Rams 28, Giants 6: Stafford Throws Four TDs as Dart Exits

Sep 19

5 min read

Updated: Sep 21

Final: The Los Angeles Rams beat the New York Giants 28–6 on Monday night at SoFi Stadium. Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes, Davante Adams produced 195 receiving yards and two scores, and Los Angeles turned a close first half into a complete response after its opening-week loss. The game’s largest uncertainty is Jaxson Dart: the Giants’ quarterback left with a left-knee injury, and NFL.com reported that he is believed to have sustained an MCL sprain. X-rays were negative, but an MRI scheduled for Tuesday is the next factual checkpoint.

The result moved both teams to 1–1. It also supplied a clear answer to the matchup’s central question: the Rams could create explosive offense without Puka Nacua because Stafford and Adams repeatedly punished New York’s depleted secondary. The Giants, meanwhile, never recovered after losing Dart on their opening possession.

Aerial public-domain photograph of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where the Rams defeated the Giants 28-6 — SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, site of the Rams’ 28–6 win over the Giants. Photo: Charles Reed / U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Stafford and Adams controlled the night

Stafford completed 22 of 31 passes for 327 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. His scoring throws went to Adams twice, Kyren Williams and Terrance Ferguson. The veteran also moved past Philip Rivers into sixth place on the NFL’s career touchdown-pass list with 427, according to the Reuters game report.

Adams caught eight of ten targets for 195 yards. His first touchdown, a 31-yard strike with 11 seconds left in the opening quarter, gave Los Angeles the lead for good. His 11-yard score in the third quarter made it 21–3. The decisive explosive play was a 64-yard Stafford-to-Adams completion that flipped the field and captured how thoroughly the Rams won outside the numbers.

Nacua’s inactive status had created legitimate uncertainty about the Rams’ passing tree. The answer was not a committee replacing his production evenly. Adams became the featured receiver, while Stafford spread the remaining scoring work to Williams and Ferguson. Football Nation’s Puka Nacua status report preserves the pregame injury context.

How the scoring unfolded

First quarter: Stafford found Adams for a 31-yard touchdown, the only score of the period. Dart had already departed by then after the injury on New York’s first possession.

Second quarter: Williams caught a 10-yard touchdown pass to extend the Rams’ lead to 14–0. Jude Zvada’s 24-yard field goal before halftime cut the margin to 14–3, but the Giants had produced only three points after turning to Jameis Winston.

Third quarter: Adams’ second touchdown pushed Los Angeles ahead 21–3. Zvada answered from 52 yards, yet New York still needed two touchdowns simply to tie.

Fourth quarter: Stafford’s five-yard touchdown pass to Ferguson completed the scoring. The Rams finished with a touchdown in every quarter and never allowed the Giants into the end zone.

The numbers that decided Rams 28, Giants 6

• Matthew Stafford: 22 completions on 31 attempts, 327 yards, four touchdowns, one interception and a 131.3 passer rating.

• Davante Adams: eight receptions on ten targets, 195 yards and two touchdowns.

• Rams offense: 481 total yards, 318 net passing yards, 163 rushing yards and 23 first downs.

• Giants offense: 182 total yards, 11 first downs and 3-of-14 on third down.

• Jameis Winston: 11 completions on 27 attempts, 111 yards, no touchdowns and one interception after replacing Dart.

• Turnovers: the Rams committed three giveaways, but New York converted the extra possessions into only six points.

Those figures are consistent across the NFL game center and independent final-score reporting. The most important team statistic was third down. New York’s 3-of-14 conversion rate kept Winston in obvious passing situations and prevented the Giants from sustaining enough offense to exploit Los Angeles’ turnovers.

Dart’s injury changed the Giants’ plan

Dart completed three of five passes for 20 yards before leaving. The Giants’ official update identified a left-knee injury and confirmed the halftime ruling. The newer NFL.com report says the injury is believed to be an MCL sprain, that X-rays were negative and that an MRI is scheduled Tuesday. That is reported medical information, not yet a formal Giants diagnosis or a return timetable.

Winston’s task was difficult because the playbook had been built around Dart’s mobility and timing. He completed only 40.7 percent of his attempts, threw an interception and could not generate a touchdown. The Giants ran for just 52 yards as a team, removing the balanced structure that powered their Week 1 win over Dallas.

Football Nation’s canonical Dart injury report carries the medical timeline. The Week 2 injury tracker places it beside the league’s other consequential quarterback and skill-player injuries.

Three turning points

1. Dart’s first-drive exit. The injury removed New York’s designed quarterback-run threat and forced Winston into an unplanned relief assignment.

2. Stafford’s response to turnovers. Los Angeles lost two fumbles and Stafford threw an interception, but he answered every mistake with aggressive, accurate downfield passing. New York’s inability to turn takeaways into touchdowns allowed the Rams to keep control.

3. Adams’ 64-yard gain. The play demonstrated that the Giants could not crowd Adams and still protect the deep field. It set the tone for a 195-yard night and prevented New York from compressing the Rams’ passing game.

Fantasy football impact

Stafford’s four-touchdown rebound makes him a stronger Week 3 streaming and lineup option than his quiet opener suggested, though matchup and league format still matter. Adams delivered the type of target dominance managers expected when Nacua was declared inactive. His role remains strong even when Nacua returns, but another 195-yard projection would be an overreaction to one matchup.

Williams supplied 85 rushing yards plus the receiving touchdown, preserving his weekly value despite a lost fumble. Ferguson’s touchdown is useful evidence of red-zone involvement, not enough by itself to establish a stable weekly target floor. For New York, Winston becomes a superflex contingency only if Tuesday’s MRI and the Giants’ practice plan indicate Dart will miss time.

Malik Nabers returned after a brief right-shoulder issue and finished with one catch for one yard. His Week 3 value depends on both his own practice participation and the quarterback decision. Football Nation’s Week 3 fantasy fallout report will track those changes without treating the MRI result as known in advance.

What changes next

The Rams can leave Week 2 confident that the passing game still has a high ceiling and that Stafford can carry the offense when the defense creates an uneven game. But three turnovers are not a sustainable formula against stronger opponents. Los Angeles must preserve the vertical aggression while improving ball security. Football Nation’s Rams Week 1 recap shows how dramatic this response was.

The Giants have a narrower question: how much time, if any, will Dart miss? Their Week 1 win over Dallas demonstrated the offense’s upside with him. Tuesday’s MRI, followed by the first Week 3 practice report, will determine whether New York can return to that identity or must build a Winston-specific plan.

Football Nation verdict

The Rams’ 28–6 win was more than a correction in the standings. Stafford looked like the reigning MVP again, Adams proved he could dominate as the clear first option, and Los Angeles won by 22 despite losing the turnover battle. The caution is equally clear: New York’s offense changed immediately when Dart exited, so the margin should not be treated as a complete verdict on both teams at full strength.

For the Rams, this was a high-value offensive reset. For the Giants, the season’s next branch begins with medical information, not speculation. Negative X-rays are encouraging, but the reported MCL sprain and Tuesday MRI mean Dart’s Week 3 status must remain open until the Giants provide a diagnosis and plan.