By Zakary Haines
LOS ANGELES- When it is football season, expect there to be comebacks. The Rams almost managed to come back against the Las Vegas Raiders but fell short on the two-point conversion. The Rams take their second preseason loss with a close score of 17-16. The offense improved massively while the defense continues to perform at an elite level. However, it was not enough to overcome the Raiders last night.
One of the consistent bright spots is the defense. Even without Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald, this team continues to punish opposing teams. Two interceptions and three sacks, with 7th round pick Chris Garrett making a name for himself. Garrett had two tipped passes in the second quarter alone (one of those led to an interception), one strip-sack that blew up on Twitter, one shared sack, one hit on the quarterback, and one tackle for a loss. Garrett set a division two record with a career 15 forced fumbles and third all-time in division two history with 1.30 sacks per game.
On the offense, there were some significant improvements seen. The Rams had 129 rushing yards, 208 yards passing, and two passing touchdowns. This offense seemed to click more than last week, especially Bryce Perkins and JJ Koski. Perkins got all the reps at quarterback this week, and it allowed him to go all out, completing 26 passes out of 39 attempts, rushing for 46 yards, and ending with a QB rating of 86.3. However, Perkins did take a sack and threw one interception, which led to a Raiders field goal. Overall, Perkins is looking to be the number two quarterback on the team regarding the final 53 man roster. JJ Koski had himself a night with eight catches out of ten targets, 61 receiving yards, including a 19-yard play. However, Koski did not get any touchdowns on the night. Kendall Blanton and Jacob Harris both ended the night with one receiving touchdown each.
Special teams made headlines as both punters are in COVID protocols. So the Rams went into this game with no punters listed. Matt Gay pulled double duty with kicking and punting for the team. For kicking, Gay hit one out of two field goals, nailing one from 36 yards out. He also completed the only extra point for the evening. Gay has not punted since high school, but that did not stop him from accumulating 168 punting yards, with his longest being 50 yards.
In his post-game press conference, head coach Sean McVay liked what he saw on the field tonight. McVay said, “I thought our guys showed toughness tonight. I thought they continued to fight, a lot of adversity. Probably too many flags to our liking but all things we can learn from.” McVay also gave many props to Bryce Perkins, who made a critical 1st down late in the fourth quarter to help the Rams score. There are still some improvements the Rams need as they head to the final preseason game this Saturday against the Denver Broncos.
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