No starters, no problem: Ty Simpson’s 2nd-quarter TD sparks the Rams’ preseason sweep

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Ty Simpson threw a go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter, Harrison Mevis kicked two 27-yard field goals and the Los Angeles Rams beat the Los Angeles Chargers 20-18 on Thursday night in the teams' preseason finale.

The Rams didn’t play any starters in keeping with coach Sean McVay’s approach to games that don't count in the standings. Even backup quarterback Stetson Bennett was held out.

“Everyone stay healthy, please,” referee Shawn Hochuli urged the captains after the coin flip.

The Rams won all three of their preseason games and head to Australia in two weeks to open the season. They're the clear early favorites to win the Super Bowl, which will be played at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 14.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert played just two series. His fumble led to Mevis' first 27-yard field goal early in the first quarter.

Herbert bounced right back, throwing a 65-yard TD pass to Quentin Johnston — the second-longest catch of the receiver's career — on the second play of a drive that lasted 14 seconds and gave the Chargers a 7-3 lead.

New defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary chest-bumped safety Tony Jefferson after the Chargers forced the Rams to turn the ball over on downs inside the 1-yard line on a drive that lasted 9:41.

Trey Lance took over for Herbert in the second quarter, with his first series ending on a shanked 20-yard punt by JK Scott. The Rams quickly took the lead for good on third-stringer Simpson's 11-yard TD pass to fourth-string receiver Brennan Presley for a 10-7 lead.

Simpson finished 18 of 23 for 119 yards.

Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker missed a 49-yard field goal just before halftime, leaving the Chargers trailing 13-7. Known as the most accurate kicker in NFL history, he also whiffed on two extra-point attempts in three preseason games.

Dicker cut the deficit to 13-10 in the third, hitting a 34-yard field goal.

The Rams extended the lead to 20-10 in the fourth on Matthew Caldwell's 8-yard TD pass to Dean Connors.

The Chargers closed to 20-18 on Gregory Desrosiers' 34-yard TD run and third-string quarterback DJ Uiagalelei's 2-point conversion pass to Evan Svoboda.

Rams: QB Caldwell went out after being hurt on a keeper late in the fourth quarter.

Chargers: WR Dalevon Campbell appeared to hurt his foot in the third quarter.

Rams: Open Sept. 10 against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia.

Chargers: Open Sept. 13 against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance, above, is brought down by Los Angeles Rams linebacker Darryl Peterson III for a sack during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Katie Chin)

Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cam Lampkin (21) celebrates after bringing down Los Angeles Chargers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, below, during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert drops back to pass during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Los Angeles Rams Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Katie Chin)

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston, center, celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Los Angeles Rams Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Ty Simpson throws a pass during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

PHOENIX (AP) — The Trump administration has begun work on a project to build a stretch of border wall in southern Arizona along part of a Native American tribe’s reservation, pushing ahead with one of its signature projects despite protests from the tribe.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the area is a dangerous smuggling route and that building the wall will close a longstanding security gap. But members of the Tohono O'odham Nation, whose membership spans both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, have accused the administration of trespassing and say the construction will damage land sacred to the tribe.

The wall segment is part of a $46 billion effort by the Trump administration to fill the border with 30-foot (9-meter) steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers, and technology designed to stop undocumented immigration and smuggling.

But as building efforts have ramped up, the administration has run into opposition from landowners, environmental groups, and Native American tribes who say construction is violating property rights and desecrating sacred Indigenous sites.

The Tohono O'odham Nation said in a statement Tuesday that about 20 Customs and Border Protection officers, working with contractors, went onto the tribe's land early that morning to begin construction.

Drone videos published by nation officials show roughly 14 vehicles and an industrial drill at one of the sites.

A federal judge permitted the government to move forward with construction earlier this month, but the tribe says the contractors are violating tribal codes and trespassing to access the border wall site.

The Tohono O’odham Nation, which has 37,000 members including thousands who live in Mexico, sued the federal government in June in an attempt to block construction of the border wall. The tribe argued that the wall would cause “significant devastation” on the reservation, including the destruction of mountain peaks sacred to the tribe, and would alter boundaries of their nation.

US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., an appointee of former President George W. Bush, ruled in favor of the government, noting that the border wall would be built on a 60-foot (18-meter) wide buffer zone of federally owned land called the Roosevelt Reservation.

“Defendants have not yet articulated plans to construct outside the Roosevelt Reservation,” the judge wrote in his opinion.

The Tohono O'odham Nation said that even if construction were contained to the Roosevelt Reservation, driving onto tribal land to access the area still constitutes trespassing.

“The contractors, who are on the Nation illegally, were accompanied by agents as they worked on three separate locations near the border with drill trucks to conduct soil sampling and other activities,” tribal officials said in a statement.

The CBP agents were masked, armed, and set up a vehicle blockade to stop tribal police from removing the contractors, according to Tohono O’odham officials. The nation had set up “No Trespassing” signs before Tuesday.

So far, no physical confrontations between police or members of the Tohono O’odham Nation have been reported.

CBP defended the need for the wall in a statement Tuesday, saying the desert spanning the Tohono O’odham Nation is a corridor for drug smuggling.

“The project will close one of the most dangerous smuggling and trafficking corridors on the Southwest border: remote desert that has facilitated decades of drug loads, migrant deaths, and cartel activity,” said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott.

Tribal officials said they’re exploring further legal actions in an effort to remove contractors.

SLSCO Ltd., the Texas-based construction company building the section in Arizona, has secured over $390 million in funding from the Department of Homeland Security to build the border wall since 2023.

FILE - The U.S. Border Patrol keeps watch along the US-Mexico border Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Douglas, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin,File)