Rams close out 2026 preseason Thursday night with road stop at Chargers

The Rams’ 2026 preseason run reaches its final stop Thursday night, when Los Angeles travels to SoFi Stadium to take on the Chargers. The matchup serves as the last live dress rehearsal for both teams before the regular season calendar takes over, and it lands on a prime early-window for fans in the Los Angeles market.

Kickoff in Inglewood, Calif., is scheduled for 7 p.m. Pacific. The game will be broadcast on the Rams TV affiliate KCBS and carried on the radio through ESPNLA 710 AM, giving the Rams’ local audience two ways to follow the finale of preseason action.

Preseason games are typically where coaches test roster depth and work through timing at game speed, especially in phases where communication matters most. For the Rams, closing out the slate in the final week puts extra emphasis on executing the week’s intended wrinkles while keeping an eye on what pieces have been most reliable through the camp-and-preseason stretch.

For the Chargers, hosting the finale at SoFi Stadium adds a familiar home setting for that final evaluation, with both teams using the opponent as a measuring stick for what has translated from practice into live reps. When a preseason opener sets the baseline and mid-preseason games refine patterns, the final contest often becomes the clearest window into what role candidates have earned.

Because this is the last preseason game for both clubs, the focus usually tightens around the players competing for the final spots on the depth chart and the units that need chemistry under pressure. That includes how offensive and defensive rotations handle late-game situations, and how special teams formations respond to the tempo changes that can show up late in exhibition contests.

The Rams- Chargers matchup is also a reminder of how quickly the preseason-to-regular-season transition can reshape team plans. In the final exhibition, coaches generally look for repeatable execution rather than highlight moments, and for players to show they can operate within the game-plan constraints while still making plays.

What to watch Thursday night is straightforward, even if the details vary from drive to drive: which units come out sharp early, who sustains the best execution across multiple possessions, and how both teams handle late snaps as the preseason evaluation clock runs down. For Rams fans, the KCBS and ESPNLA 710 AM broadcasts will be the main local touchpoints for that final look.