Pre-season in the National Football League is mainly for the rookies and free agents trying to make their teams.

However, for the Rams and Chargers pre-season is a time to fight for admiration and loyalty of the Los Angeles professional football fan.

On Saturday evening at 6, the Rams play the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum.

Not so far away – but on Sunday — the Chargers play Seattle at the StubHub Center at 6 o’clock.

For the first time since the Rams and Raiders played football in the Los Angeles area in the 1990s, two professional football teams will take the field this weekend.

Three years ago Los Angeles had zero teams.  What a difference two years can make.

The Rams are hoping their second -ear quarterback Jared Goff can rebound from a bad rookie season. They hope he improves enough to make the organization feel that drafting him No. 1 overall in 2016 was the right move.

The Chargers have a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Philip Rivers.

Their biggest concern is keeping players healthy.  Last year they were one of the most injury-prone teams in the NFL.

Already two of their top rookies, offensive guard Forrest Lamp and wide receiver Mike Williams, appear to have season-ending injuries.

The Los Angeles teams have separate goals:

• The Rams will be try to score more often.
• The Chargers, who have no problem scoring, will try to stop opponents from freely outscoring them. The Chargers lost several games in the fourth quarter last year when they could not protect a lead.

Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com