On Saturday, the LA Rams and the LA Chargers quietly played out a 21-19 exhibition game that will be remembered as the first time these new LA-city rivals went head-to-head.
That monumental occurrence was met with a half-full stadium and a number of Rams' regulars not dressing, including key defensive players like Alec Ogletree, Michael Brockers, Robert Quinn and, of course, contract hold out Aaron Donald.
At kickoff, one could find several blocks of tickets selling for only $6 on Stubhub. Officially, 58,561 tickets were distributed, though one could have made the argument that the number of tickets used was significantly lower than that generous total.
Down the road, the LA Dodgers were back in town. For those sports fans not going to the ball park for a regular season game, flocks of sports fans were gathering at evening watch parties for the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.
Somewhere in Saturday's sports mayhem, LA's two newest NFL neighbors met for the first time at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was an exhibition, so the lessons to take away from this game should be taken with an extra thick grain of sea salt.
All that said, two players stood out in this game for opposite reasons: Jared Goff and Philip Rivers.
Goff made errors that, if repeated, could cost the Rams games in the regular season, which made the former Cal quarterback's week old performance in Oakland against Derek Carr seem like ancient history.
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Against the Chargers, Goff held the ball too long and got stripped, leading to linebacker Melvin Ingram going on an entertaining 76-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. On the next drive, Goff threw an interception. That turnover resulted in a touchdown, too.
Seemingly, LA Rams coach Sean McVay decided to give the quarterback a break at that stage. On the following possession, the Rams ran nine straight running plays, before Goff completed one of two pass attempts and came up short in a 3rd and long situation on that completion. He exited the game with five completions on eight attempts for 56 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and a lost fumble.
Goff's poor performance was further magnified by LA's other starting quarterback looking crispier than a bowl of corn flakes without milk. Rivers completed all six of his passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. When Rivers punched out his time card for the day, the Chargers led 21-0, and it was still only the first quarter. The 35-year-old left the game erasing any doubt in the debate over LA's best quarterback.
Both teams went to back ups relatively early, and four field goals and a touchdown over the final three quarters for the Rams ultimately led to a 21-19 narrow defeat for the home team.
While Goff's struggles deserve a fair bit of scrutiny, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who seems to have an unmistakable natural connection with Goff, did not dress for the game. Receiver and all-around athlete Tavon Austin, along with receivers Nelson Spruce and Michael Thomas, also did not dress for Saturday's game game. Further, running back Todd Gurley II watched the exhibition game in street clothes.
So, even though Goff may have struggled, he came into the game missing key offensive weapons.
"I thought his demeanor, the way that he handled it, was good," McVay said after the game, after describing Goff's errors in detail.
A common thread in preseason, the Rams played the majority of the game with backup quarterback Sean Mannion. The former Oregon State Beaver came into the game and methodically, slowly lead the Rams back from the ashes. Mannion finished the night with 16 completions on 29 passing attempts for 214 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He did fumbled the ball once, but the Rams recovered.
Pharoh Cooper led the Rams' receiving corps with five receptions for 70 yards, though rookie Josh Reynolds caught the 38-yard touchdown pass from Mannion. Travis Benjamin caught the Chargers' only touchdown pass of the night on a 45-yard pass, and that proved to be the receiver's only catch of the night. Keenan Allen led the Chargers with five receptions and tied Benjamin for 45 yards on the night.
With Gurley out, Malcolm Brown shouldered nine of the 20 Rams' rushing plays on the night, and the 24-year-old finished with 44 of the Rams' 65 rushing yards in the game. The Chargers rushed for 106 yards, with Melvin Gordon rushing eight times at an average of 4.5 yards per carry, with a touchdown. Austin Ekeler took the hand off seven times and averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein continued to show his strong leg with a 57-yard field goal to end the first half, as the 29-year-old made all three of his attempts on the day.
Next, the LA Rams conclude the preseason in Green Bay on Aug 31 before returning home to start the season against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 10 at the LA Memorial Coliseum.
The Chargers finish their preseason on up in the Bay Area against the San Francisco 49ers. LA's newest NFL team will play its first home game at the StubHub Center on Sept. 17 against Jay Cutler and the Miami Dolphins.
