Rams impressed with Perkins’ poise, command of offense in 1-point loss to Raiders

By Jerry Ratcliffe

LA Rams coach Sean McVay’s plan was to divide time between former Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins and Duck Hodges in Saturday night’s preseason game against the Raiders.

Both are vying for the third quarterback position on the Rams roster and are getting lots of time to earn the spot with starter Matthew Stafford and backup John Wolford sitting out the preseason games.

However, Perkins, who was on the LA practice squad last season as a rookie, changed McVay’s mind once he settled in during a 17-16 loss to the Raiders.

Perkins played the entire game.

The former UVA QB started the game, and had to wonder after an early interception if he might get the hook in favor of Hodges, a former backup for the Steelers. McVay felt like the time was right to see what Perkins was made of, to see how he would bounce back from adversity.

Apparently Perkins bounced back strong. He posted 208 yards passing on a 26-for-39 passing night, including a touchdown and an interception. He also ran the ball nine times for 41 yards, and just as he did in Charlottesville for two seasons, extended drives with his feet.

In fact, Perkins came close to leading the Rams to a comeback win over Vegas when he drove Los Angeles down the field and connected on a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jacob Harris with 15 seconds to go, making it 17-16. The Rams went for two, but Perkins’ pass attempt was incomplete.

On that 76-yard scoring drive, Perkins accounted for 56 yards passing and 18 rushing.

“Unbelievable job, just battling throughout,” McVay said. “It’s exciting. I was really pleased just with his poise, his command and composure throughout the course of the game tonight.”

McVay had to be impressed with Perkins’ mobility as well. On that last drive, Perkins converted three first downs with his running ability: a third-and-6, a fourth-and 1 and a fourth-and 5.

“It feels good,” Perkins said of his game. “You kind of get a rhythm and things seemed to click on that drive. I just wish we could have come up with that last one.”

McVay said he hasn’t made a decision about who will start the Rams final preseason game next Saturday against Denver.