Rams running back Todd Gurley and defensive end Robert Quinn also did not play, but a crowd of 89,140 saw Cowboys wide receiver Lucky Whitehead score on a 101-yard kick return to welcome the National Football League back to Southern California after a 22-year absence.
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After that, the Cowboys put their focus back on Prescott and Showers.
“The crowd is wonderful, big turnout”, Rams linebacker Cameron Lynch said.
LOS ANGELES – The highlights for Dak Prescott from Saturday’s preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams are obvious.
When the regular season rolls around in September, though, the Rams will take over the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sundays and Mondays only. Because Prescott is a rookie, he didn’t dress near Romo or Jameill Showers, so Linehan had to step over and around players and equipment to get to him. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was impressive completing 10 of his 12 passes for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers played just one series and connected with Melvin Gordon on a 44-yard touchdown.
The Rams, with quarterback Case Keenum getting the start, led the team on a drive that culminated with a 14-yard touchdown run by Benny Cunningham with 1:33 left in the first quarter.
“It was a great evening”, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said.
Unfortunately for the No. 1 overall pick, it wasn’t pretty.
NFL Preseason football is effectively a practice game, so coaches work hard to get in backups and try to set the depth chart. Chaz Green, however, did a decent job in with the first team (starting in place of Tyron Smith) and only really drew notice with a couple of penalties later in the game, both of which were questionable, and he did start to wear down (he played the entire game) and get beat late in the game.
After a running play and a forced-attempt incomplete pass, Goff faced a third-down blitz, at least for a couple seconds. Goff completed four-of-nine passes for 38 yards.
Another player who we’ve been loving on all offseason is Higbee.
Not the way the Rams and rookie quarterback Jared Goff envisioned his debut.
Sean Mannion who is now the third string quarterback on the Rams’ depth chart, played arguably the best game of all three quarterbacks. Prescott only threw 23 interceptions in college against 70 touchdown passes in 4 years.
The Pro Bowl receiver leaped over the back of the corner and caught the ball as if he were picking cherries off of a tree. At that point, the Rams took a 28-24 lead, which would be the final score. Mannion finished 18/25 with 147 Yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception.
The Rams are entering this season with a new home and new quarterback.
The Rams have lots of questions in their roster to answer and just a few games in the preseason to figure things out before everything counts.
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There’s a longer list of fans, judging by the cars on the 110, the 10 and every road in between Saturday night, who will be there to watch that list get narrowed.
