The Los Angeles Rams needed Davante Adams to have a strong performance in Week 2, but what the veteran receiver did against the New York Giants blew past even the loftiest expectations.
Like many Rams, Adams struggled mightily in the Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, something that he’d have to overcome quickly to help this franchise reach the heights it plans to reach in 2026. Even more immediately, with Puka Nacua out against the Giants, the Rams needed him to pick
up even more slack in the passing game.
Adams answered the call and assembled one of the best single-game performances of his potentially Hall of Fame-caliber career, posting eight receptions for 195 yards and two touchdowns, setting a new personal best during his Rams tenure and coming just 11 yards shy of a career high overall.
His production was more than just absorbing manufactured, forced touches. Adams put together a vintage effort, showing off the skill set that has set him apart from most of his wide receiver counterparts for a decade while reestablishing his chemistry with quarterback Matthew Stafford.
On his first touchdown grab of the day, Adams does a great job navigating space, making an adjustment to the ball and finishing the run after catch.
It’s an in-breaking route for Adams, who releases cleanly but then has to bounce off of safety Tyler Nubin (27). Adams does so without getting forced too far off the route and still gets to his spot. The throw is a bit high, but the receiver adjusts with a full extension to snatch it out of the air and cruises to the end zone for six points. Credit to Xavier Smith for helping clear the path near the end zone with a late block as well.
The end zone view is useful for this play too to emphasize the point about the chemistry between receiver and quarterback made above.
Stafford has always been a trick-shot artist of a quarterback, that’s not new information. This is a fun one, as he slides left, drops his arm angle low and throws back against the grain. The high throw forces Adams to adjust but it also completely neutralizes the linebacker (Zaire Barnes, 46) beyond any potential usefulness. There’s a lot of trust on display here, with the quarterback getting the ball exactly where it needs to be while trusting his receiver will go up and get it.
The Rams couldn’t cash in at the end of the first half when Harrison Mevis missed a long field goal as time expired. But Adams is the reason they got in position to even try a kick before the break.
Adams has always been among the best receivers in the NFL when it comes to releases (it’s an easy argument to call him the very best, in fact), and those traits are on display here. That slight hop is his signature move, a crossover inspired by his love for basketball. It helps him get away from cornerback Greg Newsome II (20) here and he can get his head around faster than the defender at the top of the route. Adams is thus the only one who can make a play on this ball.
And boy, does he make a play on it. He (cleanly) fights back to the ball, boxes out the corner and hangs on for the explosive gain. This is just a stellar individual effort from a player who has run a ton of routes and fought for a lot of contested balls in his career. There’s a small number of receivers who can make that type of play, one that requires the right mix of finesse and physicality from beginning to end.
Finally, let’s look at this second touchdown grab of the game, one in which he cooks another defensive back on a great end zone fade.
Cornerback Colton Hood (12) had a lot of fans in the draft process this offseason, and he ended up going in the second round when plenty of analysts and pundits pegged him as a first-round talent. But no matter how gifted you are, a rookie is going to have a long day at the office when they’re battling Davante Adams in the red zone.
The veteran has more than enough space to hit that crossover release, create more separation and float to the boundary in the end zone. Stafford places this ball perfectly and it’s as well-executed of a fade as you’re going to find. It’s picture-perfect stuff.
Adams isn’t the same receiver he was when he earned three consecutive first-team All-Pro honors from ages 28-30, but he can still be a useful and vital weapon for the Rams this season. Even if he’s not posting nearly 200 yards and two scores every week, it was great to see his skill set is (predictably) still aging gracefully and that he still has the full route tree at his disposal.
