LOS ANGELES — Stetson Bennett rolled to his right on a fourth down, saw a pass rusher in his face and a cornerback draped over the receiver he needed to find, so he tried something he’s seen Matthew Stafford do time and again.Bennett contorted his arm to toss the ball around the outstretched pass rusher, floating it over the New Orleans Saints cornerback in coverage and with a low enough trajectory to drop right into a spot where Tyler Scott could slide to make a 16-yard catch for a first down.“At least give us a shot,” Bennett said of his approach. “I got pulled up. The flat guy got ran into, so I was thinking, ‘Just put it in a safe spot so T-Scott can go get it.'”Saturday’s 34-0 win over the Saints featured Bennett playing loose and confident again, as he had earlier in training camp before something seemed to disappear over the past week and a half.Top Plays from Saints @ RamsPerhaps it was the fact that he was playing a full half this week, with reps to build on and find a rhythm. Or perhaps the egg came before the chicken, and that throw — just his eighth of the game — got him feeling like he could play freely.That’s how Bennett looked from that moment on. He scored two rushing touchdowns from the red zone, one on a designed keeper where he dove and reached the ball to touch the pylon, and a second after he dropped back, saw no one open and raced to a similar spot along the left sideline for the score.Bennett finished 19-of-31 for 181 yards with no passing touchdowns, no turnovers and a quarterback rating of 77.5. The passing numbers were more safe than prolific, but they could have looked different if not for the open routes he pulled the trigger on that became pass interference calls, or a deep ball to Scott that was just a bit out of reach.“I don’t think I put the ball in harm’s way today,” Bennett said. “Obviously, you have to keep the ball in play and keep it moving. That’s what drives defenses crazy. But it is fun to hit the big ones.”This was the statement Bennett needed to make in a race for the backup quarterback role that had felt like it was shifting before this game. Ty Simpson, the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft, had the big performance in last week’s preseason game. Then the Rams began splitting the No. 2 reps in practice, with Bennett losing the efficiency and touch on the deep ball he had previously shown. Both areas looked improved against the Saints.Simpson, meanwhile, only really got a mop-up duty sort of role based on how the game flowed. The Rams had slotted him in for the second half, but the Saints took the ball first for a long drive before Spencer Rattler threw a 100-yard interception to Rams safety Alex Cook, and suddenly Los Angeles was up 27-0 before Simpson got to throw his first pass with less than eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.Simpson finished 8-of-12 for 73 yards, no touchdowns, no turnovers and an 83.0 rating. It wasn’t anything flashy, but it was another day he felt comfortable rather than overwhelmed by an NFL playbook.“You just have more confidence when you understand where to go with the ball and understand the game,” Simpson said. “The game in general goes in flows. The more you have the pen in your hand, the easier the game is. Once I understand the same thing the play caller understands, it’s always easier.”As of now, it feels like Bennett is back in the lead for the No. 2 role, but we’ll get more clarity on the situation when the Rams decide whether either quarterback will play in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers.Wesley Bailey makes statementThe Saints were driving toward the end zone on the ground, and Ty Chandler was bouncing in and around the middle of the mush when Bailey dove in and punched the ball out of his grip and into the arms of Payton Zdroik.Through two preseason games, Bailey has been the Rams’ best player on either side of the ball. Saturday’s performance against the Saints was the latest notch, as he finished with four quarterback hits, one sack, one tackle for loss and the forced fumble.“I thought his body of work today compared to last week was improvement, and he did some really good things last week,” coach Sean McVay said. “He was able to force the fumble. There’s certain guys you just feel on defense, where you just know they’re making their presence felt. That was how I felt about Wes Bailey all day today.”The undrafted rookie out of Louisville has looked unblockable at times in the run and pass games with his mix of 6-foot-5 length, a chiseled frame and the speed to dip around the edge of tackles in the pass rush and through the middle of double-teams, and across the bodies of climbing guards in the run game.It makes you wonder how a prospect like this went undrafted. Bailey didn’t explode in any single season in college, but he had at least four sacks in a season at two different schools: Rutgers and Louisville. He also posted terrific athletic testing this spring, including a 1.53-second 10-yard split, which ranks in the top 1 percent of all defensive ends in the history of the NFL Scouting Combine.“I’m going to continuously keep working,” Bailey said. “There’s going to be good days, bad days. I’m going to continuously have that relentless effort and keep going.”The Rams are as loaded as they come on the defensive line, and that could grow even more unfair if Aaron Donald decides to come out of retirement. Los Angeles tends to reserve its backup spots for players who can move inside and outside and provide depth in multiple spots, which isn’t Bailey’s style as a pure edge player.But the Rams have to know by now that if they cut him, they won’t be getting him back on the practice squad. It could make for a challenging decision between him and Desjuan Johnson for the final defensive line spot.Wesley Bailey, an undrafted rookie, has been one of the Rams’ more impressive players through two preseason games. (Ryan Sun / Associated Press)Quick hits• This was another busy day for CJ Daniels. The sixth-round rookie out of Miami led the Rams with 13 targets, eight catches and 68 yards. Like he has most of training camp, Daniels did most of his work in the short range on slants and crossers, but he made a nice leaping grab along the sideline for 17 yards and a first down. He also had a route where he broke open vertically into the end zone, but Bennett overthrew him. He’s battling with Xavier Smith for a potential final wide receiver spot, unless the Rams opt to keep six this year in addition to loaded rooms at running back and tight end.• Cam Lampkin continues to look like a heads-up, physical player in this secondary. He tipped a pass and made several physical stops from the nickel position, forcing the Saints into dump-off mode rather than letting them gain much out of the slot. He’s made some nice plays on the ball in training camp, and if he can find a special teams role, he’ll have a solid chance of earning a spot as the Rams’ fifth cornerback.• Jarquez Hunter showed many of the rushing skills that had the Rams enamored enough to trade up and draft him in the fourth round last year, just to stash him behind Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. Hunter was decisive in his cuts between the tackles, powerful in his finishes to runs and elusive in his moments in the open field. He finished with 12 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown. But to find any playing time this year, it would have to be an injury to Williams or Corum or a role to emerge for him on special teams, which has not been a big part of his involvement in camp.• This was an important game for Blake Hance and AJ Arcuri to get some reps on tape in what could be a battle for a back-end offensive line spot if either Justin Dedich (hand) or Keagen Trost (hamstring) aren’t available to start the season. The offensive line had some penalty issues at times, but it paved the way for the run game to average 5.0 yards per carry and three touchdowns, and it held the Saints without a hit on either quarterback.