Latest news with #StetsonBennett
CBS News
18 hours ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Rams top Cowboys 31-21 behind Stetson Bennett's two-TD performance in preseason action
Stetson Bennett passed for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a strong start to the preseason, leading the Los Angeles Rams to a 31-21 victory over the Cowboys on Saturday night in new Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer's debut. Blake Corum rushed for short TDs to cap the Rams' first two offensive drives behind Bennett, the two-time national champion at the University of Georgia attempting to secure his job as the Rams' third-string quarterback for another season. Looking much sharper than he did a year ago against the Cowboys, Bennett went 16 for 24 and hit Cody Schrader and Brennan Presley for touchdowns in the second half. Bennett's only interception resulted from an exceptional play made by Dallas' Israel Mukuamu on a long pass. Joe Milton passed for 143 yards before injuring his elbow in the fourth quarter of a solid debut with the Cowboys, throwing a touchdown pass to Rivaldo Fairweather with 8:48 to play. The second-year pro, who had one interception while going 17 for 29, is looking to cement his job as Dak Prescott's backup. Will Grier replaced Milton for the final series and rushed for a TD with 2:31 left. Both teams rested as many key players as possible, with Prescott and CeeDee Lamb headlining a host of Cowboys starters on the sideline. Micah Parsons attended the game with his Dallas teammates even after requesting a trade last week during his seemingly interminable contract negotiations with owner Jerry Jones. The Rams didn't even play second-string quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo — but Matthew Stafford, who didn't participate in training camp due to a back injury, went through a lengthy workout before the game ahead of his anticipated return to practice Monday. Schrader rushed for 59 yards for Los Angeles, while rookie Jarquez Hunter had 41 yards and Corum added 32. The game was largely cordial after the Cowboys hosted the Rams four days ago for a joint practice during Dallas' annual training camp in Oxnard, California. The game was the head coaching debut for the 51-year-old Schottenheimer, a well-traveled career assistant coach with stops including USC, the San Diego Chargers and two stints with the St. Louis Rams. He spent the past two years as Dallas' offensive coordinator before becoming Jerry Jones' surprising choice to replace Mike McCarthy last January. Although he has no intention of showing much of his offensive tendencies in the preseason to start his first year as Dallas' play-caller, Schottenheimer got right to work in the other privileges of his new job: He unsuccessfully challenged a sideline catch by the Rams' Xavier Smith on a 39-yard pass from Bennett on the game's opening drive. Lamb didn't stay out of the action entirely despite being in street clothes: He got a penalty in the second quarter when an official ran into him as he strayed into the white paint on the sideline. Lamb was floored, but got up laughing. Cowboys: Three more practices in Oxnard before heading home to host Baltimore next Saturday. Rams: A joint practice with the Chargers on Wednesday before facing their crosstown rivals next Saturday. ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rams fans react to Stetson Bennett's first 2025 preseason game
Stetson Bennett had a great start to the 2025 season in the Los Angeles Rams' 31-21 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night. The third-year quarterback out of Georgia led five scoring drives Saturday night, including two fourth-quarter possessions where he threw a passing touchdown. He also opened the game with two scoring drives that ended with Blake Corum rushing touchdowns and finished with 188 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and one interception on 16-of-24 attempts. While it's just the preseason, Bennett's performance was encouraging, following two subpar seasons since the Rams selected him in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He missed his rookie year after being placed on the reserve/non-football illness list and then had a bad preseason in 2024 before he sat the bench as the team's third-stringer. But the hype has grown all offseason around Bennett's development in the offense and growth as a player and as a person. This was a glimpse of his potential in the NFL, and Rams fans loved to see it. Here are some reactions from Rams fans on X about Bennett's performance. This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams preseason: Fans react to Stetson Bennett's first game
CBS News
19 hours ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Stetson Bennett throws 2 TD passes, looks sharp in Rams' 31-21 preseason victory over Cowboys
Stetson Bennett passed for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a strong start to the preseason, leading the Los Angeles Rams to a 31-21 victory over the Cowboys on Saturday night in new Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer's debut. Blake Corum rushed for short TDs to cap the Rams' first two offensive drives behind Bennett, the two-time national champion at the University of Georgia attempting to secure his job as the Rams' third-string quarterback for another season. Looking much sharper than he did a year ago against the Cowboys, Bennett went 16 for 24 and hit Cody Schrader and Brennan Presley for touchdowns in the second half. Bennett's only interception resulted from an exceptional play made by Dallas' Israel Mukuamu on a long pass. Joe Milton passed for 143 yards before injuring his elbow in the fourth quarter of a solid debut with the Cowboys, throwing a touchdown pass to Rivaldo Fairweather with 8:48 to play. The second-year pro, who had one interception while going 17 for 29, is looking to cement his job as Dak Prescott's backup. Will Grier replaced Milton for the final series and rushed for a TD with 2:31 left. Both teams rested as many key players as possible, with Prescott and CeeDee Lamb headlining a host of Cowboys starters on the sideline. Micah Parsons attended the game with his Dallas teammates even after requesting a trade last week during his seemingly interminable contract negotiations with owner Jerry Jones. The Rams didn't even play second-string quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo — but Matthew Stafford, who didn't participate in training camp due to a back injury, went through a lengthy workout before the game ahead of his anticipated return to practice Monday. Schrader rushed for 59 yards for Los Angeles, while rookie Jarquez Hunter had 41 yards and Corum added 32. The game was largely cordial after the Cowboys hosted the Rams four days ago for a joint practice during Dallas' annual training camp in Oxnard, California. The game was the head coaching debut for the 51-year-old Schottenheimer, a well-traveled career assistant coach with stops including USC, the San Diego Chargers and two stints with the St. Louis Rams. He spent the past two years as Dallas' offensive coordinator before becoming Jerry Jones' surprising choice to replace Mike McCarthy last January. Although he has no intention of showing much of his offensive tendencies in the preseason to start his first year as Dallas' play-caller, Schottenheimer got right to work in the other privileges of his new job: He unsuccessfully challenged a sideline catch by the Rams' Xavier Smith on a 39-yard pass from Bennett on the game's opening drive. Lamb didn't stay out of the action entirely despite being in street clothes: He got a penalty in the second quarter when an official ran into him as he strayed into the white paint on the sideline. Lamb was floored, but got up laughing. Cowboys: Three more practices in Oxnard before heading home to host Baltimore next Saturday. Rams: A joint practice with the Chargers on Wednesday before facing their crosstown rivals next Saturday.