INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Rams were dominant on both sides of the ball in their preseason home opener in Week 2 against the Saints, winning 34-0. The offense tallied three rushing touchdowns, including two by quarterback Stetson Bennett IV . The defense came up with two red zone takeaways, including a 100-yard interception returned for a touchdown by safety Alex Cook.
Following the game, head coach Sean McVay and Bennett detailed what was going well on both sides of the ball for Los Angeles.
"The two turnovers in the tight red area to be able to prevent them from scoring was big. Awesome for AC to be able to make that pick six. Really cool for (outside linebacker Wesley) Bailey to be able to force that fumble. ... Really just good communication throughout. The guys in the box did a great job, and awesome to be able to celebrate a lot of guys today, and to be able to have their teammates here to be able to celebrate them was fun for me as well." - McVay
The Rams defense forced a shutout and did so through great execution at all levels. The two biggest plays of the day came when the Saints were in the red zone with Cook's aforementioned pick six and then Bailey's forced fumble that was recovered by defensive end Payton Zdroik Payton Zdroik.
On top of that, cornerback Al’zillion "AZ" Hamilton came away with an interception as well, hauling it in during the second quarter. Cornerback Cam Lampkin also had a strong showing with a pass breakup on fourth down, one of two during the day, as well as a tied for the team-lead with six tackles, right alongside Hamilton and inside linebacker Monty Rice. The secondary as a whole — between Cook, Hamilton and Lampkin — made it hard for Saints quarterbacks Zach Wilson and Spencer Rattler. "It was awesome to see Lamp make his plays. AZ did a great job. Then for AC to be able to make that pick six, it's so awesome," McVay said.
"They're constantly reminding me in practice to, especially down in the red zone, if it's not there, take off. I had one early in the first quarter, I want to say, where I checked it down and kind of threw it away. I had gotten through all my progressions and (I thought) take off and run. And so I had that in my mind on the two rushing scores." - Bennett
Bennett's two rushing touchdowns were both on scramble drills with a 1-yard score and an 8-yard score. Bennett utilizing his running ability as a dual threat quarterback is something McVay is starting to feel more confident in and realizes Bennett is making quicker decisions. "He's just getting better and better," McVay said. "Part of it is just the overall command, I thought he made some really good decisions. I thought he got through some progressions, and then I love the fact that he used his legs."
Aside from using his legs, Bennett also made a standout throw on fourth down to wide receiver Tyler Scott on a broken play. Bennett's running back in the flat got caught up, so he "saw T Scott running, and I was like, 'it's fourth down, just put it out there, he's so fast, he ran up under it and caught it,'" Bennett said.
Both the running touchdowns and the fourth-down play showcase Bennett becoming more comfortable with decision making of using his arm versus when to use his legs. And Bennett made sure to credit the work of his offensive linemen as well, only getting hit on that fourth down play. "But other than that, I don't think I got touched. So that's pretty awesome."
