A week after throwing a game-tying touchdown pass in the closing seconds against the Dallas Cowboys, Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett found receiver JJ Laap in the fourth quarter for a decisive 47-yard touchdown. This play ultimately secured the victory for the Rams.
Bennett aimed to improve on the positives while minimizing the errors that affected his performance in the previous game, where he threw four interceptions during a narrow 13-12 win over the Cowboys. He mostly met these objectives, completing 17 of 31 passes for 213 yards, with one interception and a fumble.
“Overall the operation and the execution was better,” Bennett commented.
Having played the entire game against the Cowboys and participating in second-team drills during a joint practice the previous Wednesday, Bennett showed notable improvement. He faced a Chargers defense missing key stars like Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Derwin James Jr., yet it still featured several other starters early in the competition. Bennett largely sidestepped major decision-making errors, although he did throw a pivotal interception.
After the Rams recovered a fumble in the third quarter, Bennett led the offense to the one-yard line, but defensive back Deane Leonard intercepted his pass in the end zone. Despite this setback, Bennett rebounded in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass to Laap, putting the Rams ahead 13-9.
Having sat out last season due to a non-football injury, Bennett acknowledged that he continues to learn from these setbacks.
“When you don’t play football for so long, you want it to be perfect,” he stated. “But you kind of gotta make those mistakes to learn from it. As much as I don’t want to do that, it is good that some things like that happen.”