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rams OC Mike LaFleur explains how QB Stetson Bennett has 'grown up so much'
One of the biggest areas of intrigue in the Los Angeles Rams roster is the progression of backup quarterback Stetson Bennett. The former two-time college football national champion and 2023 fourth-round pick hasn't seen any NFL action after being away from the team his entire rookie season and sitting behind Jimmy Garoppolo in 2024. This year, though, the Rams have reportedly seen a lot of growth from Bennett as he looks to cement himself as the clear QB3 on the roster behind Matthew Stafford and Garoppolo. Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur praised Bennett for the progress he's made over the past two years and noted that he's "in such a good spot mentally," too. "He's grown up so much. He's in such a good spot mentally," LaFleur said at training camp. "He's had great command of the huddle compared to what it used to be, but what I think is even better is when that ball snaps, he's just playing so fast. He has a knack, you can see it from his college film, and it's coming through here in year three. He has a knack of space and feeling space, when to speed up his drops and when to tempo it down. What's been most impressive, particularly the first few days when he was going against the one defense a lot, that pocket is collapsed and he just knows where his outlets are. Hey, don't make a bad play worse. He's done a great job of that. He continues to stack days. He's going to get a lot of ops in the preseason, which will be great for him.' Bennett hasn't been that great when he's seen the field, though. He passed for 784 yards, three touchdowns and eight interceptions in five preseason games over the past two years. It's just the preseason, but those numbers aren't going to cut it in the NFL. But with another full offseason and season to learn under Stafford, Garoppolo and Sean McVay, Bennett could develop into a more serviceable quarterback for the Rams' future. The Rams don't need Bennett to be good this year — or even next year. But they'd like to see him on the field in the preseason more to properly evaluate if he could be an heir to Stafford in the coming years. And while they'd love to see Stafford out there practicing (he's currently nursing a back injury), the extra reps for Bennett behind Garoppolo will certainly be helpful in his long-term development. This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams OC explains how QB Stetson Bennett has 'grown up so much'
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Stetson Bennett throws 2 TD passes, looks sharp in Rams' 31-21 preseason victory over Cowboys
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Stetson Bennett passed for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a strong start to the preseason, leading the Los Angeles Rams to a 31-21 victory over the Cowboys on Saturday night in new Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer's debut. Blake Corum rushed for short TDs to cap the Rams' first two offensive drives behind Bennett, the two-time national champion at the University of Georgia attempting to secure his job as the Rams' third-string quarterback for another season. Looking much sharper than he did a year ago against the Cowboys, Bennett went 16 for 24 and hit Cody Schrader and Brennan Presley for touchdowns in the second half. Bennett's only interception resulted from an exceptional play made by Dallas' Israel Mukuamu on a long pass. Joe Milton passed for 143 yards before injuring his elbow in the fourth quarter of a solid debut with the Cowboys, throwing a touchdown pass to Rivaldo Fairweather with 8:48 to play. The second-year pro, who had one interception while going 17 for 29, is looking to cement his job as Dak Prescott's backup. Will Grier replaced Milton for the final series and rushed for a TD with 2:31 left. Both teams rested as many key players as possible, with Prescott and CeeDee Lamb headlining a host of Cowboys starters on the sideline. Micah Parsons attended the game with his Dallas teammates even after requesting a trade last week during his seemingly interminable contract negotiations with owner Jerry Jones. The Rams didn't even play second-string quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo — but Matthew Stafford, who didn't participate in training camp due to a back injury, went through a lengthy workout before the game ahead of his anticipated return to practice Monday. Schrader rushed for 59 yards for Los Angeles, while rookie Jarquez Hunter had 41 yards and Corum added 32. The game was largely cordial after the Cowboys hosted the Rams four days ago for a joint practice during Dallas' annual training camp in Oxnard, California. Schotty starts The game was the head coaching debut for the 51-year-old Schottenheimer, a well-traveled career assistant coach with stops including USC, the San Diego Chargers and two stints with the St. Louis Rams. He spent the past two years as Dallas' offensive coordinator before becoming Jerry Jones' surprising choice to replace Mike McCarthy last January. Although he has no intention of showing much of his offensive tendencies in the preseason to start his first year as Dallas' play-caller, Schottenheimer got right to work in the other privileges of his new job: He unsuccessfully challenged a sideline catch by the Rams' Xavier Smith on a 39-yard pass from Bennett on the game's opening drive. Offensive interference Lamb didn't stay out of the action entirely despite being in street clothes: He got a penalty in the second quarter when an official ran into him as he strayed into the white paint on the sideline. Lamb was floored, but got up laughing. Up next Cowboys: Three more practices in Oxnard before heading home to host Baltimore next Saturday. Rams: A joint practice with the Chargers on Wednesday before facing their crosstown rivals next Saturday. ___ AP NFL:
