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Rams, Sean Mannion show improvement in 19-15 win against Oakland

By Steve Rivera

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 18: John Kelly #42 of the Los Angeles Rams eludes Antonio Hamilton #32 of the Oakland Raiders during the first half of a preseason game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 18: John Kelly #42 of the Los Angeles Rams eludes Antonio Hamilton #32 of the Oakland Raiders during the first half of a preseason game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Rams get their first win of the exhibition season, beating the Oakland Raiders 19-15 at the Coliseum.

It wasn’t always pretty, especially early, but the Los Angeles Rams and backup quarterback Sean Mannion found some traction en route to a 19-15 win against the Oakland Raiders at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Mannion, who looked absolutely dreadful last week in a 33-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, was neither good nor bad in 30 minutes of football. He managed to complete 10 passes on 16 attempts for 84 yards, and oversaw the Rams only touchdown on the day when he handed off to rookie John Kelly at the 12:15 mark of the second quarter.

Los Angeles looked markedly better against the Raiders in this Week 2 preseason game. While the offense was able to move the ball into scoring range, they weren’t able to get it into the end zone, instead settling for four field goals on five attempts.

Bottom line, what needed to be accomplished was. The tailspin that Mannion looked to be in may be no more. While the jury may still be out as to his viability as a legitimate backup to starter Jared Goff, head coach Sean McVay looks to have bought himself and the Rams some time to figure this out.

As for third string quarterback Brandon Allen, he may still be in position to push Mannion for the second spot on the depth chart, but his line was pedestrian at best, finishing 6 of 11 for 69 yards and one interception in the second half of LA’s win.

So did McVay see what he needed to from his perceived second string quarterback against Oakland?

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Probably not. That question may not be solved next week either when the Rams play the Houston Texans in the once important “dress rehearsal” game that marks Week 3 of the exhibition season. It’s expected that if fans are to see any starters in uniform and on the field, it will be next week against the Texans.

Either way, Mannion looks to be in better standing than he was at this time last week, but don’t count on this issue being settled just yet.

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