– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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LOS ANGELES — Though the length of Justin Herbert’s time on the field on Saturday night was all but akin to the time someone has to see a shooting star in the sky, his presence on the field during a preseason game, heretofore nonexistent, officially won’t be as rare as spotting Halley’s Comet.
The battle for Los Angeles started with a little bit of history and ended with a whole lot of drama, as the Rams scored a touchdown with five seconds remaining in defeating the Chargers 23-22 inside SoFi Stadium on Saturday night.
Regardless of the result, the Chargers earned a win after seeing Herbert, who had never played in a preseason game in his now six-year professional career, break that inactive streak tonight and come out of the game unscathed. Wanting to recreate feeling a pass rush and performing through that before the start of the regular season, Herbert completed two of his five passes, with his first connection to top wide receiver Ladd McConkey over the middle on the Chargers’ first drive.
Later in the drive, however, one of his other top receivers, Quentin Johnston, took a hit from Rams safety Tanner Ingle while running a deep route on a Herbert pass down the Rams’ sideline. Johnston, who had 55 catches for 711 yards and eight touchdowns last season, landed flat on his back with both arms outstretched, staying motionless for several moments. The Rams’ medical staff rushed to him first and immediately signaled for help.
“Quentin suffered a concussion, and that’s never a good thing,” Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “But the way it looked there at the time, looked like it could have a been a lot worse. And he was taken [to a hospital] for more evaluation, but he was talking. He remembered the play. He was moving good. So in that way, it’s a good thing.”
The Rams’ star quarterback, Matthew Stafford, usually has not played in the preseason during his time in Los Angeles, and his recurring issue with his back will be something to monitor as the team attempts to nurse the 17-year veteran through another season. Stetson Bennett IV saw the lion’s share of work at quarterback in an attempt to nail down the No. 2 role behind Stafford, and the former Georgia Bulldog — just like Stafford — completed 28 of his 40 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns, the last of which coming from eight yards out with five seconds to go to seal the victory.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by staff photographer Phillip Peters. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 44 pictures in total.
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