Good morning! The preseason ended in both football markets Thursday night, which means the next 48 hours are the cruelest of the year for a few hundred men. Eric Lambkins II found four Rams at SoFi who looked entirely at peace with it. Derek Hegna found a Raiders roster where the quarterback question answered itself. In Atlanta, the Dodgers were shut out and swept. And in Las Vegas, the Aces confirmed the worst about NaLyssa Smith. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏈 Comfort in the chaos. Four Rams played Thursday like the decision had already been made — Eric Lambkins II at SoFi Stadium.
🏈 Clarity in Las Vegas. Kirk Cousins was “ruthlessly efficient,” the rookie was not, and the Raiders cut to 53 on Sunday — Derek Hegna at Allegiant Stadium.
🏈 The weight on Herbert. Fredo Cervantes on why the pressure on the Chargers quarterback has never been greater — Fredo Cervantes at SoFi Stadium.
⚾ Swept and shut out. The Dodgers lost 1-0 to finish a three-game sweep in Atlanta — Anthony Arroyo at Truist Park.
🏀 Season over. The Aces confirmed NaLyssa Smith will miss the rest of the year — Arion Armeniakos in Las Vegas.
🏈 Good, bad and ugly. Steve Carp’s ledger from the Raiders’ finale — Steve Carp at Allegiant Stadium.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — THURSDAY
🏈 NFL Preseason: Rams 20, Chargers 18 · 49ers 18, Raiders 12
⚾ MLB: Braves 1, Dodgers 0
🏈 COMFORT IN THE CHAOS
Sean McVay kept the starters out. Stetson Bennett watched in street clothes. Matthew Stafford’s arm rested. The stage belonged, as Eric Lambkins II writes, to the hungry and the hopeful — and referee Shawn Hochuli said the only thing that mattered at the coin toss: “Everyone stay healthy, please.”
Ty Simpson went 18-of-23 for 119 yards. Not numbers that scream. His first throw found CJ Daniels on a hitch, and in the second quarter, trailing 7-3, he felt pressure, escaped left and dropped an 11-yard touchdown to Brennan Presley where only Presley could reach it.
“It was a pressure look,” McVay said. “They lost contain. He escaped it, kept his eyes down the field.”
Daniels caught five for 42, finishing the preseason with 15 receptions. “He’s been a blanket for me,” Simpson said. Daniels’s version: “Best ability is availability.”
Dean Connors carried 18 times for 69 yards and caught an eight-yard touchdown from Matthew Caldwell in the fourth to make it 20-10 — three preseason touchdowns in all. Cam Lampkin, a captain Thursday, led the team in tackles and dropped the quarterback for a seven-yard loss.
The Chargers made it uncomfortable late. Gregory Desrosiers broke a 34-yard touchdown run and DJ Uiagalelei found Evan Svoboda for two, closing it to 20-18 before the clock ran out.
“The guys that have been playing have made it tough for us, and that’s a positive thing for the depth of our roster,” McVay said. “We got 20 tough decisions to make.”
Twenty. But not, Lambkins argues, for these four.
Los Angeles finished the preseason 3-0, traded for Tutu Atwell, and now flies to Australia in two weeks to open against San Francisco. The Super Bowl comes to SoFi in February.
GO DEEPER
› Eric Lambkins II: How four Rams found comfort and roster spots in preseason finale (The Sporting Tribune)
🏈 AND ACROSS THE HALLWAY
Justin Herbert threw a 65-yard touchdown against the Rams, and Fredo Cervantes filed a column arguing the pressure on him has never been heavier — a franchise quarterback in a shared building, in a season that ends with a Super Bowl in his own stadium.
GO DEEPER
› Fredo Cervantes: Justin Herbert’s pressure has never been greater (The Sporting Tribune)
› Fernando Ramirez: Justin Herbert throws 65-yard touchdown vs. Rams (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏈 THE QUARTERBACK QUESTION ANSWERED ITSELF
Klint Kubiak would not name a Week 1 starter. Thursday made the case anyway.
Kirk Cousins went 8-of-11 for 51 yards in what Fernando Mendoza himself called “ruthlessly efficient.” Mendoza, the first overall pick, was 7-of-14 for 57 with two sacks and an interception that bounced off Jalen Nailor’s hands to 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune. Las Vegas lost 18-12 in what Derek Hegna described as a kicking battle.
Mendoza’s response was the most useful thing said all night: “I would love unlimited games for development. If there were three more preseason games that I could do, I would do them.”
Hegna’s read is that starting Cousins early is not a retreat — it is the reason the Raiders built the room they did. “Kirk’s been in this league for a while, so he knows the ins and outs,” Nailor said. “Fernando, he’s still learning.”
