KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There were a whole bunch of raised eyebrows when the Los Angeles Rams selected University of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of April’s NFL draft.
Maybe there shouldn’t have been.
The surprising pick of the Super Bowl contenders shined in his preseason debut against Kansas City on Saturday, completing 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards with a pair of touchdown tosses to rookie running back Dean Connors. And while most of the work came against third- and fourth-stringers, the former Crimson Tide standout who only started in his final college season showed plenty of poise while rallying the Rams to the exhibition victory.
“I definitely felt more comfortable than I ever had coming into a game, but I also didn’t know what to expect,” said Simpson, the second quarterback taken in this year’s draft. “The guys did a great job. So happy for our team. And on to next week.”
Stetson Bennett is expected to back up 38-year-old Matthew Stafford, who is the reigning NFL MVP and quarterbacked the Rams to their most recent Super Bowl championship to cap the 2021 season. Bennett, a two-time national champion at Georgia selected by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2023 draft, was 4-of-6 passing for 36 yards in his lone quarter during the preseason opener for both teams.
Then it was Simpson’s chance. He played more than two quarters in an extended first taste of the NFL.
“I thought he took what the defense gave him. I thought he read the plays out, read with his feet. I thought he did a really good job overall,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I thought he kept the ball in play. That’s the biggest thing, keeping the ball in play.”
Justin Fields completed all four of his passes in his first quarter as the backup to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose only time on the field Saturday was for the coin toss. Fields was signed in part because Kansas City was uncertain whether the two-time league MVP will be ready for the regular-season opener next month after knee surgery, but Mahomes has been ahead of schedule throughout his rehab.
Seventh-round pick Garrett Nussmeier took most of the snaps for the Chiefs and finished 13-of-19 for 98 yards, while fifth-round draft pick Emmett Johnson ran 12 times for 59 yards and was perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Kansas City offense.
“A lot of learning lessons,” Johnson said. “A lot of things to get better from.”
There were some intriguing — or at least, funny — moments in a game played almost entirely by backups.
Take Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, a three-time All-Pro first-team selection who said quite pointedly earlier in the week: “I don’t want to play in the preseason.” Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo responded by making him play a single snap: the first one.
McVay had no interest in playing his starters even that much. His initial group on defense was made up not of first- or second-stringers but third-teamers trying to play their way onto the roster, and the same went for the high-powered Los Angeles offense.
As for Chiefs coach Andy Reid, he at least took the game seriously enough to challenge an incompletion call. Reid won, too, when the replay showed tight end Jared Wiley had made a spectacular toe-tapping grab along the visitors’ sideline.
One thing sure to irk Big Red: penalties. The Chiefs were flagged 12 times for 83 yards, the biggest culprit being the backup offensive line. That scuttled a few promising drives that Nussmeier and Co. were able to put together.
It also left the Chiefs fearful of their return to practice Monday, and the wrath of demanding offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
“It’s going to be hell, for sure,” Chiefs running back Brashard Smith said. “We have to clean those up.”