The Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers do battle in week 1 NFL Preseason Action from SoFi Stadium on Saturday. The battle of LA goes down to kick off the preseason, who will claim bragging rights? Let’s dive in and find out.

Chargers Hoping To Spark Another Run In AFC West

The Los Angeles Chargers will be looking to build on a solid season in 2022, finishing the year with a 10-7 record, good enough to claim a Wild Card spot in the AFC, but it added to the Chargers’ drought without an AFC West division title which is now at 13 years, and then the Chargers had to endure one of the hardest scenes in recent memory in the postseason, blowing a 27-0 first half lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars, ending the Chargers season in a 31-30 loss. The roster from the Chargers remains pretty much unchanged, with the only real addition of note being Eric Kendricks to the linebacking group for the Chargers’ defense, but it’s business as usual outside of that. Justin Herbert’s back under center for the Chargers, Austin Ekeler and Isaiah Spiller will lead the 1-2 punch in the Charger backfield, and Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and others will hold down the receiving duties. On defense, Joey Bosa anchors the front seven and Derwin James leads the charge in the secondary.

Rams Look To Forget 2022 Season

The Los Angeles Rams come into the 2023 season looking to put 2022 in the rear view mirror, finishing with an ugly 5-12 record after winning the Super Bowl the season prior. Like the Chargers, the Rams held firm with a lot of what they had from last season, but did lose the services of running back Sony Michel to retirement and Jalen Ramsey was shipped to the Miami Dolphins. That being said, Matthew Stafford is still back under center for another go around with the Rams, and Cam Akers, Royce Freeman and Kyren Williams will all be expected to shoulder some of the workload for the Rams’ backfield. Cooper Kupp’s back in the fold for the Rams’ receiving group after dealing with a bunch of injuries in 2022, but still has backup in the form of guys like Tutu Atwell, Van Jefferson and others as well as Tyler Higbee at tight end. Aaron Donald returns to anchor the Rams’ front seven and hold down the fort to make things life easier for a Rams’ secondary that really struggled in 2022, giving up one of the highest completion percentages in the league.

Chris’ Pick

I’ve taken the approach to preseason NFL that it’s about two things mostly, coaching and depth. And I think you could make the case that the Rams have the edge in coaching, but I think the Chargers have the better skill players in the backup slots. The Rams have more spots up for grabs throughout the depth chart, so that could lend itself to more competition and guys trying to prove themselves for the Rams, but at some point, I think it just boils down to which team has the better players and side-by-side, I think that’s the Chargers here. So give me the Chargers in this one.