The San Diego Chargers' defense made some big stops against the St. Louis Rams despite missing more than half its starters.
The Rams won 7-6 on a touchdown run by Travis Minor with all backups on the field.
Antoine Cason and Cletus Gordon intercepted Marc Bulger on consecutive passes in the first quarter and the Chargers, who opened with reserves at six spots on defense, stopped St. Louis at the 2 in the second quarter Saturday night.
The Chargers opened with only three starters on offense, although some of those held out were injured.
The Rams' first unit has not scored a touchdown in three preseasons under coach Scott Linehan. Minor's 3-yard run in the third quarter was the game's lone touchdown.
The game drew a placid crowd of 53,039, about 15,000 shy of capacity and the franchise's worst since moving to the Midwest in 1995, and was blacked out on local television. The Rams, 3-13 last year, had three home games blacked out last season.
Both teams went without their featured back, the Chargers by design as usual to save LaDainian Tomlinson for the regular season and the Rams because Steven Jackson remains a holdout. San Diego also held out quarterback Philip Rivers, who played into the second quarter of San Diego's preseason opener.
Rivers, coming off knee surgery, led the Chargers to two touchdowns in three possessions last week in a 31-17 victory over the Cowboys to open the preseason. Backup Billy Volek got the start against the Rams. San Diego's biggest plays in Week 2 were returns of 53 yards by Cason and 16 by Gordon that set up short field goals by Nate Kaeding for a 6-0 halftime lead.
Without so many of their front-liners, the Chargers mustered little against a Rams defense that was gouged for 340 yards rushing in a 34-13 loss to the Titans last week. Volek was 5-for-7 for 58 yards and rookie Jacob Heater, starting in place of Tomlinson, had 59 yards on 12 carries.
Jackson, coming off his third straight 1,000-yard season, is seeking a new contract entering the final year of a deal he signed as a rookie in 2004. The Rams cut off negotiations on the first day of training camp until Jackson reports.
The Rams lost Bulger, too, after he was hit from behind by Jyles Tucker while preparing to pass in the final minute of the first half. The ball popped out of his hand for a fumble that was recovered by guard Jacob Bell. The team said Bulger's arm took the brunt of the hit but that he was OK.
The Rams' first-stringers came agonizingly close to reaching the end zone in the second quarter, making it to the 1 before getting pushed back and then denied after 17 plays covering 77 yards. Brian Leonard, one of Jackson's backups, was stopped for no gain from the 2 on a fourth-down swing pass.
Leonard, Jackson's backup last season, strained his left shoulder in the second half
