After so many hopeless seasons in a row, fans of the New York Giants finally had something tangible to get excited about last week.
For the first time in 10 years, they beat the Dallas Cowboys in a game that wasn't at the end of a lost season. The offense looked amazing. The defense appeared to be trending up. The new head coach was in control, earning his first win in his first game and building anticipation for what was possible the rest of the year: a young team with a bright future that would at least be competitive every game.
Eight days later, the Giants crumbled under the weight of that hype.
Riding high at 1-0 into a game against the 0-1 Los Angeles Rams, who know all about hype, the Giants were humbled in a 28-6 blowout. Favorites to win
this year's Super Bowl, the Rams showed the G-men they aren't ready to hang with the big dogs just yet.
Just when people thought New York might have finally arrived, the Giants showed they haven't even taken off yet. And Jaxson Dart's first-quarter injury will keep them grounded for a while. SNY's Connor Hughes reported the Giants are bracing for Dart to miss between 2-4 weeks with an MCL sprain.
TOUGH: Dart's message to Cam Skattebo showed his grit
However, the injuries to Dart and Malik Nabers, whose shoulder popped out of place, aren't why the Giants lost Monday night. They lost because reigning MVP Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense exposed the Giants defense as still one of the NFL's worst. Even with Puka Nacua out, Stafford threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns, connecting with the unguardable Davante Adams for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum combined for 163 yards on the ground.
Jameis Winston's struggles in place of Dart under center only compounded New York's defensive shortcomings.
BACKUP BACKUPS: 9 QB options for Giants other than Jameis
The good news for the Giants is their next four games are against the Titans, Cardinals, Commanders and Saints -- not exactly juggernauts. You can imagine a world where they stay afloat with Dart sidelined. As much as the injuries to Dart and Nabers, and a bad defense, might remind fans of 2025, there are still reasons to believe these aren't the same Giants. They actually won the turnover and penalty battles Monday night!
But none of it matters if they can't stop anybody. That's what's standing between the Giants being a team with promise and a team that can live up to that promise.
Aaron Donald unfazed in his return
Aaron Donald made his return from retirement Monday night after two years away, and I regret to inform the rest of the league he still looks like Aaron Donald.
Donald said he still has some things to clean up, but the speed of the game wasn't a problem for him:
"The game really wasn’t as fast as I thought,” Donald said. "It was more of me calming myself down, overrunning stuff or just my feet not being in the ground how they supposed to be, not trusting my eyes, little stuff like that. But playing the game, when I held out in '17, '18 it was the same way when I came back, it took a couple games to get going. It’s a little different. I ain’t played in two years, so I gotta watch the film, see what I did good, see what I did wrong, and just clean it up."
Don't forget, they still have Myles Garrett expected to come back at some point too.
Quick hits: NFL power rankings ... in Caleb Williams' defense ... and more
- The Steelers slid in FTW's NFL Week 3 power rankings, because their season already looks pointless.
- Kyle Long shared a blunt defense of Caleb Williams showing vulnerability with his injury reaction.
- Fantasy football waiver wire quarterbacks to target with Dart, Williams and Jayden Daniels all hurt.
- And here's 12 more add/drop candidates for Week 3 of the season.
- Alex Bregman shared a gruesome update after taking a foul ball to the face.
- Kyle Shanahan shed light on a potential Brandon Aiyuk return to the 49ers with one terse word.
This was For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Giants crumbled under the weight of their own Week 1 hype
