The Rams lost 17-15 to the Texans on Saturday afternoon in Houston, but there were still interesting statistical trends to observe.
Before the game, head coach Sean McVay confirmed that Stetson Bennett will be the backup quarterback for the first two weeks of the season while Jimmy Garoppolo serves his suspension. So, after leading the league in passing through two games, Bennett sat while Dresser Winn got his first professional action.
Here are five interesting stats from the preseason finale:
Zach Evans' two rushing touchdowns tied him for the preseason lead
Evans didn't score in either of the first two preseason games, despite receiving a heavy workload. But on Saturday, in his hometown, Evans scored both of the Rams’ touchdowns, throwing up two fingers in celebration after the second. No player has rushed for more than two scores this preseason.
Among the players with two rushing touchdowns, Evans has the third-most rushing yards (135) and the most carries (42).
Rams pound the rock, running on 68% of plays
The Rams ran the ball on 34 of their 50 offensive plays against Houston, totaling 121 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Evans led the way, but Boston Scott (34 yards) and Winn (20 yards) also made an impact.
This comes a week after they had a near 50-50 split. With Bennett under center, the Rams threw the ball 31 times compared to 30 rushes. They gave their running backs a lot more work this weekend with roster cuts on the horizon.
On Sunday, the Rams released the veteran Scott, paving the way for Evans to potentially make the 53-man roster, which will be finalized on Tuesday.
WR Xavier Smith had more all-purpose yards (73) than the Rams had passing yards
Xavier Smith was all over the field on Saturday. His four catches yielded 34 yards, he rushed for 16 yards on three carries and had a shifty punt return that went for 23 yards. Overall, that's 73 all-purpose yards. Winn threw for 72 yards in the air.
Smith is a second-year speedster out of Florida A&M who's shown promise as a rusher and receiver. But he's displayed even more dangerous potential as a return man. Smith's 24.3-yard punt return average ranks fourth in the preseason. After the game, McVay said Smith was a captain for the preseason finale and was impressed with his performance.
"He's fielded the ball well," McVay said. "He's made good decisions."
Omar Speights still leads the Rams with three tackles for loss despite not playing on Saturday
On the Rams' ABC broadcast, general manager Les Snead confirmed that Speights, an undrafted rookie linebacker, had already shown enough to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. He even went so far as to say they "could be relying on him on Sunday Night Football," in Week 1.
Speights put on a defensive clinic through the first two weeks, totaling 11 tackles, eight of which were solo and three of which went for losses. He didn't miss a single tackle, and his eight defensive stops ranked second in the preseason entering this weekend, per Pro Football Focus, and are now tied for first on the Rams with Elias Neal.
Neal took the team lead in preseason tackles (15) with impact performance
Neal registered seven total tackles on Saturday, adding a pass defended and fumble recovery on special teams. The rookie linebacker out of Marshall put on quite the show with Speights out of the lineup. Four of his tackles on Saturday were deemed stops by PFF.
Both Neal and Speights have made highlight-reel plays on special teams in addition to their significant defensive contributions. These Rams' undrafted linebackers have been the stars of the preseason.
