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Dawgs in the NFL: Stetson Bennett shines in preseason debut

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•08/13/23•

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Week 1 of the NFL preseason is all but in the books, and Georgia Bulldogs were in action all across the league. Saturday night brought about the debut for the three new Philadelphia Eagles’ defenders against former Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken. If you kept your TV on the same channel, that went right into Stetson Bennett returning to SoFi Stadium, the site of the 2023 National Championship Game, for his debut with the Los Angeles Rams, one that went very well and was reminiscent in a way to the last time he took that field.

Bennett, listed on the Rams’ depth chart as the third string quarterback, took over in the second quarter and got his team on the board just before halftime. Finding fellow rookie Puka Nacua for an 11-yard strike on 3rd and Goal to cap off a 16-play, 75-yard drive, Bennett was just getting started.

Bennett played the entirety of the second half and led the Rams on two more scoring drives, plus one that resulted in a missed field goal from the 28-yard line. His 7-play, 64-yard touchdown drive featured a three first down completions, picking up 17, 12 and 19 yards on back-to-back-to-back plays.

While the Rams didn’t quite come out on top in a matchup that featured seven players that took the field back in January for the National Championship Game, also including former TCU quarterback Max Duggan for the Chargers, Bennett finished the night 17-of-29 for 191 yards and the touchdown.

“I thought he did a nice job,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said about Bennett’s day. “You know, there were some tough situations where you could see the athleticism with his escapes. I thought the one scoring drive where Royce (Freeman) ended up punching it in he was able to get into a rhythm … I thought he did a good job of being able to exhaust some of his progressions. I think I saw him lean over to me and give the money sign after one of his scrambles, you guys will have to ask him about that.”

“You could see, it was a step in the right direction, and then there were a couple of decisions where, a couple of plays before he ends up doing a great job hitting Puka on the touchdown he kind of got away with one making an errant throw over the middle. Those are where in real games, a lot of times they make you pay and you don’t get another opportunity to finish that drive off. I thought there were a lot of good opportunities for him to be able to learn from, and you could see some of the things that excite us about him.”

Bennett agreed with the assessment McVay gave on him settling in as the game went along.

“I know it’s a preseason game, but it’s the first NFL game you’re playing in. You’re going to come in and be a little nervous trying ton make a play sometimes when plays aren’t there. But then as we started to groove, started calling plays, I just started to settle in – once you get hit first, honestly,” Bennett said. “I thought it was alright. There were some boneheaded plays that I made and some good plays that I made. I thought we bounced back a few times after some lost yardage plays, did pretty good on third downs, didn’t turn the ball over even though I tried to a few times. Gotta clean that up a little bit. I thought it was alright, but it’s hard to say without watching the tape.”

As for the EagleDawgs before Bennett, Jalen Carter also made an early impression. On his first snap, a Ravens third down, Carter came up with a quarterback hurry. He beat fellow Bulldog Ben Cleveland on the rush and was able to get to Josh Johnson to force the throwaway. Right beside him on the near takedown, his college teammate Nolan Smith.

“I’ve been playing football all my life, so you know it’s been a moment I’ve just been waiting for,” Carter said. “I was just doing my normal thing rushing, and I felt the guard’s presence to my left heavy and I made an inside move … Thought that was pretty awesome. I plan on doing that more.”

“He is working hard every day, and he’s had some really nice plays,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said on Carter’s performance. “He’s very talented, and he’s just got to keep working. He still has yet to make a play in the NFL, so he’s just got to put his head down and work. But he’s put some nice practices back-to-back – back-to-back-to-back, actually, so he’s just got put his head down and keep working.”

Neither Carter nor Smith recorded a tackle. Cornerback Kelee Ringo had one to go along with a pass defended. Meanwhile, on the offensive side of the ball, running back D’Andre Swift showed what he was capable of with a nice 22-yard run that featured his signature dead leg.

News and Notes…

  • Lewis Cine made his return to the field after a leg injury ended his rookie season last year. Cine had three tackles in the Minnesota Vikings’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
  • Channing Tindall led the Miami Dolphins in tackles with 10 stops including a sack in a 19-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
  • Darnell Washington had one catch for nine yards in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His Georgia teammate George Pickens also had a grab, a 33-yard touchdown as he gets his second year underway.
  • Kearis Jackson recorded a pair of catches with the Tennessee Titans on Saturday against the Chicago Bears. His 25-yard grab was the second longest of the game for Tennessee, one of two catches he had on three targets.
  • James Cook, like Pickens, is getting his second season off to a strong start with a rushing touchdown. Cook carried it four times for 20 yards before giving way to the Buffalo Bills’ backups in a 23-19 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

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