Former Georgia star Stetson Bennett gets game ‘ball’ for stellar preseason showing
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Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett always had a knack for simply finding a way to win when he was calling the shots in Athens.
Bennett led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 before he was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 4th round of the 2023 draft. Now, in his 3rd season with the team, he’s doing the same thing at the NFL level. Sure, it’s only preseason, but Bennett continued his torrid performance this month on Saturday night in a 23-22 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, the team that shares SoFi Stadium with the Rams.
Not only did Bennett throw for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns with just 1 interception while throwing an astounding 40 times, a huge number for a preseason game. He completed 28 of those attempts, by the way, and the most important one was the last one, with 5 seconds left, when Bennett found Tru Edwards for an 8-yard touchdown pass to give the Rams the 23-22 lead that became the final score.
So, not only did Bennett lead a dramatic victory, even though it was just preseason, he also showed that flair for the dramatic and clutch gene that he flashed so many times in helping Georgia to glory. His passer rating on Saturday night was 108.8, which followed last week’s strong showing in a 31-21 win over the Dallas Cowboys when he had 188 yards passing and 2 TDs for a 100.7 passer rating.
After Saturday’s game, amid the celebration in the locker room, Rams acting head coach Aubrey Pleasant gave Bennett the game “ball” of sorts, even though it wasn’t technically a ball. Pleasant was filling in for head coach Sean McVay.
“Hell of a win, way to fight to the finish,” yelled Bennett amid the revelry after he was given his unique reward.
Here is the video of Bennett being rewarded for his preseason brilliance by Pleasant:
This might not be just a cozy preseason story, either, with Bennett. With starter Matthew Stafford dealing with a back injury this preseason and his status uncertain, there’s a possibility that Bennett could see playing time when the real games begin in a few weeks.
Saturday night once again served notice that the former Georgia star will be ready if he does get called on in September.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
