INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Twice this week, Rams wide receivers Konata Mumpfield and Brennan Presley noticed the same swagger from quarterback Stetson Bennett IV play out that fellow receiver Xavier Smith saw and spoke about after the team's preseason-opening win over the Cowboys.
"I remember in our joint practice versus the Saints, he threw a pass to me and we connected on, it was like, third down, fourth down, and he looked over to me, he was like, 'Hey, Tay,' and he pointed (like) he got the ice in the veins. I was like, 'you like that, bro! you like that.'"
"At practice this week, we had two-minute drill, we went down, we scored. He was doing this," Presley said, pointing to his veins in a similar manner. "I hope he did that today, too, because that's how he was feeling out there."
Bennett instead opted for a reaction equally fitting for the confidence he's playing with right now: Getting up after taking a hit, flexing and sending a stone-cold stare toward the Chargers' sideline before turning to the Rams' after throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Tru Edwards with five seconds left in their 23-22 preseason victory over the Chargers Saturday night at SoFi Stadium.
"I've seen leadership from Stetson," Edwards said. "Even from college, Stetson has always been a good player, so I have never doubted him. He's a player (who) when you look at him, you just want to play good for him too."
It took some resilience to put the Rams back in that position.
In addition to the pair of fourth-down conversions on the game-winning series – one of which featured a 40-yard heave to Presley that put the Rams at the Chargers 8-yard line – there was overcoming a near-fumble the play before the completion to Presley. Officials overturned that call upon further review and ruled it an incompletion.
The previous offensive series – the first chance at a game-winning drive – ended with a 2-yard completion short of the sticks on 4th and 3 for a turnover on downs. That was after the Rams defense got the ball back to the offense by forcing a 3-and-out, after a change-of-possession via a Bennett interception caught by Chargers defensive tackle TeRah Edwards.
In between the interception and the game-winning drive, Rams assistant head coach/pass game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant – who served as the team's head coach for this game – said his message to Bennett was "reset, breathe. And we're all here for a reason."
"And then what we do is we respond to them," Pleasant continued. "People are looking more for our response than necessarily our actions, and those things carry weight. And I wanted him to know that I was with him, and I just wanted him to keep fighting."
The deficit that necessity that drive was a result of Chargers regaining momentum and the lead on a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
No one could blame Bennett for being exhausted after that roller-coaster of a fourth quarter, not to mention the 40 pass attempts he threw and the 76 total offensive plays run by the Rams Saturday night. That fatigue was likely part of the reason he simply got up and looked at the Rams sideline after the touchdown pass to Edwards.
"It was pretty cool, I'm not gonna lie, because I was tired out there," Bennett said, when asked what the victory meant to him. "That was a hard-fought one, and I think everybody out there at the end, defense getting us the ball back, it was pretty sweet."
For Bennett, the on-field confidence is simply just executing the play call he receives through his earpiece. He didn't want to make it any bigger than that.
Still, no matter how much he downplays it, the difference for him and his teammates is undeniable.
"He keeps everybody cool, collected," Presley said. "It's great to play with somebody like that."
