The second week of Monday Night Football is upon us.
The New York Giants will travel to California to face off against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. In Week One, both of these teams had different outcomes to start off the year playing against their in-division rivals.
The Giants handled business and dominated all four quarters against the Dallas Cowboys. Despite, the final score being a one possession game with New York winning 28-20, Dallas simply had no answers for them. Jaxson Dart was moving and grooving to start off year 2 as the starting quarterback. Dart threw for 230 yards and had three passing touchdowns as he operated the offense at a high level. Dart also used his ability to scramble and run with having 11 carries for 54 yards.
The rest of the offense was right behind their franchise player. Cam Skattebo dominated the run game with having 18 carries for 81 yards and scoring the Giant’s first touchdown of the season. Isaiah Likely in his debut as a Giant had eight receptions for 78 yards and got inside the end zone with scoring two touchdowns. Malik Nabers coming off his second season with season ending injuries and long offseason, had six receptions for 69 yards to start off year three.
The Cowboys defense look lost and tired all night long as their defense continues to struggle in continuous seasons. On the offensive side of things, the team had their struggles too. If Dallas can hang on to anything, it would be their high scoring juggernaut offense but New York’s pass rushers had other plans. All Sunday night long, Dallas was facing high pressure and being blitzed. New York’s defense was ultra physical and filled with trash talk, getting to Dak Prescott anytime they wanted. Opposing offenses are in for a long game if they have to deal with amazing pass rushers with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Arvell Reese leading the charge.
On LA’s side, things went the opposite way against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia. Going into the season, the Rams are one of the favorites to win this year’s Super Bowl due to the moves they made in the offseason. In a blockbuster trade, LA traded for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett. Last season, Garrett recored 23 sacks which broke the single season record in NFL history. After this major trade, the Rams lined up to get one of the best defensive players of all time out of retirement. Aaron Donald and the Rams a few weeks ago announced, Donald will suit up to play this upcoming season when he is fully ready. The team also added the Chiefs secondary duo of trading for Trent McDuffie and signing Jaylen Watson in free agency. All of these big time moves did not matter against the 49ers.
The San Francisco 49ers went on to blowout the Rams 27-7, with dominating the second half 17-0. Similar to the Cowboys, LA look lost out their and didn’t look like themselves. The offense was terrible with the reigning 2025 regular season MVP, Matthew Stafford looking like a different player than a season ago. Stafford threw for 155 yards with passing for no touchdowns and having one interception. On defense, it didn’t look any better with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy having three passing touchdowns and the offense dealing all night. Garrett in his LA debut had zero sacks or tackles and a few days after the game the team received bad news. The Rams have placed the reigning defensive player of the year on injured reserved with undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee and will miss at least the next four games.
Now going into Week two, one team will look to go 2-0 and the other will look to win their first game of the season. If the Giants want to have another great week, they will continue to need Jaxson Dart to play at a high level. This team goes as far as he does with his play and if the offense is clicking at a high level with the ball going around, then the defense will follow suit. This is what can make New York a very scary team if everyone rallies together. Despite Garrett missing this game, the Giants shouldn’t expect anything less from the Rams. With an ugly week one lost, the Rams are in desperation mode to not only win but not go down 0-2 to begin the year. New York also has to deal with Aaron Donald returning to play in his season debut. Donald stayed back at home in California and did not travel with the team in Week one so he can ramp up his conditioning. With one defensive star on IR, the other will look to add to the defense and contribute to a better performance in Week two.
On the other side, the Rams will look to move far ahead into Week two and put up a better showcase for themselves. Two weeks in a row you can’t expect the offense to play poorly and not score points. With the Rams playing their first game at home this season, the passing game should look to be much better. You have a lot of offensive talent from Puka Nacua to Kyren Williams to Davante Adams to Tyler Higbee and Stafford leading the charge. It’s going to be a good and tough fight as LA faces all of the Giants pass rushers and defense. The Giants shut down one great offense, but can they do it again?
As New York and LA face off in two days, the Rams injury report doesn’t look great with regards to their star wide-receiver. Rams’ Puka Nacua is listed as questionable for Monday’s game due to a hip injury. Nacua missed another day of practice on Saturday after being a non-participant in Friday’s practice as well. With Nacua being 50/50, it’s not ideal for the team but specifically the offense. In the Rams loss, Nacua was one of the few LA players who had any type of production as he had five receptions for 74 yards. The Rams are in tough territory but they will have to move on to the next best man available if Nacua is unable to go.
Two major market teams face off with the Giants and the Rams. They kick off Week two on Monday night at 8:15 p.m. Will the Giants continue their season undefeated or will the Rams get a much needed win?
