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The Chargers gave up a last-gasp touchdown drive and were nipped at the wire by the Rams 23-22 in a preseason showdown at SoFi Stadium.
Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett threw for 324 yards — including a 40-yard fourth-down connection with 5-foot-8 Brennan Presley, who outleaped a cluster of Chargers defenders — in a strong performance.
“I know it’s preseason,” said Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, somewhat somber after the loss. “But it feels like regular season to me.”
Still, the Chargers had some memorable highlights of their own.
Here are some takeaways from the Chargers’ third preseason game:
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Quentin Johnston is carted off
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The Chargers got an early reminder of the perils of playing starters when, on the third play from scrimmage, receiver Quentin Johnston appeared to get knocked out after an incomplete deep pass. He took a helmet-to-chin shot from Rams safety Tanner Ingle and was knocked flat on his back, arms splayed at his side.
The game was stopped for several minutes as medical personnel attended to Johnston, who eventually was able to sit upright and instead of being wheeled off on a backboard rode off the field sitting up on the back of a utility cart. Johnston led the team with eight touchdown catches last season.
Harbaugh said after the game that Johnston sustained a concussion and was checked out at a local hospital as a precautionary measure.
“He was talking,” the coach said. “He remembered the play. He was moving good.”
Rookie receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who has been having a great camp, didn’t wait long to take advantage of his opportunity. Two plays after Johnston left the game, “KLS” turned a completion and run into a 29-yard gain down the left side. Two plays after that, Herbert looked for the young receiver again, throwing a beautiful ball that grazed the fingertips of Lambert-Smith, covered tightly near the front-right pylon.
Minutes later, Taylor Heinicke threw an errant high ball for KLS across the middle and in heavy traffic, and the receiver couldn’t hang on. KLS did catch a shot, though, that sent him out of the game, although he returned to the field in the second quarter.
Ah, preseason.
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Grimm for the Chargers? Grim for the Rams
Chargers wide receiver Luke Grimm celebrates after returning a punt 66 yards for a touchdown against the Rams on Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Chargers rookie Luke Grimm made the play of the game, returning a punt 66 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
He was untouched, going from the right sideline to the left and slicing through the coverage team on a touchdown that gave the visitors — visitors playing on their home field, mind you — a 22-17 lead.
“Just finally get to be back out there and have fun and, like, play the sport I grew up loving,” said Grimm, who missed the early part of camp with an undisclosed injury. “Like I’ve been playing it since I was 5 years old. It’s like a dream to be here. So it’s awesome.”
Grimm, who went undrafted out of Kansas, covered 40 yards in 4.46 seconds at the Big 12 pro day, making him one of the fastest players in that crop of receivers.
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Tre’ Harris stands out
It was a breakout game for rookie receiver Tre’ Harris, who didn’t have a catch in preseason games to this point and has had his share of drops in training camp.
The second-round pick from Mississippi introduced himself to Chargers fans in grand style Saturday, reeling in a game-high six catches for 85 yards.
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TeRah Edwards has his big moment
Runaway-truck play of the game: Chargers defensive tackle TeRah Edwards — all 305 pounds of him — intercepted a Bennett pass in the fourth quarter, then tried to give Bennett a slightly comical head fake before simply trampling the quarterback-turned-defender. They both wound up tumbling out of bounds.
Incidentally, TeRah is pronounced “TEE-rah,” sort of similar to the “Oo-rah” of the Marines.
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Justin Herbert gets some snaps
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Justin Herbert made his preseason debut — not just for 2025, but for his career.
The Chargers’ quarterback never set foot on the field in a preseason game before his brief appearance against the Rams. He might have done so as a rookie in 2020, but that year the preseason was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Against the Rams, he completed two of five attempts for 46 yards before handing the reins to Heinicke, who’s vying for the backup job.
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Tony Jefferson continues to defy his age
There was a nifty pass breakup at the goal line by Chargers safety Tony Jefferson, who jarred the ball loose from rookie receiver Konata Mumpfield on fourth down.
Jefferson, in his 11th season, has had quite an NFL odyssey over the past decade, playing for Arizona, Baltimore, San Francisco, the New York Giants and now the Chargers. He retired in 2023 and worked as a scouting intern for the Ravens before returning to the field last season and signing with the Chargers. It wasn’t the first time he shined in a preseason game.
He had an interception in the Hall of Fame Game, and later told reporters: “They need to have a preseason All-Pro. I’d probably be the No. 1 safety.”
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Trey Lance continues to shine
Quarterback Trey Lance got a little earlier playing time that he anticipated. He entered when Heinicke, who was to play the first two quarters, was knocked around near the end of the first half.
Lance has been playing well so far in preseason games, and kept it up when he came off the sideline, connecting on a 12-yard pass to Harris, tearing off a 12-yard scramble and hitting Lambert-Smith for a 37-yard gain on his first three snaps.
