Los Angeles Rams 28, Dallas Cowboys 24: Preseason Game 1 Recap

Well...that was fun.

NFL football returned to Los Angeles, and in terms of talking points, it didn’t disappoint.

The Rams played horribly initially and then settled into the game. After Case Keenum got his requisite playing time (14 snaps as opposed to Fisher’s "15" that he indicated mid-week), Jared Goff took over. Promised to work through the third quarter, he struggled in the second with poor protection and some drops from his targets aside from TE Tyler Higbee.

So leading the team in the second half...was QB Sean Mannion.

In terms of overall talking points, that’s 1A. Jared Goff got shut down halfway through his expected playing time, and...well, let’s see what we get on that front.

In terms of stock up? TE Tyler Higbee. WR Nelson Spruce. The question is how much they were stressed in the gameplan as the #2 and #...well what was Spruce, #5 tonight? In any case, they’re both likely headed up a slot.

And that’s perhaps my biggest takeaway.

The depth chart got condensed tonight. Big time.

The top of the roster? Not pretty. Drops. Misexecution. Any time you head to halftime down 24-7, things aren’t good. The back end of the roster, thanks to Spruce and some impressive game management from Mannion, played well. It’s why we ended up with the W.

My favorite takeaway? Los Angeles came off looking really good. The crowd showed up, though let’s be real...Dallas Cowboys fans travel well, and having training camp an hour up the road helps. But LA shined tonight as the fans packed the Coliseum, stayed through a preseason game second half and helped motivate the comeback from the Rams’ depth.

And so, we head toward Preseason Week 2, the Ex-Governor’s Cup matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.

In between? Five practices (one which won’t be public for the fans), Tuesday night’s Hard Knocks episode...and a hell of a lot of decisions to make.