The Rams walked away from their first preseason game with a 20-12 win over the Chiefs in Kansas City. Quarterback Ty Simpson had a strong day in his NFL debut, and his connection with running back Dean Connors ended in two touchdowns for Los Angeles.
Head coach Sean McVay gave his impressions of the overall operation of the offense and defense, as Simpson and Connors detailed their first experiences placing in the NFL and working through the preseason.
"I thought the coaches did a really good job putting guys in good spots. I thought (offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase) called a really good game. I thought both (run game coordinator/defensive line coach Giff Smith and outside linebackers coach Joe Coniglio) did an excellent job calling a good game as well, getting in operation. We were fairly clean, minimized a lot of the penalties and the style of play was there." - McVay
McVay was please with how his team performed throughout the first preseason game. The outcome of the game isn't always of utmost importance in the preseason. So throughout the week of preparation, McVay talked how executing a good operation was above all else.
As he took a backseat from play calling, Scheelhaase took over and McVay thought, Simpson "and Nate were really in sync."
Defensively, the Rams' didn't allow a touchdown and had an overall strong day across the board. Safety Nick Anderson had an especially strong day with eight tackles, two pass breakups and one tackle for loss.
"I'm trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can, and what better guy to do it from than (quarterback Matthew Stafford)? So I'm going to try to prepare as best I can, and make sure I ask all the questions that I need to to go in there and have confidence, because if (Stafford's) helmet snaps off or something happens, I got to go in there and execute and make sure that our offense doesn't take a dip." - Simpson
Simpson ended with an efficient 21-for-25 passing with a productive 190 yards and two touchdowns in his three quarters of play against the Chiefs. After spending most of training camp operating just a few drives per practice, if any, with the second team when both Stafford and quarterback Stetson Bennett IV were playing, Simpson was in total control of the offense in real-game action.
The work Simpson puts in behind the scenes, whether he's getting reps in practice or not, is heavily noticed by his teammates. When asked about Simpson, Connors was quick to say "he works hard. I try to be one of those guys who gets in first, and he beats me every time. He lives in the facility. He's always learning and trying to absorb as much as he can. And you can really see it, he's gotten better."
"Felt great. Anytime you help the team, that's a good feeling, and dream come true for someone who wanted to play in the National Football League. So just got to keep stacking days, one day at a time." - Connors
Connors found himself in the endzone twice in Kansas City. The first was on a 9-yard pass where Connors "had a heck of a block" on a screen pass, as he described. And the second was on a 2-yard strike from Simpson across the middle.
Ending the day with 22 rushing yards on six carries and 29 receiving yards on four receptions, Connors said he's "trying to take pride in being versatile."
McVay was quick to complement Connor's presence throughout the afternoon and in different elements of the game. "When he got the ball, there was a change of pace," McVay said. "You felt like, 'okay, this guy's got a chance to be able to create.' He did that in the run game ... and then a great job by him on the touchdown catches."
