Stetson Bennett's long TD pass to JJ Laap leads Rams to 13-9 victory over Chargers

Updated Aug. 18, 2024 12:10 a.m. ET

Associated Press

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Stetson Bennett has been inconsistent while taking every snap at quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams through two preseason games.

Bennett, though, has made the plays when it has mattered the most.

He threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to JJ Laap in the fourth quarter as the Rams rallied for a 13-9 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.

Bennett was a fourth-round draft pick by the Rams last year after leading the University of Georgia to two straight national championships. He was not with Los Angeles during the regular season as he addressed his mental health.

Bennett has six turnovers this preseason (five interceptions, one fumble). But he has been resilient despite the mistakes.

Last Sunday against Dallas, Bennett threw four interceptions, but his 6-yard touchdown pass to Miller Forristall with 4 seconds remaining gave the Rams a 13-12 victory.

“I think when you don’t play football for so long, you want it to be perfect, but you kind of got to make those mistakes to learn from them," he said. "As much as I don’t want to do that, it is good that some things like that happen so you can learn from them.”

Bennett, who completed 17 of 31 passes for 213 yards with a TD and interception, connected with Laap after the undrafted rookie beat Chargers cornerback Zamari Walton on a go route down the middle with 9:48 remaining.

On the previous two Rams drives, Bennett threw an interception to Deane Leonard deep in the end zone on fourth-and-goal at the 1 and Joshua Karty was wide right on a 52-yard field goal attempt.

“They went quarters, and we’d been running the ball, so the safety kind of bit up and JJ was basically one-on-one out there on the corner because the safety had bit up, so just put it up and he made a good play,” Bennett said.

Karty made a pair of field goals for the Rams (2-0). Bennett has gone the distance at quarterback in both games with starter Matthew Stafford and backup Jimmy Garoppolo on the sideline.

“In practice, I’ve had a couple of deep balls where I’ve kind of executed in the same kind of fashion," Laap said. “So to be able to go out there and do in on the big stage like that, man, that was awesome. I knew before the play was snapped, I knew it was go time. I knew I might have an opportunity. And when that ball was in the air, like I said, man, go make a play.”

Cameron Dicker kicked three field goals for coach Jim Harbaugh's Chargers (0-2). Their offense showed improvement from the first preseason game, but still failed to produce a touchdown. The Bolts and Bills are the only teams that have not scored an offensive TD in the preseason.

The Chargers drove to the Rams 21-yard line with 3:31 remaining, but Cornelius Johnson bobbled a pass from Luis Perez while going out of bounds on fourth-and-4 that would have given the Chargers a first down.

“I feel like we’re making improvement. We have to lock in on those details and control the things that we can control in all phases of offense, defense and special teams,” Harbaugh said.

With franchise quarterback Justin Herbert sidelined by a foot injury, backup Easton Stick directed two drives that ended in field goals by Dicker during the first half. Stick also had turnovers on consecutive drives in the second quarter.

The Chargers had third-and-1 on the Rams 2, but Stick bobbled the snap from center Brenden Jaimes and Rams safety Jason Taylor recovered.

On the next drive, Jaylen McCollough picked off Stick at the Rams 26 on a pass intended for Simi Fehoko.

“I think we executed a little bit better this week, but left a lot out there. Points and yards. That part’s frustrating,” said Stick, who was 8 of 13 for 85 yards with an interception.

The teams traded field goals on their opening possessions — Karty from 48 yards and Dicker from 53 — before Dicker gave the Chargers a 6-3 lead when he was good from 37 yards with 1:16 left in the second quarter.

Karty tied it when he split the uprights from 43 yards midway through the third quarter. Dicker put the Chargers back on top in the fourth quarter with a 37-yard field goal with 10:47 remaining.

IN CHARGE

Rams defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant handled the head coaching duties while Sean McVay observed from the coaching booth.

McVay wanted Pleasant to get experience of meeting with the officials, handling game-related situations such as calling timeouts and having to communicate with offense, defense and special teams.

UP NEXT

Rams: At Houston next Saturday.

Chargers: At Dallas next Saturday.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl