Rams return to form as Dart’s early injury crushes Giants’ hopes

After a tumultous few days in Australia to begin the Los Angeles Rams’ season, they returned home to SoFi Stadium to take on the New York Giants, filled with confidence after a promising opening week win against the Dallas Cowboys.

Not only did the Rams get blown out by the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, but news emerged shortly after that their star offseason acquisition Myles Garrett was headed to injured reserve. What they lost in Garrett, however, they hoped to gain with the return of Aaron Donald, making his season debut in an unlikely return to football after a couple of years out of the game.

The Giants’ night could not have started any worse, as their opening drive ended with Jaxson Dart in significant pain on the ground after taking a big hit on a drop back, which must have left Giants fans’ hearts in their mouths. He was able to walk off the field, but eventually required a cart and X-rays, with an official diagnosis still to be determined.

Los Angeles’ first offensive possession left a lot to be desired, going 3-and-out in similar fashion to what much of Week 1 looked like, but with Jameis Winston taking under centre for New York, the away team found themselves with their backs against the wall as the Rams’ defense forced them quickly off the field once again.

With Puka Nacua ruled out prior to kickoff with his lingering hip injury, Davante Adams took it upon himself to get his side’s offense rolling with 2 receptions for 50 yards, including the first touchdown of the night as Los Angeles struck first.

Matthew Stafford rolled with the hot hand on the very next drive, connecting with Adams for a 64-yard gain before doubling the scoreboard advantage on an end zone throw to Kyren Williams, with the Rams beginning to look like the team most expected and threatening to run away with the game.

Finally looking to have settled into the game, Winston eradicated a redzone drive by underthrowing Malik Nabers in the end zone, falling right into the lap of Trent McDuffie for his first interception with his new team.

Stafford responded with a poor throw of his own, however, as Jevon Holland came up with his second pick in as many weeks to keep the Giants in the game. Minutes later, he was at it again, recovering a Kyren Williams fumble on Los Angeles’ 10-yard line, giving New York their best chance of the night offensively.

3 consecutive runs up the middle failed to get the job done, as the Giants had to settle for a chip shot as their first points of their night, trailing 14-3 at halftime in LA.

Proceedings continued exactly where they left off in the second half, as Adams quickly added another 50 receiving yards, giving him 195 with 21 minutes still left to play, to go with his second touchdown, as the Rams began to stamp their authority on the game and extend the lead.

A knockout blow to New York’s hopes came through Terrance Ferguson, giving Stafford his 4th passing touchdown for the night as he and the Rams did exactly what they needed to, bouncing back from their disappointing performance against the 49ers and claiming a 28-6 victory on Monday Night Football.

After such a strong start to the season, a potentially significant injury to Jaxson Dart is the last thing the Giants hoped for, which made him the 3rd young quarterback in the NFL who was ruled out during games this weekend. Dart did manage to return to the sideline for the second half, which is a positive sign for what his timeline might look like.

Touchdowns
New York Giants: N/A
Los Angeles Rams: Adams 2, Ferguson, Williams

Top Performers
New York Giants: Holland, Nubin, Stout
Los Angeles Rams: Adams, Stafford, Ferguson, Williams, McDuffie, Young

Injuries
New York Giants: Dart (knee), Burns (leg)
Los Angeles Rams: N/A

Crowd: TBC at SoFi Stadium