Rams’ Jared Goff watches the practice during a joint practice at Stubhub Center in Carson on Saturday, August 5, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Rams’ Jared Goff, center, passes the ball to Todd Gurely during a joint practice with the Chargers at Stubhub Center in Carson on Saturday, August 5, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff looks to throw a pass during the team’s joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers at NFL football training camp Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff throws a pass during a joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers at an NFL football training camp at StubHub Center Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff throws a pass during an NFL football training camp at StubHub Center Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)



Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff stands on the field during an NFL football training camp at StubHub Center Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff looks to throw a pass during a joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers at an NFL football training camp at StubHub Center Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa(99) runs toward Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff(16) during a joint practice at an NFL football training camp at StubHub Center Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Through the haze of the early-evening sunset Saturday at StubHub Center, a glimmer of hope emerged for the Rams.

It came and went as fast as Melvin Ingram bursting off the edge of the line of scrimmage toward an opposing quarterback. And it will be long forgotten by the time the Rams return to practice Sunday at UC Irvine, let alone when they kick off next week against the Cowboys in their preseason opener or when they welcome the Colts to the Coliseum the second week of September to open the regular season.

In the whole scheme of things, it was nothing more than a footnote in a 16-game NFL season.

But it was there nonetheless, witnessed by the several thousand Chargers season-ticket holders who showed up at StubHub Center to watch the Chargers and Rams practice together.

Toward the last half of practice, the two teams lined up 11 on 11 in a two-minute drill. It was first-team offense against first-team defense, the ball being set down 70 yards from the opposing end zone.

First up was the Rams and second-year quarterback Jared Goff who, operating exclusively out of the shotgun, marched the Rams down the field while completing 8 of 10 passes.

The drive ended short of the Chargers goal line when Goff threw out of the end zone on third down rather than try to force the ball into tight coverage. His phase of the drill was done at that point, but the work he put in and the results it elicited were not lost on anyone.

The Rams have invested heavily in Goff, and it goes well beyond even the six draft picks they traded to move to the top of the 2016 draft to select him first overall. They hired a new coach in Sean McVay with an offensive background and experience in developing quarterbacks. And he, in turn, surrounded himself with an offensive staff heavy on offensive and quarterback development.

They reached into the free agent market to add a reliable wide receiver in Robert Woods and an elite left tackle in Andrew Whitworth. They took a deep dive at wide receiver and tight end in the draft with Gerald Everett and Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds.

These were necessary moves to try to inject life into an offense that ranked dead last in far too many NFL categories. But also to help expedite the development of Goff, for whom so much was invested and so much is expected.

And while his performance Saturday will soon fade from memory, it was one of those signposts teams like to see on the often bumpy road from which quarterbacks are either or made or broken.

The last time we saw Goff share the field against a team other than the Rams, he was was a shell-shocked, beaten-down rookie whom the Arizona Cardinals terrorized with seven sacks. It was the seventh and final leg of a demoralizing rookie season in which Goff continually operated under pressure behind a hapless offensive line and alongside wide receivers who struck little fear in anyone.

On Saturday, playing behind a rebuilt offensive line and a retooled receiving corps, Goff looked confident and decisive as he smartly and prudently moved the Rams down the field connecting on short passes to Woods and second-year wide receiver and tight end Pharoh Cooper and Tyler Higbee.

With the Chargers scheming to take away the big pass, Goff didn’t try to force the issue by driving the ball into dangerous areas and tight windows.

“Taking what they gave us,” Goff said afterward. “They were playing their base defense, and with what they brought the underneath stuff was open so when it’s there you keep taking it.”

Or, as McVay put it: “Being smart with the football.”

Those are sacred words for a head coach, especially one with an offensive background like McVay. No need to try deliver ball into nearly closed windows when targets are bound to be open somewhere on the field.

Sometimes they’re identified on a pre-snap read, sometimes by taking the necessary time to survey the field. Point being, there’s usually a safe place to throw a ball on any given play. Even if it’s out of the end zone to preserve a shot at a field goal.

In fact there’s a drill McVay puts his quarterbacks through in which they slowly, methodically scan from one read to the next on their read progression before finally throwing the ball. It forces them to slow down and look at every potential receiving target.

Goff did that Saturday in the two-minute drill. The reward was a segment of practice tape he’ll be satisfied to scour over.

“There were a lot of things I thought we did good, there were a lot of things I feel we need to work on,” he said. “Off the top of my head I can point to a couple, but I thought for the most part we moved the ball pretty good especially in that two-minute drill.”

It helped that, for the most part, the rebuilt offensive line he’s playing behind gave him pockets to work from.

“I was really happy with what we were doing up front. Really confident, really felt good.”

Goff is by no means a finished product. Coming from a spread offense in college in which he operated mostly out of the shotgun, he still looks more comfortable in that setting than under center. Balancing that out is a constant point of emphasis in camp

“That’s the biggest thing is figuring out a way to transition some stuff where you’ve been in the gun and then operating under center with some of the play actions and bootlegs and just dropping back from under center,” McVay said. “But I think he’s doing a nice job finding his rhythm, getting more comfortable every day.”

Saturday was one of the more comfortable days.

It provided just the tiniest glimmers of hope.

But it was a glimmer of hope nonetheless.