Stetson Bennett ran for two touchdowns and led four scoring drives. The Rams shut out the Saints 34-0. Preseason football is usually dismissed as a glorified practice, but what Bennett did Thursday night wasn't practice. It was production.
The Rams' defense deserves a share of the credit. New Orleans didn't score once. That's a shutout, regardless of the calendar. The defense lined up and took away everything. The Saints' point total was zero. That is the sort of clean performance that carries into September.
Bennett, though, is the headline. Four scoring drives. Two of them finished with him in the end zone. This wasn't checkdowns and field goals. He put the ball in the end zone with his legs. That's a real dimension, and it changes how a defense has to prepare.
The standard August caveat applies: the Saints were likely not game-planning. But Bennett wasn't playing against air. He executed. He led. He scored. The Rams asked him to go make plays against a live defense, and he did.
The contenders will say it's just preseason. They'll say the score doesn't carry over. That is true for many players. But for a backup quarterback pushing for a bigger role, a night like this is exactly the résumé he needs. Bennett did not just manage the game. He took the ball and finished. That is not a fluke.
The Rams are better for it. The backup spot looks more settled. The Saints, meanwhile, have questions. A zero-point night in any exhibition is a bad night.
My verdict: Bennett's performance matters because it was assertive. He didn't wait for the game to come to him. That is a trait you can build a season on. The Rams found something that wasn't there before the kickoff.