The first real sighting of Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on Monday night happened when ESPN cameras captured him giving his former head coach, Sean McVay, a post-game hug. During the game, OBJ made even less of a cameo appearance.
Beckham was on the field for only three snaps. Out of 58 total offensive plays.
By way of comparison, Malachi Fields had 47 snaps. Malik Nabers played 43. Darnell Mooney was on the field for 42.
Even Braxton Berrios — primarily a special-teamer — had five offensive snaps.
Making the lack of involvement from Beckham more surprising is the fact that starting quarterback Jaxson Dart made an early exit with a knee injury. Beckham and backup quarterback Jameis Winston have a strong rapport, and Winston struggled in relief of Dart, completing 11 of 27 throws. Why not give Beckham and Winston a chance to connect?
The other question is whether Beckham has frustrations regarding his lack of involvement. Yes, he’s apparently happy to simply be back in the NFL after a year out of football. But, with only three snaps in a prime-time game, is he really back?
In Week 1, Beckham was on the field for 11 of 69 snaps. He has been targeted zero times, through two games.
From the Giants’ perspective, it’s fair to wonder whether a game-day roster spot is being wasted on someone who isn’t contributing to the cause. As MDS points out, the Giants have receiver Dalen Cambre on the practice squad. He was second in the NCAA in special-teams tackles as a senior, and he blocked two punts at the college level.
Yes, the Giants bringing Beckham back to Big Blue is a good story. The fans love him. But the early-season trends aren’t encouraging. At some point, they’re going to need his roster spot.
Especially if they don’t put Dart on IR and add another quarterback (other than Berrios) to serve as the backup to Winston.
Rams Clips
The Rams didn’t have Puka Nacua for Monday night’s game against the Giants, but the wide receiver’s absence didn’t wind up holding them back.
Matthew Stafford found the groove that eluded the Rams in Week 1’s loss to the 49ers and threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-6 win. The first of those scores came late in the first quarter when he found a wide open Davante Adams for a 31-yard score and it would not be the last time Adams found holes in the Giants defense.
Adams used a double move to shake off Giants defenders for a 64-yard catch on the next Rams possession and he added his second touchdown catch of the night in the third quarter. The night ended with eight catches for 195 yards that Stafford said the Rams really needed given who wasn’t available for the game.
“He’s an elite player,” Stafford said, via the team’s website. “He made all sorts of plays today. [He] made contested catches. He ran great routes and got open. He did it all for us, and he’s a guy that can do that. We understand that. We know it. And like I said, leaned on him big time tonight, and he came through for us.”
The Rams will be hoping to have more hands on deck in Denver next weekend, but Monday was a reminder of how much they bring to the table even when they aren’t playing with a full deck.
SoFi Stadium got a jolt of energy before Monday night’s game when Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was the final defensive starter announced to the home crowd.
Donald said the response from that crowd “kind of amped me up a little bit” as he ran onto the field for the first time since deciding to end the retirement that started after the 2023 season. Donald did not travel to Australia for the opener and took more time to ramp himself up for his return to game action.
The result was three tackles and a tackle for loss while playing 33 of the team’s 58 defensive snaps in Monday night’s 28-6 win over the Giants. Donald said he would like to win “a little faster” when he’s blocked one-on-one and that he feels like everything will feel more natural with a little more playing time under his belt.
“The game really wasn’t as fast as I thought,” Donald said, via the team’s website. “It was more of me calming myself down, overrunning stuff or just my feet not being in the ground how they supposed to be, not trusting my eyes, little stuff like that. But playing the game, when I held out in ’17, ’18 it was the same way when I came back, it took a couple games to get going. It’s a little different. I ain’t played in two years, so I gotta watch the film, see what I did good, see what I did wrong, and just clean it up.”
The plan was for the Rams to team Donald with Myles Garrett, but Garrett’s knee injury leaves that on hold for the time being so all involved will hope that the weeks to come find Donald recovering even more of the game that made him a three-time defensive player of the year.
Giants pass rusher Brian Burns limped off the field in obvious pain on Monday night, but in the locker room after the game, Burns said the medical diagnosis showed that the damage to his ankle wasn’t as bad as it felt.
Burns said as he sat at his locker that he could feel his ankle getting stiff but the Giants’ medical staff had told him it’s a low ankle sprain that shouldn’t cause him to miss much time.
“It eases my mind to know it’s not nothing serious,” Burns said.
Burns said he’s had similar injuries and knows how to rehab them so he can get back on the field quickly.
“I’ve dealt with this before,” Burns said. “It all depends on how fast you can get the swelling and inflammation down. I’m going to do everything possible to get as tamed as I can.”
Burns said he would begin his rehab while on the flight from Los Angeles back to New York.
“The recovery process starts now, so it will be ice and compression until we get back to the facility and do more work on it, try to stay off it, keep it elevated,” Burns said. “That’s all you can do with sprains. I’ve dealt with it before.”
Burns is one of the Giants’ best defensive players, and on a night when quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Malik Nabers and left tackle Andrew Thomas all got hurt, a serious injury to Burns was the last thing the Giants needed. Fortunately, he’s going to be OK.
The Rams looked like Super Bowl contenders on Monday night against the Giants, a significant improvement from their Week 1 loss to the 49ers in Australia. Rams coach Sean McVay blamed the Rams’ much-discussed travel plans, and himself, for that Week 1 loss.
McVay was asked after the win over the Giants why the Rams looked so different than they did in Australia, and McVay said it was primarily about his own decision to arrive in Australia only a day before the game.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn and sometimes you have a dumbass coach that makes travel plans that puts you in bad spots,” McVay said.
The Rams’ decision to arrive in Australia only about 24 hours before kickoff was an attempt not to acclimate to the time change at all. The 49ers arrived in Australia a week early and were well acclimated. The 49ers won 27-7, and the Rams’ travel schedule has been heavily scrutinized.
McVay took the blame for not having his team ready to play in Australia, but they were very ready to play in Los Angeles on Monday night, winning 28-6.
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.
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.
