4 surprises I discovered about Rams in halftime of Game 2 that I never expected

It's a new game for the LA Rams, so forget what you thought you know about this team. Or thought you knew. It's Game 2 of the NFL preseason, and the Rams are facing the Los Angeles Chargers. This is a tough test for the Rams team. The Chargers were embarrassed at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks in their first preseason game, falling by a score of 16-3.

The LA Rams won a come-from-behind victory over the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 13-12. While the Rams emerged with a win, the team had plenty of coachable takeaways to learn from in that contest. How would a young team (at least, players who are showing up to play in preseason games) respond in their second preseason contest?

This was not expected to be an easy game. The Rams backups and depth players faced off against a mix of Chargers starters and backups. So what are the early lessons learned about the team in this one? Well, we have 3 quick lessons that we are learning about the Rams roster in the first half of Game 2. They are:

(4) - Stetson Bennett is securing the football

The besieged Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett clearly had a lot of coaching after four interceptions in Game 1. Bennett was 10 of 20 for 96 yards in the first half in this one, plus a run for 1 yards. He was not sacked. While he only completed 50 percent of his passes, the Rams receivers are not exactly getting a lot of separation in this one. When he had to get rid of the football, he threw it away.

And the Rams are moving him around in the pocket to make him more comfortable at throwing the football. So far, so good.

(3) - Rams secondary put up stout pass defense

The Rams secondary has only allowed eight completions out of 13 passes for 85 yards. The Rams have intercepted a pass in this game, a solid pick by undrafted rookie defensive back Jaylen McCollough. The Rams are not playing rookie DB Kamren Kinchens in Game 2, as the team has likely seen enough from him to feel comfortable that he will be a contributor in 2024.

(2) - Rams punting game has alarming performance

The LA Rams punting game is keeping the Chargers in this one. Rams second-year punter Ethan Evans has punted three times for only 101 yards. But Chargers punt returner Jaelen GIll has one punt return for 25 yards. That equates to a net punt average of just 28.7 yards per punt. That is not very impressive.

(1) - Rams winning takeover battle so far

The LA Rams turned the football over four times in Game 1, created no turnovers, but won the game by a score of 13-12. The Rams have two turnovers in this game (an interception and a fumble recovery), but are losing 6-3. How will this game turn out?

Halftime Score

LA Rams 3
Los Angeles Chargers 6

Thanks for reading. Now, back to the game.