Rams dominate Giants 28-6 at home opener after QB injury

At SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the Rams bounced back nicely after a humbling defeat down under by dominating the visiting New York Giants 28-6 on Monday Night Football. This win marked their home opener of the year. The squad had been labeled the "Dream Team" right out of the gate thanks to high-profile acquisitions like defensive end Myles Garrett, cornerback Trent McDuffie, and the much-awaited return of Aaron Donald. For the first time since those moves were announced, the players in blue and gold actually looked like they could live up to that hype before a crowd of home fans.

Los Angeles was able to cruise because New York lost their quarterback Jaxson Dart early on. A knee injury struck Dart in the first quarter after he took a hit between Rams edge rusher Byron Young and defensive tackle Josaiah Steward. Dart walked off the field himself but stopped play for medical evaluation before heading to the locker room. He never returned, giving way to veteran Jameis Winston. Without their top quarterback and later with No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers also leaving due to a shoulder issue, the Giants struggled mightily. They managed only 182 total yards of offense for the night.

The Rams improved their record to 1-1 while the Giants fell to the same mark after that loss. A few things stood out from the game. Head coach Sean McVay kept star receiver Puka Nacua off the field due to a hip injury, yet another player stepped up perfectly. The team had almost sent Cooper Kupp's successor, Adam Adams, no wait, it was Puka Nacua who was injured and Adams who played, to Philadelphia for A.J. Brown in the offseason draft. McVay chose to keep Adams because of his chemistry with Matthew Stafford. That choice paid off when Nacua sat out. Adams filled the gap completely with eight catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

Adams is leading the league in receiving touchdowns with 14 this season in 2025. He has now tied for fourth place all-time in NFL history for games with at least two touchdowns, joining legends like Marvin Harrison Sr. and Cris Carter with that 29-game mark. The Rams also leaned heavily into their tight end sets, using 13 personnel on 28 plays, which was more than half their offensive snaps. Next Gen Stats showed that grouping averaged 10.4 yards per play and resulted in two touchdowns. When this formation came out, Adams remained the lone wide receiver target, and he thrived against double coverage.

Matthew Stafford threw for 327 yards and four touchdown passes. With those numbers, he passed Philip Rivers on the all-time passing touchdown list, reaching 426 career TDs. Not everything went smoothly though. Special teams had a bad night when kicker Harrison Mevis missed a 43-yard field goal wide left. There were also two costly turnovers for Los Angeles. Stafford threw an interception while Adams was in double coverage, and running back Kyren Williams lost the ball on a fumble. That turnover helped the Giants kick a 24-yard field goal.

Other injuries rippled through the league outside of this game. Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring at the end of his team's loss to Minnesota and is out for the week. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow again against Dallas and will not be back anytime soon. For the Rams, Aaron Donald finally returned after two years away. The Pittsburgh native earned a loud ovation from the crowd during introductions. Once the action started, he made an impact immediately by stuffing Najee Harris on a big run near the goal line to force the Giants to settle for another field goal attempt.

Aaron finished his shift with three combined tackles, one quarterback pressure, and just 32 defensive snaps under his belt for the Rams. He saw action in 58.2% of all defensive plays. Sean McVay, head coach of the Los Angeles team, spoke highly of him before kickoff. "Aaron's looked great," McVay said. "He's really impacted a lot of positive things. I think our defense is feeding off his energy. He's been a real positive for us."

The Rams plan to carry that momentum forward with a road trip to Mile High City this Sunday night in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos bounced back hard from their season opener loss to the Kansas City Chiefs by securing a big home win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yet, Los Angeles still faces steep odds. They sit below the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West division standings, both sitting at 2-0.

Meanwhile, the Giants will try to turn things around at home against the Tennessee Titans, who are 0-2. Everyone is watching Dart this week to see if he can return to the field.