Not much went right for the New York Giants in their 28-to-6 primetime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but the biggest storyline coming out of LA is Jaxson Dart’s health.
During the first drive of the game, Big Blue’s franchise QB got absolutely gobsmacked by pass rusher Byron Young. He went down immediately, holding his knee in visible pain. It took no time for panic to set in, with me thinking the absolute worst. He went to the locker room and was later ruled OUT. General manager Joe Schoen told the broadcast that Dart was “okay,” but we’ll have to wait for a more concrete update on his status, likely later in the week.
The injuries only stacked up from there. Star receiver Malik Nabers got shaken up. Tight end Isaiah Likely was seen limping off the field. Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese missed some time. And then it got infinitely worse, with star left tackle Andrew Thomas spending time in the blue medical tent and pass rusher Brian Burns being seen by trainers with an apparent ankle injury.
Night, meet mare.
It certainly wasn’t the outcome anyone was hoping for following a season-opening drubbing of the Dallas Cowboys, but such is life in the National Football League. There’s plenty to unpack from John Harbaugh’s first loss as New York’s HC. For now, here are six instant reactions to Big Blue’s devastating loss in Los Angeles.
6 instant reactions from Giants’ primetime disaster against Rams
1. Giants' secondary needs an upgrade
A couple of caveats here because starting cornerback Deonte Banks and backup No. 1 Paulson Adebo didn’t suit up for the contest, but even so, like holy moly. The Rams were without superstar WR Puka Nacua, but it didn’t matter -- LA’s other superstar receiver, Davante Adams, terrorized Big Blue’s secondary early and often.
Matthew Stafford finished the game throwing for 327 yards and four touchdowns. LA finished the game with X yards, scoring 28 points in a major bounce-back from an underwhelming Week 1. It's time to consider bringing someone from the outside in to help. As Beyonce once said, "Let me upgrade U."
2. The offense is going nowhere without Jaxson Dart
As explosive as the Rams offense looked with Stafford under center, with Jameis Winston under center, the Giants offense looked like sh... really bad. Giants fans knew it wasn’t going to be amazing with Dart out of the game -- Jameis Winston is arguably the most electric backup of all time, after all – but things got ugly fast.
Without Dart, Big Blue managed just 85 yards of total offense for the rest of the first half. The second half didn’t fare much better, with the team finishing the game with 182 total yards and two field goals. They couldn’t get anything going on the ground, either, finishing with an underwhelming 52 rushing yards.
Overall, just a rough night. Chalk it up to a backup having to come in on the road against a Super Bowl contender, but with Dart’s status up in the air moving forward, they’re going to need to figure out a plan that works better if they don’t want this season to fall apart by Week 3.
3. Jevón Holland might lead the takeaways
In Week 1, safety Jevón Holland intercepted Dak Prescott for his first takeaway as a Giant in 2026. And with it, he had already matched last year’s total. It certainly wasn’t what New York was hoping for when they threw a three-year, $45 million contract at him last offseason. But sometimes it takes people longer than others to adjust to change.
Fast forward to Week 2, and Holland is a man on a takeaway mission. He’s officially become the middle school bully, taking everyone’s lunch and not giving it back. He intercepted Stafford in the second quarter, which was awesome, but he wasn’t done yet.
Later in the second quarter, he forced and recovered a fumble at the Rams’ six-yard line that ultimately led to their only score of the first half -- a 24-yard field goal from undrafted rookie kicker Dominic Zvada. But wait! There's more.
While it didn't result in a takeaway, he forced another fumble on running back Blake Corum in the fourth quarter that was recovered by Corum.
4. Offensive line did its best Swiss cheese impression
For anyone thinking Los Angeles’ dominant front would struggle at all without superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett, think again.
The Rams might play football at 1001 S Stadium Dr, Inglewood, CA 90301, but on Monday night, they lived in the Giants’ backfield. After such an impressive performance in Week 1 against the Cowboys (which aged like milk), Big Blue’s offensive line went dairy and looked more like Swiss cheese than an offensive line against LA. No apology for the dairy puns.
The Horns finished the game with two sacks, three tackles for loss, and eight QB hits.
5. Can the real Giants pass rush please stand up?
Two weeks. Eight quarters. 120 minutes of football. One sack to show for it (thanks, Abdul Carter). So much for the Giants’ pass rush being one of the league’s most feared, huh?
Seriously, what gives? Where is the pressure? Carter was finally able to get to Stafford in the third quarter to end the drought, but what happened to Brian Burns? The 28-year-old is coming off an NFC-leading 16.5 sacks in 2025. New York’s pass rush was neutralized all night, and the dream of reliving the pass-rushing glory days feels as far away as ever.
6. Undrafted rookie kicker Dominic Zvada was the lone bright spot
At least it wasn’t all terrible. Undrafted rookie kicking sensation Dominic Zvada never got the chance to attempt a field goal during the season opener, but that changed in Week 2. The 22-year-old finished the game making both of his tries, his first from 24 (child’s play), with the second going for 52.
Usually, when I write about Giants kickers, it’s because something infuriating happened. Not this time. New York might finally have a franchise kicker, which is about the lamest silver lining a loss could provide, but here we are.
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