Rams Rally After Slow Start vs. Raiders
The Los Angeles Rams fought back after early defensive struggles to trim an early 10-point deficit, but two late scores by the Las Vegas Raiders helped lengthen their lead to 20-10 at halftime Saturday at SoFi Stadium.
A 50-yard pick-six by Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao late in the first half broke the 10-10 tie and was the first interception thrown by Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett this preseason.
The Rams went three-and-out and Raiders quarterback Brian Hoyer completed consecutive passes to wide receiver Phillip Dorsett for a total of 60 yards. An offensive pass interference killed Las Vegas' chances at a touchdown, as kicker Daniel Carlson knocked through his second field goal of the half as time expired in the second quarter.
Hoyer was 12-of-22 for 144 yards and an interception in the first half.
The Rams started to claw back after a 10-0 deficit, as Bennett went 5-for-6 with 65 yards on the second drive of the game. The drive later stalled, and despite head coach Sean McVay saying on the ABC7 broadcast that he considered going for it on fourth-and-3, Tanner Brown knocked through a 25-yard chip shot to get the Rams on the board.
Bennett finished the first half 7-for-14 with 75 yards with an interception.
Los Angeles caught a break on special teams with a muffed kickoff that was returned to the Raiders' 10-yard line, but two plays later, Hoyer threw an interception right to linebacker Jake Hummel whose 21-yard touchdown tied the game at 10 with just under nine minutes to go in the second quarter.
On the opening drive of the game, the Raiders marched 68 yards down the field on nine plays capped off with a 7-yard touchdown rush by Brandon Bolden. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo completed all four of his pass attempts for 10, eight, 18 and three yards in his one drive of work.
After allowing an 81-yard punt return touchdown last week against the Chargers, DeAndre Carter nearly broke the second in as many weeks. His 31-yard return, coupled with a 15-yard block-below-the-waist penalty helped set up kicker Daniel Carlson's 46-yard field goal make to extend Las Vegas' lead to 10-0.
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