The other news is the backfield. Mike Washington, the fourth-round rookie, again led the Raiders in rushing with 49 yards on eight carries, and the conversation has shifted from replacing Ashton Jeanty to pairing with him. Washington credits Jeanty for the education: “Really slowing the game down. Play call, reading defenses. I could go on and on about what Ashton has taught me.”
Elsewhere on the bubble: Treydan Stukes started and finished with three tackles. Patrick Johnson, six years in the league, made another case with a tackle for loss on third-and-one. Seventh-rounder Brandon Cleveland had a team-high five tackles and two for loss. Third-round rookie Keyron Crawford left with an ankle injury.
Kubiak was blunt about the rest. “We didn’t score. Receivers, running backs, tight ends, all around, we got to find ways to get balls in the end zone.”
The 53-man deadline is Sunday.
GO DEEPER
› Derek Hegna: Raiders emerge from preseason finale with clarity and difficult decisions alike (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Carp: Some good, some bad and some ugly in Raiders’ final preseason game (The Sporting Tribune)
🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
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🍔 Jack in the Box — free Jumbo Jack with a large drink. Dodgers pitchers struck out 11 in Atlanta, which is the one thing that went right. Code GODODGERS26, app or in-store.
🥤 Mountain Dew — free 20-oz Baja Blast. Only two homers cleared 420 feet Thursday: Coby Mayo at 446 and Carter Jensen at 421. Wallet pass at OTC Network stores.
Dark today: every Dodgers home-game deal — Panda Express, ampm, Sunright, El Portal, Con Azúcar and Habit Burger — stays off until Sept. 1 against St. Louis. The Carl’s Jr. Rams code expires Sunday and the Rams didn’t record an interception Thursday, so no replacement yet. Firehouse Subs resets with this weekend’s slate.
⚾ SWEPT, AND SHUT OUT TO FINISH IT
A week that began with a sweep of Pittsburgh and a column about a historic rotation ended with the Dodgers scoring zero runs in Atlanta and losing three straight to a team they needed to beat. Thursday’s 1-0 loss completed the sweep. Los Angeles struck out 11 Braves and did not score.
Put the week in order: Glasnow returned and they lost. Sasaki went to the injured list with a blister and they lost on a walk-off. Then the bats went silent entirely. Since the All-Star break the Dodgers are now well under .500 against teams above .500, and that is the number that will follow them into September.
They open in Detroit this afternoon. The next home game is Tuesday against St. Louis.
GO DEEPER
› Anthony Arroyo: Dodgers shut out by Braves, suffer three-game sweep (The Sporting Tribune)
🏀 THE WORST NEWS, CONFIRMED
Sunday in Vancouver, NaLyssa Smith came down after catching a high pass and her left knee buckled. She left the floor unable to bear weight and the Aces said nothing that night. On Thursday they confirmed it: she is out for the rest of the season.
Las Vegas won that game and has kept winning — A’ja Wilson collected her fourth Western Conference Player of the Week award of the season this week — but a frontcourt loses a different amount depending on the month, and August is the wrong month.
The Aces host Toronto tonight.
GO DEEPER
› Arion Armeniakos: Aces confirm NaLyssa Smith to miss rest of season with injury (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — FRIDAY, AUGUST 28
⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Tigers — Comerica Park — 3:40 p.m. — SNLA
⚾ MLB: Padres at Rays — 4:10 p.m. — Padres TV
⚾ MLB: Phillies at Angels — Angel Stadium — 6:38 p.m. — ABTV
🏀 WNBA: Mystics at Sparks — Crypto.com Arena — 7:00 p.m. — Ion
🏀 WNBA: Tempo at Aces — Michelob ULTRA Arena — 7:00 p.m. — Ion
⚽ NWSL: Racing Louisville at San Diego Wave — 7:00 p.m. — NWSL+
Coming up: NFL rosters cut to 53 on Sunday. The Sporting Tribune Today premieres Monday on SportsGrid, weekdays at 7 and 11 a.m. ET.
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
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⚾ Phillies at Angels — Angel Stadium — $11
🏀 Mystics at Sparks — Crypto.com Arena — $10
🏀 Tempo at Aces — Michelob ULTRA Arena — $23
🌴 TST TRIVIA
The Rams finished the preseason 3-0 and open the regular season against the 49ers. In what country will that game be played?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
Today’s episode: the four Rams who looked like they had already made it, the Raiders quarterback race that answered itself, Justin Herbert and the weight of a Super Bowl season at home, a Dodgers sweep in Atlanta that ended with a shutout, and NaLyssa Smith’s season ending in Las Vegas. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawai’i via Westwood One Sports, The Bet Las Vegas, Hawaii Sports Radio Network and KIRN in Los Angeles.
› Listen to the latest episode
Trivia answer: Australia — the Rams face San Francisco on Sept. 10 in Melbourne.
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