturday’s preseason loss to the Raiders and is considered day-to-day, McVay said. Joseph Noteboom, currently competing for the left tackle and right guard jobs, missed team drills during practices last week and could miss further time as the Rams move to Denver.

Aside from confirming Noteboom had not suffered a complication from last year’s Achilles tear, McVay did not disclose the nature of his injury.

One Ram who won’t be making the trip to Denver is defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who is expecting his fourth child and second with wife, Erica, this week.

Allen gets in on the action

After missing much of the start of training camp, tight end Davis Allen finally got a chance to showcase his talents to his new coaches and teammates Saturday against the Raiders. And he made the most of it.

The Clemson product caught all eight of the passes thrown his way, leading all Rams with 53 yards from scrimmage. He started off with a leaping grab on a high ball, then took some short passes and turned them into bigger gains with 15 yards after the catch.

McVay, who had lamented earlier in camp the fact he had not gotten the chance to see Allen in action after the off-season program, was happy with the fifth-round pick’s debut.

“I thought he did a nice job being able to run some tough, hard-earned yards, especially when he’s catching some underneath throws and being able to fall forward, but I thought he competed well without the ball also,” McVay said. “You can see he’s got a big catch radius, good soft hands, so I was really pleased with him.”

Soldiering on

The Rams plan to have a practice on Monday before flying to Denver despite the rain that struck Southern California on Sunday, and despite the earthquake that originated close the Rams’ team headquarters in Thousand Oaks.

“I get so enamored when I get involved in a conversation and I’m talking that I did not feel it, but my wife came running in and said, ‘Did you feel it?’ ” McVay said. “The dog knew something was going on, like, what the hell? And I got a bunch of texts from people that live in close proximity so it just shows you what an idiot I am. I did not notice it, but everybody else around me did so it shows you I’m in outer space.”

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