INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett IV diced up the Cowboys' defense on the first two drives of the game, completing 8 of 12 passes for 99 yards. It was surgical.
The best throw came against a fourth-down blitz from Dallas. Seeing the pressure, and the one-on-one matchup in created with speedy wide receiver Xavier Smith on the outside, Bennett threw the ball up for Smith on a go route. He ran under it and got both feet down near the sideline for a 39-yard gain to the 5, setting up an opening-drive touchdown from running back Blake Corum.
"Instead of having to give the ball up around midfield, going down there and scoring a touchdown was a huge momentum builder," Bennett said.
363 days ago, Bennett threw four interceptions in the preseason opener against the Cowboys. On Saturday, he looked like a completely different quarterback against that same opponent.
Bennett completed 16 of his 24 passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns and just one interception in the 31-21 Rams victory, his first career multi-touchdown game. His decision-making and accuracy were much improved, a product of his increased confidence and comfortability in the Rams' offense.
"I think (I'm) just more mature, more comfortable in the system, tighter with the guys," Bennett said postgame.
He added that, while his throwing motion has "probably changed a little bit" as he's fiddled with his grip and release, the majority of his progress has been on the mental side of the game.
On Bennett's second touchdown drive, he managed the pocket well and made smart decisions with the football, even converting another fourth down with a scramble. Rather than trying to fit the ball into a tight window downfield, he tucked it and used the open grass in front of him to pick up an easy four yards. That might not have been the decision he made a year ago.
"I told him today, I said 'Man, you playing with that confidence and you playing with that swagger again, I love it,'" Smith recalled.
Bennett also didn't shy away from attacking the middle of the field, as head coach Sean McVay singled out an impressive throw to wide receiver Drake Stoops running a backside end cut between defenders.
He operated the Rams' offense like a veteran, delivering his designed reads with accuracy and not forcing the ball anywhere. Bennett's only interception was the product of a slightly underthrown pass, not a poor decision. McVay was impressed with how he bounced back from that misstep to lead two late touchdown drives.
"I thought he got through some progressions really well today," McVay said.
After a short lull in the middle of the game, Bennett got back in a groove near the end of the third quarter, delivering a strike to wide receiver Britain Covey on a corner route between defensive zones. He went through his progressions and hit Covey in stride for a gain of 26 yards.
A few plays later, Bennett targeted running back Cody Schrader on a check-down out of the backfield, who ran in untouched for a score. It was another example of Bennett's willingness to take what the defense gave him, and it put the Rams up 24-6 in the fourth quarter.
To seal the win on the next drive, he sold a play-action fake on the five-yard line and floated a pass to an open Brennan Presley rolling to his left.
"I'm so proud of him because I saw the growth from when we came in as rookies to where he's at now," Smith said. "And you can see the love on his face, the way he's loving the game, the way he's playing with that passion, the way he playing with that swagger."
