The New York Giants have been knocked down a peg — or several — in NFL power rankings for Week 3 after Monday’s ugly 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. A week ago, the Giants came in at No. 16 in our aggregated rankings. This week, the Giants are No. 19.
ESPN | No. 18 (Last week: 18)
One thing we know about the QB1: It’s all about Jaxson Dart staying on the field.
The young quarterback looked tremendous in Week 1, especially from the pocket, where he had a QBR of 91.0. But Dart got injured on the opening
drive Monday night against the Rams and backup Jameis Winston struggled. Winston’s accuracy was a problem. In the first half alone, he completed 5 of 12 passes with an overthrown screen and open rollout in the red zone among the misses. It never got better. The Giants’ offense didn’t look the same without Dart’s running threat. Winston had two rushes for 1 yard in the contest.
Pro Football Talk | No. 17 (LW: 16)
At some point, they probably should have double-covered Davante Adams.
CBS Sports (Prisco) | No. 19 (LW: 16)
The injury to Jaxson Dart could wreck their optimistic start. The defense also was gashed in the loss to the Rams Monday night.
NFL (Shook) | No. 21 (LW: 15)
The good vibes that followed the Giants from their Week 1 win over the Cowboys dissipated quickly on Monday night in Inglewood. Jaxson Dart’s early exit due to a knee injury took the air out of New York’s offense, and the defense’s inability to contain Davante Adams — in a game in which the Rams did not have Puka Nacua — reflected poorly on a unit that kept Dallas in check a week earlier. This is a week-to-week league, and Giants fans were reminded of that on Monday.
The Athletic | No. 24 (LW: 18)
Rookie spotlight: Arvell Reese
The first-round linebacker has 12 tackles through two weeks. First-round offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa is starting as well, and fourth-round wide receiver Malachi Fields is contributing. But the only focus for the Giants after Monday night is the health of quarterback Jaxson Dart, who left the game with a knee injury and watched the second half in street clothes. If Dart is out for a while, it won’t matter what any of the rookies do this year.
USA Today (Davis) | No. 17 (LW: 14)
A vibes 180 in the wake of … whatever happened to QB Jaxson Dart in Monday night’s loss. But it doesn’t seem like the G-Men are in an unrecoverable spin.
Yahoo! Sports (Schwab) | No. 16 (LW: 14)
The Giants had a scare when Jaxson Dart hurt his knee Monday, and while Jameis Winston is one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL, he is also capable of throwing his team out of any game with inopportune interceptions. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that initial exams on Dart indicated he has a sprained MCL, which could cause him to miss some time. If he does, the Giants will be much more volatile. Monday night’s loss at the Rams was ugly, as the Giants were outgained 481-182, but losing Dart early affected the whole operation. We shouldn’t forget how good they looked against the Cowboys in Week 1.
Sporting News (Iyer) | No. 20 (LW: 17)
The Giants’ playoff potential will need to be put on hold with a hard crash down to earth against the Rams following the prime-time upset of the Cowboys, tied some to Jaxson Dart’s knee injury but more related to a porous defense. Dart being shelved for a while takes away any undue hype.
NY Post (Dunleavy) | No. 16 (LW: 15)
The Giants might have been better off forfeiting after Jaxson Dart was hurt on the seventh play against the Rams. At least then Malik Nabers, Arvell Reese, Andrew Thomas and Brian Burns wouldn’t have gotten banged up, too. The rushing attack (2.5 yards per carry) and pass rush (one sack) were non-existent for two supposed team strengths.
Sports Illustrated (Orr) | No. 22 (LW: 18)
The Giants were batted around like a kitten’s yarn ball after Jaxson Dart left the game on Monday. There’s not much to take from a game in which all your momentum is robbed within seconds of kickoff, save for the fact that John Harbaugh cannot kick a field goal before half and then tell the sideline reporter that field goals won’t cut it.
