The New York Giants were defeated 28-6 on Monday Night Football out in Los Angeles against the Rams. The Giants lost Jaxson Dart during their first offensive drive and appeared deflated for much of the game. The Giants went 3 of 14 on third down with just 182 yards of total offense, while surrendering 481 yards to Matt Stafford and the Rams’ offense.
It was a tough – injury-plagued – outing for the Giants. Dart’s injury was one thing, but Burns also suffered an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter;
Andrew Thomas was slow to get up a bit in the game – it was a game to forget. With that, here are the five plays, or sequences of plays, that impacted the Giants’ first loss of the 2026 season.
Play(s) 1: Davante Adams’ touchdowns
The Giants aligned in a middle-of-the-field open look with the safeties split, pre-snap, and then Tyler Nubin (27) rotated down toward Davante Adams (17) and contacted the future Hall of Famer. Adams uncovered and was well behind linebacker Zaire Barnes (46) to catch the well-placed pass from Matt Stafford (9).
The contact disrupted Adams’ route but led to a miscommunication in coverage from the Giants; Jevon Holland (8) reacted on a shallow angle after the throw, providing Adams ample space to walk into the end zone for six. Adams would score in the second half, too, against rookie Colton Hood on a beautiful fade route, which gave the Rams a 17-point lead:
Play 2: Arvell Reese in coverage
Kyren Williams (23) caught a touchdown as the third receiver releasing to the boundary toward the tow receiver side. Arvell Reese (54) stayed tight toward the in breaking route of the No. 2 receiver, and Reese allowed Williams to find a soft-spot between himself and Colton Hood (12), where Williams caught the ball for an easy score. This was Reese’s second mistake in coverage that resulted in a touchdown.
The Rams went up 14 with this touchdown, as Jameis Winston was starting at quarterback for the Giants without Malik Nabers, who returned shortly after. It was a tough break for the Giants offense, but New York’s defense started to break against the Rams. The Williams’ touchdown was set-up by this gut-punch…
Play 3: Davante Adams for 64 yards
The Giants had injury concerns coming into this game, specifically at cornerback, but it was safety Tyler Nubin who struggled to restrain Davante Adams. After surrendering a touchdown to Adams (the first one), Nubin fell for this move by Adams, which led to a long third-down conversion and a 64-yard gain that set up Williams’ touchdown (above).
Nubin’s mistakes in coverage will be discussed a lot this week. He overpursued, seemed unconfident on his positioning, and his athletic limitations were exploited, again. He did, however, knock a pass away from Terrance Ferguson in the third quarter, but he was beaten in coverage. He had a rough Week 2 game.
Play 4: The dagger
I would contend that the Giants were lifeless prior to this touchdown, but Terrance Ferguson was a big factor for the Puka Nacua-less Rams, and Matt Stafford and Co. faced little resistance from Dennard Wilson’s defense. Ferguson ended his breakout game with this 5-yard touchdown pass to take a 29-6 lead over the Giants.
Play 5: Najee Harris?
Jevon Holland forced his SECOND turnover of the game by punching the football out of Kyren Williams’ grasp with 3:11 left in the second half, down 14–0. The Giants proceeded on a five play drive where Cam Skattebo was spelled on a second-and-five and third-and-two play for Harris. This was a critical position in the game, and Nagy pivoted to an 11 personnel run with Harris over their number one runner. It was, a decision – one that will be discussed, I’m sure, after the game. The Rams were not fooled at all. The Giants were gifted the football at the 11-yard line and put three points on the board with four runs, the final two by Harris rather than Skattebo – yeah, criticism is warranted for several reasons here.
