Stetson Bennett Was Mostly Disastrous In Return To Rams But Somehow Became A Hero

One of the strangest stories of the last NFL season surrounded Los Angeles Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett. 

The Rams drafted Bennett in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft after he led the Georgia Bulldogs to a second-straight national championship victory. 

Bennett played during the preseason last year for the Rams, and he didn't perform particularly well. 

In fact, Pro Football Focus (PFF) rated Bennett as the worst quarterback to play in the 2023 NFL preseason. 

Not just the worst rookie QB; literally, not one of the 69 other quarterbacks in the league played worse during last year's preseason. 

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett joined the team on the field for the first time in a year, and he played unbelievably poorly.

(Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports)

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the team placed him on the reserve/non-football illness list in September, and he did not dress for any regular season games.

During his absence, head coach Sean McVay delivered cryptic messages about the rookie's status. 

After he returned to the team this off-season, general manager Les Snead said Bennett was "refreshed" thanks to his "break" from football. 

Bennett later agreed with a reporter who asked if he needed the break "for mental health reasons. 

He's expected to serve as the team's third-string quarterback behind veterans Matthew Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo, although Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of the season. 

Stetson Bennett takes the field with the Los Angeles Rams for the first time in nearly a year on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. 

Well, the second-year quarterback officially returned to the field on Sunday, starting for the Rams against the Dallas Cowboys in their preseason opener. 

Bennett played the entire game for Los Angeles and … it was almost a complete disaster. The Rams scored 13 points on their nine drives with him under center – and four of them ended with terrible interceptions. 

The first was picked by Cowboys' defender Markquese Bell after Bennett overthrew his intended receiver by a WIDE margin. In addition, the receiver wasn't even close to being open in the first place. 

A bad decision plus a bad throw almost always means a bad result. 

Toward the end of the first half, Bennett and the Rams were threatening to add points and had the ball in field goal range. 

But again, Bennett made a terrible decision and a terrible throw that was easily intercepted by Cowboys' defender Eric Scott. 

Then, he threw his third interception of the game on the first play of the team's second drive in the third quarter. 

Stop me if you've heard this before, but Bennett made a bad decision to throw into double coverage and a bad throw that was outside the reach of his receiver. 

He wasn't done yet, though. After Dallas took a 9-6 lead on a field goal, the Rams got the ball back late in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie or take the lead. 

Once again, Bennett threw the ball right to a Cowboys player. Brock Mogensen became the fourth Dallas defender to catch a pass from the Rams' second-year signal-caller. 

Believe it or not, the Rams got the ball back one last time – after the Cowboys kicked another field goal to make it 12-6 – and Bennett still had an opportunity to be a hero. 

Thankfully for Bennett and the Rams, they were facing a Dallas offense led by San Francisco 49ers cast-off Trey Lance, and they couldn't really score much, either. 

Bennett actually threw ANOTHER interception on the final drive, but was bailed out by a defensive holding call on a fourth-and-9. 

The QB and the Rams' offense managed to drive the ball inside the 10-yard line, needing a touchdown and a successful extra point to win the game. 

Against all odds, Stetson Bennett threw a game-winning touchdown pass on a fourth-and-goal to salvage what was an otherwise horrendous performance. 

This was the fourth preseason game for Bennett in his NFL career, and he has thrown more than three times as many interceptions (seven) as touchdown passes (two). 

There's still time for Bennett to figure it out as a professional quarterback, but he began his NFL career at an advanced age (thanks to the extra COVID year in college football) and turns 27 in October. 

He'll go down in history as a terrific college football quarterback and two-time national champion. 

But it doesn't seem like NFL success is likely to follow.