Todd Gurley scores in L.A. debut as the Rams beat the Chiefs, 21-20
Sam Farmer, Gary Klein and Lindsey Thiry break down the performance of Jared Goff and Todd Gurley in the Rams’ 21-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in an exhibition game on Aug. 20.
The Rams want to see Jared Goff make strides and become the franchise quarterback they deemed him to be after choosing him with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
Through two exhibition games, Goff has made some noticeable stumbles.
On Saturday night at the Coliseum, Goff tripped and fumbled on his second snap against the Kansas City Chiefs. He fumbled on the final play of his second series.
Goff mixed in several good passes, including a short touchdown pass to running back Malcolm Brown early in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference in a 21-20 exhibition victory.
“I hope to just continue to improve,” Goff said. “I don’t want to set any statistical goals, just continue to improve and feel more comfortable.”
Coach Jeff Fisher said Goff was improving, but the former California standout does not appear to be near ready to start the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, or even challenge for the assignment.
And the Rams still have plenty of problems to fix before they head to Levi’s Stadium on Sept. 12
A week after they thrilled fans in a nearly sold-out stadium last week against the Dallas Cowboys, the Rams played before what appeared to be about half as many in a game that felt like a typical NFL exhibition.
The defense that is supposed to be the team’s strength struggled early for the second consecutive week. The secondary remains a major question mark.
And after committing only two penalties against the Cowboys, they were flagged eight times against the Chiefs.
On the positive side, an offense that ranked last in the NFL in 2015 once again showed signs of improvement.
Starting quarterback Case Keenum engineered two touchdown drives before giving way to Goff early in the second quarter.
Keenum followed last week’s confident and efficient effort against the Cowboys with another strong showing. He completed four of five passes for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps more telling: The fifth-year pro shows no sign of feeling a challenge from Goff.
“He put the ball in the end zone and has a good feel for what we’re doing,” Fisher said. “We’re keeping things simple but he’s making plays.”
The game also marked the season debut of star running back Todd Gurley.
Gurley, the 2015 NFL offensive rookie of the year, rushed for 20 yards and a touchdown in four carries during the first series.
That was it for Gurley, who spent the rest of the night with his helmet off on the sideline.
“I was a little sluggish,” Gurley said at halftime. “I felt like I could’ve done a lot better.”
Goff might feel the same way, though his statistical line looked fine. He played six series and completed eight of 12 passes for 82 yards and the touchdown — and at least two of his passes were dropped.
“Goff is doing a great job,” receiver Tavon Austin said. “Some days he’s going to be all right and some days he’s not going to.
“The good thing about it is he stayed strong in there, he didn’t look down and he kept on moving the team.”
Last week in his debut, Goff played only two series, an appearance that was cut short after he was hit hard twice during his 13-play stint. Goff was hit as he threw a pass that was intercepted and also was sacked on his final play.
But he inspired confidence by drilling a pass through tight coverage, only to have rookie receiver Pharoh Cooper drop the ball.
During practice last week, Goff worked with the first-team offense and bounced back from one of his most inconsistent workouts with one of his best.
But it did not seem to translate against the Chiefs. He came on with 10:01 left in the first half and struggled.
Working from under center, he dropped back and passed to receiver Brian Quick, but the pass fell incomplete. On the next play, Goff dropped back and then attempted to move forward in the pocket. He tripped and fumbled, and the Chiefs recovered at the Rams’ 16-yard yard line.
The Chiefs converted the turnover into a field goal and a 17-14 lead.
“It’s dumb,” Goff said of the play. “Ball security. You have to hold onto the ball there. That’s what the preseason is for and that what the reps are for — to make those mistakes and learn from them.”
Goff’s next series started better. He completed a 10-yard pass to Quick on the second play before Malcolm Brown carried on four consecutive plays to move the ball to the Rams’ 40.
But on third down, Goff moved out of the pocket to elude pressure and rolled toward the left sideline while looking for a receiver. Instead of throwing the ball out of bounds, he held it and was sacked by safety Daniel Sorenson. Goff fumbled the ball out of bounds and the Rams punted.
Meanwhile, former Rams quarterback Nick Foles played well against the team that traded for him before last season, benched him in favor of Keenum and then released him last month in the aftermath of trading up to draft Goff.
Foles came on late in the second quarter in relief of starter Alex Smith and completed 18 of 22 passes for 133 yards.
Last week, the Rams gave up a return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff. Against the Chiefs, Greg Zuerlein kicked the ball out of the end zone for a touchback.
Smith methodically moved the Chiefs down the field with a 13-yard drive that running back Spencer Ware ended with a two-yard touchdown run.
Follow Gary Klein on Twitter @LATimesklein
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