The Giants have gotten some good news, for now, regarding quarterback Jaxson Dart’s knee injury.
Via NFL Network, it’s believed that Dart suffered a sprained MCL.
The assessment is based on a preliminary exam. X-rays were negative, and an MRI will be conducted on Tuesday.
After the game, coach John Harbaugh was asked about the report. “We’ll know more tomorrow,” Harbaugh said. “That’s in the neighborhood of it, I would say. We’ll get an MRI tomorrow and have a really good feel for it, and give you more information then.”
The MCL can heal with rest and rehab, unless the tendon is completely torn.
If Dart misses time, Jameis Winston will continue to play in his place. On Monday night, Winston completed 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards and an interception.
The Giants host the Titans on Sunday, with the Cardinals next and a visit to the Commanders. So they could find a way to win some games, even if Dart is absent.
Rams Clips
The Rams are back . . . and so is Aaron Donald.
Eleven days after a lackluster performance against the 49ers in Australia, the Rams rebounded with a dominant 28-6 victory over the Giants in Donald’s season debut. Both teams are 1-1.
The Rams might have won big anyway, but the Giants had no chance after Jaxson Dart injured his left knee on the first drive. The Giants had only 182 yards, and Jameis Winston was 11-of-27 for 111 yards and an interception.
The Giants crossed midfield six times, but punted six times, kicked two field goals, threw an interception and once turned it over on downs in their 10 possessions. It was as depressing as their season-opening win over the Cowboys was encouraging.
Donald, playing his first game in 981 days after unretiring Aug. 30, made three tackles, including a tackle for loss.
The Rams gained 481 yards despite playing without wide receiver Puka Nacua. Davante Adams more than made up for Nacua’s absence, catching eight passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
Matthew Stafford threw touchdown passes of 31 and 11 yards to Adams, 10 yards to running back Kyren Williams and 5 yards to tight end Terrance Ferguson. Stafford was 22-of-31 for 327 yards with an interception to go with the four touchdowns.
Williams ran for 85 yards on 12 carries, but he did lose a fumble. Blake Corum had 12 carries for 79 yards.
Giants safety Jevon Holland totaled eight tackles, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in an elite performance.
Monday night’s game can’t end soon enough for the Giants.
Not only are they getting blown out by the Rams, but they have had injuries to some of their biggest players. Quarterback Jaxson Dart injured his left knee on the first possession and is standing on the sideline in street clothes.
Wide receiver Malik Nabers left briefly with a shoulder injury.
Now, pass rusher Brian Burns and left tackle Andrew Thomas are injured.
Thomas limped off late in the fourth quarter and Burns followed soon after.
Burns’ injury looked serious as Rams center Coleman Shelton inadvertently rolled over Burns’ left ankle, pinning it to the ground. He needed the assistance of two athletic trainers to get off the field.
The Giants did not have an update on Burns or Thomas before the game ended.
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart left Monday night’s game early with a knee injury, and he didn’t return.
It apparently wasn’t his choice.
Via Jordan Raanan of ESPN, Dart wanted to return to the game. Obviously, the Giants wouldn’t allow it.
Laura Rutledge of ESPN has added that the Giants eventually took Dart’s uniform, preventing a return. She also said his limp is “very minor.”
The specific diagnosis remains to be seen. Lip readers have spotted an interaction between coach John Harbaugh and a staffer during which Harbaugh possibly is being told Dart will be out 4-6 weeks.
That timeframe could point to an MCL injury. Obviously, however, no one knows for now. And the official diagnosis presumably is coming on Tuesday, after Dart gets an MRI.
Davante Adams is having a career day.
The Rams receiver has eight catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown came on an 11-yard pass from Matthew Stafford and increased the Rams’ lead to 21-3 over the Giants.
Adams’ career-high for receiving yards is 206 on 11 catches while playing for the Packers against the Bengals in an overtime game in 2021.
It was Adams’ 119th career touchdown, ranking him seventh in NFL history. He is only two touchdown receptions behind Larry Fitzgerald, who is sixth on the list.
Stafford passed Philip Rivers for sixth on the all-time passing touchdowns list with his third of the night. He has 426 career passing touchdowns.
The Giants officially ruled out Jaxson Dart for the second half, but ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge delivered a positive update from General Manager Joe Schoen.
