Here are seven takeaways from the Rams’ 17-15 preseason loss to the Houston Texans on Saturday at NRG Stadium.
Stetson Bennett on track to be backup QB
Coach Sean McVay did not take any chances.
With veteran Jimmy Garoppolo suspended by the NFL for the first two games, Bennett was in line to back up Matthew Stafford in the Sept. 8 opener at Detroit. But after the first two preseason games, McVay had not committed to that scenario, saying Bennett was still being evaluated.
McVay, however, apparently made up his mind and kept Bennett out of harm’s way against the Texans.
Read more: More problems for Rams’ offensive line as Alaric Jackson is suspended
Dresser Winn played every snap and completed nine of 16 passes for 72 yards.
The Rams finished the preseason with a 2-1 record.
Bennett led the Rams to victories over the Dallas Cowboys and the Chargers, overcoming turnovers in both games to pass for fourth-quarter touchdowns.
“He’s done what it’s taken to earn his spot,” general manager Les Snead said during the television broadcast.
Alaric Jackson’s suspension puts Warren McClendon Jr. in the offensive tackle rotation
Starting left tackle Alaric Jackson is suspended for the first two games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
“It’s tough news, but we’ve been able to get a lot of depth that we wouldn’t get otherwise,” McVay said during the television broadcast of the game. “So we’re going to keep it moving, and we’ll welcome him back when he’s able to return in Week 3.”
Right tackle Rob Havenstein has been sidelined since early in training camp because of an ankle injury. If Havenstein can play in the opener, veteran Joe Noteboom or McClendon, a second-year pro, will start at left tackle. Regardless, McClendon will start or play a swing tackle role.
That became obvious when McVay kept McClendon sidelined against the Texans.
AJ Arcuri started at left tackle, Conor McDermott at right tackle.
Omar Speights will make the roster
Speights, an undrafted free agent linebacker from Louisiana State, did not play against the Texans.
Snead said during the broadcast that Speights was not only slated to make the 53-man roster, but the game-day roster as well.
“What he’s done…from start to finish the last two games — as of now he’s on the 48,” Snead said. “And we didn’t want to subject him to possible injury because we could be relying on him on ‘Sunday Night Football.’ ”
Xavier Smith not slowing down
Smith continued his impressive preseason by catching four passes for 34 yards. He also rushed for 16 yards.
Smith also returned a punt 23 yards.
In three games, Smith caught nine passes for 78 yards.
Running back Zach Evans finds the end zone
Evans scored on a four-yard run in the second quarter and a three-yard run in the fourth.
His second touchdown pulled the Rams to within 17-15. But he was stopped short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt.
The Texas native, a sixth-round draft pick in 2023, rushed for 45 yards in 14 carries.
Kicker Joshua Karty hits and misses
Karty, a rookie kicker, made his first four field-goal attempts in the preseason before missing a 52-yard attempt against the Chargers.
On Saturday he rebounded by kicking a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter.
But a conversion attempt after Evans’ second-quarter touchdown run bounced off an upright.
Keenum, Akers and Skorownek make it a Rams reunion
Quarterback Case Keenum, the Rams’ starting quarterback when they returned to Los Angeles in 2016, started and completed four of eight passes for 32 yards during the first half.
Running back Cam Akers, who returned from 2021 Achilles surgery to play in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI victory, rushed for 53 yards in seven carries and caught three passes for 19 yards.
Skowronek, also a member of the Super Bowl champion team, caught one pass for four yards.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
