The Rams offense didn’t have much trouble moving the ball against the Chargers last week, but the Texans defense proved to be a tougher test for Los Angeles’ backups. In Week 2 of the preseason on Friday night, the Rams struggled to get anything going offensively, mustering only 277 yards with several sloppy plays – including a fumble by John Wolford and a dropped handoff by A.J. Rose.

Ultimately, the Rams fell to Houston, 24-20, dropping their preseason record to 1-1.

The Rams’ defense did a nice job limiting Houston’s first-string offense in the first half, limiting the Texans to only seven points before halftime, which was encouraging because some of the players on the field for Los Angeles will contribute defensively this season. Cobie Durant broke up a pass, forced a fumble and recorded a sack, while Robert Rochell had a pass deflection of his own and helped force a fumble, too.

The frustrating part of this game for the Rams was the offensive line. Logan Bruss gave up a pair of sacks before getting hurt, and the Texans as a team recorded six total sacks on Wolford and Bryce Perkins. It was just much too difficult for either quarterback to find a rhythm with defenders bearing down on them all night.

But in the second half, Perkins helped provide a spark on offense. He led a go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, moving the ball on a 13-play, 7-plus-minute possession to give the Rams a 20-17 lead with just over 5 minutes to go.

The Texans answered the Rams’ score by getting into the end zone with only 1:05 left in the game, taking a 24-20 lead and putting the ball in Perkins’ hands one last time. He and the offense moved the ball and had a chance to take the lead late, but they just ran out of time down the stretch and couldn’t get the job done.

It was a disappointing loss by the Rams, who could have very easily won this game had it not been for their seven penalties, sloppy execution on offense and some defensive mistakes down the stretch. There were some encouraging things to take away from the game, like the play of Perkins and the impressive performance by their young defensive backs, but there’s still a lot for the Rams to clean up.

Lance McCutcheon came up big for the Rams once again with five catches for 98 yards, topping his total from Week 1 of the preseason. He did fail to score a touchdown, though.

On defense, Jake Hummel led the team in tackles once again, making six stops in the loss. Durant and Jonah Williams had the only sacks for the Rams.