The New York Giants (1-0) head out to the West Coast to face the Los Angeles Rams (0-1) on Monday Night Football in Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season.
Here are six things to know about this week's matchup.
Living in the spotlight
Per NFL Communications, this is the first time since 1970 that three teams – the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants – will each play their first two games in primetime (7:00 p.m. ET or later) in the same season.
The Giants opened the season on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys after the Rams played the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia last Thursday. The Chiefs hosted the Denver Broncos on MNF and will host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night in Week 2.
The Rams are set to become the third team in
the past three seasons (Philadelphia – 2024; Los Angeles Chargers – 2025) and the ninth team since 1970 to not play on Sunday in Weeks 1 and 2.
Opposite stories in Week 1
The Giants downed the Cowboys, 28-20, on Sunday night in a game in which they never played from behind. It was their second consecutive victory over Dallas, but just their third in the last 19 meetings.
The game averaged 25.7 million viewers (the most-watched opener in 11 years) and peaked at 29 million viewers.
The Rams got bushwhacked by division rival San Francisco, 27-7, in a shockingly one-sided game in which the 49ers looked like the Super Bowl contender, not Los Angeles.
Over 100,000 fans attended the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was broadcast live on Netflix, reportedly drawing 18.5 million online viewers in the U.S., peaking at 21.3 million viewers.
The series to date
This will be the 46th regular-season meeting between the Giants and Rams going back to 1938 when the Rams were in Cleveland. The Rams lead the all-time series, 29-16. The teams met twice in the postseason, and each won once.
In their most recent regular-season meeting, in Week 17 of the 2023 season at MetLife Stadium, the Rams defeated the Giants, 26-25, behind three touchdowns by running back Kyren Williams.
QB matchup made for primetime
In eight home starts last season, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 2,320 yards (290 per game) with 22 touchdowns against one interception for a 114.7 passer rating en route to being named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. The 38-year-old ranks third among active players with 11,407 passing yards on primetime since 2009.
Stafford had two or more touchdown passes in eight of the Rams' nine home games in 2025. He is 6-11 lifetime on Monday nights.
He is 5-2 against Big Blue in his career and has won the last four meetings.
In the win over Dallas, Giants second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart became the first player ever with at least three touchdown passes, a passer rating of 130 or higher (career-high 134.2), and 50 or more rushing yards (54) in a season-opening game.
This will be Dart's second appearance on Monday Night Football. He debuted last year in Week 13 in the Giants' 33-15 loss to the Patriots in New England.
Rams missing some big names
One of the biggest stories in the NFL this past offseason was the trade that brought seven-time All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett over from the Cleveland Browns. The Rams brought him in to solidify their pass rush, but they will have to wait.
This week, after a poor performance in Melbourne versus San Francisco, it was revealed that Garrett would undergo knee surgery and be placed on short-term injured reserve (IR), shelving him for the next four weeks.
Another big story was the un-retirement of future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who, along with Garrett, would combine to scare opponents into oblivion. His return might have to wait, as well. As of Wednesday, it was still unknown when Donald would make his season debut.
Who to watch
With Garrett sidelined, the biggest sacker in the game becomes Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns, who finished second in the NFL last year with 16.5 sacks behind Garrett's league record of 23.
The Rams have a deadly 1-2 punch at wide receiver in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
Nacua led the team with five receptions for 74 yards against the 49ers last week. He had 75 or more receiving yards in all eight home games in 2025 and led the NFL with 129 receptions. He ranked second with a career-high 1,715 receiving yards and was tied for sixth with 10 touchdown catches last season. He had five receptions for 118 yards in the last meeting against the Giants.
Adams ranks seventh all time with 117 touchdown receptions. Last season, he led the NFL with 14 touchdown catches, including six in seven home games.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants vs. Los Angeles Rams: 6 things to know about Week 2