The Giants are still evaluating the injury, with Dart getting an X-ray at SoFi Stadium, but Schoen told Rutledge that Dart is “going to be OK.”
That presumably means Dart did not tear a ligament in his left knee and will return this season.
Coach John Harbaugh did not provide any information to Rutledge about Dart’s injury in a halftime interview.
Dart was hurt on the Giants’ first possession on a third-down play when Rams defenders Josaiah Stewart and Byron Young pressured him. Young hit Dart high, pushing him into Stewart, and, with Dart airborne, his left knee jammed into Stewart’s quad.
Dart remained on the turf with 11:20 left in the first quarter.
He went 3-for-5 for 20 yards before leaving.
Jameis Winston has replaced Dart and is 5-of-13 for 71 yards and an interception.
The Rams are playing without wide receiver Puka Nacua and pass rusher Myles Garrett. They haven’t missed them so far tonight, with the Giants having lost quarterback Jaxson Dart on the first possession.
Stafford has thrown for 184 yards and two touchdowns, with Davante Adams catching five for 145 and a touchdown.
The Rams lead 14-3.
Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald has three tackles, including one for loss, in his first game action in 981 days. Donald retired after the 2023 season but officially unretired Aug. 30.
Adams, 31, has not had a better game since Dec. 15, 2024, against the Jaguars when he caught nine passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
Stafford has completed 11 of 15 passes and has thrown a pick. His touchdowns covered 31 yards to Adams and 10 yards to running back Kyren Williams.
The Rams should have had three more points to end the half, but kicker Harrison Mevis missed a 43-yard try wide left on the final play of the half.
Giants safety Jevon Holland has done everything he can to keep his team in it. Holland, who had an interception of Dak Prescott last week, has an interception, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble.
At the end of a 5-yard Kyren Williams run late in the first half, Holland punched the ball out and recovered it at the Los Angeles 11. It was Williams’ eighth career fumble.
The Giants had six possessions in the first half and four times crossed midfield with drives to the Los Angeles 43, 43, 18 and 3 without a touchdown. After Holland’s fumble recovery, the Giants settled for Dominic Zvada’s chip-shot, 24-yard field goal with 25 seconds left in the half.
Dart went 3-of-5 for 20 yards before injuring his left knee. Jameis Winston replaced him and was 4-of-12 for 58 yards and an interception, a throw straight to Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie in the end zone.
Cam Skattebo has only 18 yards on seven carries.
As the Giants wait for news on quarterback Jaxson Dart’s knee injury, they’ve gotten good news on receiver Malik Nabers’s shoulder injury.
Nabers returned to the Monday night game against the Rams on the next drive after he exited.
It was a surprise. Nabers was in significant pain after he suffered the injury.
The Giants need Nabers. They’re down 14-0 to the Rams, and Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie intercepted in the front of the end zone quarterback Jameis Winston’s badly underthrown ball in Nabers’s direction.
The Rams lead, 14-0.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford moved into a tie for sixth on the NFL’s all-time passing touchdowns list on Monday night.
He tied Philip Rivers with his second touchdown of the night. Stafford’s 10-yard scoring toss to running back Kyren Williams was the 425th of Stafford’s career and gave the Rams a 14-0 lead with 11:07 left before halftime.
Brett Favre is fifth on the all-time list with 508, and Tom Brady is the leader with 649.
Stafford threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams in the first quarter. He nearly had a second touchdown to Adams, completing a 64-yard pass to Adams before safety Jevon Holland pulled down Adams at the Giants 14.
Adams has four catches for 118 yards and a touchdown.
Stafford is 10-of-12 for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
It’s been a bad night for the New York Giants.
After losing quarterback Jaxson Dart to a knee injury (he’s questionable to return), receiver Malik Nabers has been injured.
Nabers left the game after apparently injuring his upper right arm.
He tried to make a contested catch while being covered by Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie. Immediately after the play, Nabers put his left hand over the area between his bicep and shoulder.
Nabers was in considerable pain. His status will be updated, presumably sooner than later.
The Giants trail the Rams, 7-0.
Nabers returned to action in Week 1 after suffering a torn ACL in his knee last September. It was uncertain whether he’d play in the opener until pregame warmups. He caught six passes for 69 yards against the Cowboys. He has one catch for one yard against the Rams.
UPDATE 9:02 p.m. ET: It’s being described as a shoulder injury for Nabers.
