Stetson Bennett finally got his first regular-season NFL action on Thursday night, and the moment brought both a personal milestone and a fresh question about where he stands with the Rams.
Bennett entered the season opener in Australia with Matthew Stafford starting and rookie Ty Simpson listed behind him. Before kickoff, the Rams made Bennett the backup quarterback and Simpson the emergency QB3.
When the game got away from Los Angeles, Stafford came out and Bennett stepped in with 3:29 left. His first NFL snap came on a handoff, and on his second play he kept it himself, running up the middle for nine yards and a first down.
Bennett finished 2 of 3 passing for 13 yards and added that nine-yard run.
His path to the job fit the same kind of wait-and-see story he lived through at Georgia. Bennett had been doubted after the Rams drafted Ty Simpson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, with many around the league assuming Simpson would take over as Stafford’s backup. Instead, Bennett won the role heading into Week 1.
That may not be locked in for long, though. Sean McVay made clear the Rams are not treating Thursday’s depth chart as permanent.
“I’ve talked to those guys about it and I don’t want to necessarily say that whatever we do in week one is how it stays throughout the year, but our job is to develop both of those guys,” McVay said via dawgnation.com. “Like I’ve told you, I feel really good about both of them.”
For Georgia fans, Bennett’s night adds another familiar twist to the Alabama storyline that has followed him since college. Georgia lost to Alabama in Athens last season, but won the more important meeting in the SEC Championship game to claim the bragging rights.
Bennett had his own back-and-forth with the Tide, losing to them in the 2021 SEC Championship game before beating them a month later in the national title game. He then helped Georgia go 15-0 in 2022 and finish with another national championship.
Now he has one more line for that rivalry file: he beat out Alabama’s prized first-round pick for the Rams’ backup job, at least for Week 1. What comes next for Bennett in Los Angeles is still unsettled, but Thursday gave him a first NFL appearance and gave Georgia fans another reason to smile.
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Georgias Rare Uniform Move Just Made This Game Feel Different
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Elyiss Williams said hes looking forward to the atmosphere the uniforms will create, which makes sense because Georgia has always understood that presentation matters when it comes to building energy around the program. The move also fits neatly with the schools push to market its Glory, Glory subscription service, giving the uniform reveal a business side as well as a football one, even if the lasting impact will come down to how the scene feels once the Bulldogs take the field. [Read more 🡒]