Raiders 17, Rams 16: QB Bryce Perkins Shows Growth

The Los Angeles Rams didn't run up the scoreboard on Saturday night, but it wasn’t because of quarterback Bryce Perkins. As a result, the Rams fell by the final score of 17-16 to the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

During a dark and rainy joint practice with the Raiders on Wednesday, starting quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams' offense struggled. On Saturday night the Stafford-less offense still just put up 16 points but Perkins showed flashes of what he can do with his dual-threat potential.

Perkins had a good night throwing the ball, but that failed to translate to the scoreboard. He threw a nice nine-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to tight end Kendall Blanton in the second quarter and a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jacob Harris in the fourth quarter near the end of the game.

The Harris touchdown gave the Rams a chance to tie the game. But head coach Sean McVay decided to instead go for the win and was unsuccessful when the two-point conversion pass from Perkins to Harris fell incomplete. Overall, Perkins went 26-for-39 for 208 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception.

Five players combined to carry the ball 24 times for 118 yards, good for 4.9 yards per carry. Rookie Jake Funk led the way with 56 yards. Funk averaged eight yards per carry on his seven carries.

The Rams averaged 120 or more rushing yards per game in each of the three seasons in which they made the playoffs under Rams head coach Sean McVay. In 2019, the Rams averaged 93.7 yards per game and missed playoffs.

The air attack wasn't terrible, with seven players combining to catch 26 passes for 208 yards, led by J.J. Koski with 8 catches for 61 yards. But the two touchdown passes by Perkins were not enough.

On the defensive side of the ball, rookie linebacker Chris Garrett was the star of the show.

The 2021 seventh-round pick out of Concordia contributed all over the field. In the second quarter alone, Garrett had a 6-yard tackle for loss, a half-sack shared with defensive lineman Jonah Williams defended a pass, and forced a strip-sack of Raiders quarterback Nathan Peterman, forcing a Raiders punt.

Garrett was expected to contribute on special teams this season but has shown the ability to beat offensive linemen off the ball and meet quarterbacks and running backs in the backfield.

It's preseason, and the final score Saturday night is not important. But things that McVay and company can take away from the game are the progress seen on defense, and the offense failing to score points. It's possible a healthy Stafford will be part of the offense's solution there for the regular season.

The Rams next visit Empower Field at Mile High to play the Denver Broncos at 6:05 p.m. PST.

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