No Puka Nacua, no Myles Garrett, no problem?
Not exactly. The Los Angeles Rams still need both of those superstars if they're going to win a Super Bowl, but they looked pretty darn good without them on Monday night. The Rams cruised to a 28-6 victory over the Giants, earning their first win of the season under the lights at SoFi Stadium.
And in the absence of Nacua, Garrett and even Kamren Kinchens, several players stepped up. Davante Adams went off with a spectacular performance, as did Trent McDuffie and Matthew Stafford, among others. Here are our studs and duds from Monday's win.
Stud: Davante Adams
It was a vintage performance by Adams against the Giants on Monday night. He caught eight passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, coming up just 11 yards shy of his
career-high of 206. The passes he caught weren't all easy, either. In fact, most of them were incredibly difficult to make. He had a 31-yard touchdown, a 64-yard reception on a deep ball and a terrific 27-yard grab before halftime to set up a field goal attempt.
He was by far the best player on offense for the Rams.
Stud: Trent McDuffie
How good has McDuffie been thus far? He's been worth every penny (and pick) the Rams paid to get him, looking his best on Monday against New York. He had four total passes defensed, including his first interception as a member of the Rams. He was sticky in coverage, physical as a tackler and has looked every bit like the All-Pro the Rams thought he'd be in L.A.
Stud: Quentin Lake
Lake was peppered with targets in Week 1 and held up fairly well in coverage, despite giving up some completions. The Giants went after him early, too, but Lake responded with some excellent plays. He drove on the ball and nearly came away with an interception in the first quarter, broke up a pass intended for Isaiah Likely over the middle and also forced a fumble on Cam Skattebo that went out of bounds. He finished second on the team with six tackles, three passes defensed and the forced fumble.
Stud: Byron Young
Without Myles Garrett, Young had to step up as the Rams' top edge rusher. And he delivered with a terrific performance. He had five tackles, including a sack, along with three quarterback hits and a tackle for a loss. He was constantly around the quarterback throughout the night, whether it was Jaxson Dart or Jameis Winston. And his speed was on full display when he chased down Jameis from behind for the sack.
Stud: Matthew Stafford
This was more like the Stafford we saw last season rather than the one we saw last week. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. The pick was undeniably bad, forcing a deep shot to Adams down the field, but he was otherwise sharp. Oh, and he didn't have his top receiver, Puka Nacua. He leaned heavily on Adams and Terrance Ferguson, who caught 14 of his 22 completions and accounted for 249 of his 327 yards.
Dud: Xavier Smith
Smith could be in danger of losing his job as the punt returner. He fielded a punt at his own 8-yard line and then retreated, losing 2 yards on the return by going down at the 6. To open the third quarter, he muffed the kickoff and couldn't corral it, gaining just 7 yards on the return and only getting to the 11-yard line. He didn't catch a pass on offense, either. The one bright spot was a 19-yard return on a punt where he had a ton of space to work because it was booted 78 yards downfield.
Dud: Harrison Mevis
How much does Sean McVay really trust Mevis? He missed a 43-yard field goal after a perfectly executed 40-yard drive in 22 seconds before halftime. Then later on in the game, the Rams had a chance to try a 56-yard field goal but instead opted to take a delay of game and punt it away. It was with 7 seconds left in the half, so maybe McVay didn't want to give the Giants a shot at trying a Hail Mary, but still.
He's only attempted two 50-plus-yard field goals in his career, and it's reasonable to think McVay may not trust him very much to try long kicks – despite him clearly having the leg strength.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Studs and duds from Rams' bounce-back win vs. Giants
