The one thing New York Giant fans didn’t want to see this season was another poor start. Well, after six weeks they still have just one one win after falling to the Los Angeles Rams Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants came into he game as 7.5-point underdogs with quarterback Daniel Jones spending a week in the league’s concussion protocol and running back Saquon Barkley (ankle) and wide receivers Kenny Golladay (knee) and Darius Slayton (hamstring) sitting out.
Rookie wide receiver Kadarius Toney (three receptions, 36 yards) appeared as if he was going to pick up right where he left off last week in Dallas but re-injured his sore ankle in the first quarter and did not return.
The Giants opened the scoring with a Graham Gano 27-yard field goal after failing in the red zone once again. The Rams came roaring back with two scores in the second quarter on two Matthew Stafford touchdown passes — one to a wide open Robert Woods and the other to the seemingly always-open Cooper Kupp. The second score came courtesy of a strip sack of Daniel Jones on the Giants’ 12-yard line.
Jones was picked off later in the quarter in Giants’ territory and the Rams cashed that in when Darrell Henderson scored on a two-yard dive with 3:36 left in the half to extend the lead to 21-3. Henderson scored again with 0:33 remaining on a 27-yard pass from Stafford.
The score was 31-3 after three quarters and ended with the Rams taking their foot off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter. The final was 38-11 and it wasn’t even that close.
Jones had a rough day (29 of 51 passing for 242 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT and a lost fumble) and it looked as if head coach Joe Judge was contemplating replacing him with Mike Glennon in the third quarter but let Jones play on.
Why Judge chose to do that is uncertain. The offensive line was getting whooped by the Rams’ defensive front and were in a constant shuffle after Andrew Thomas left the game early on with an ankle injury and Nate Solder was dealing with a finger issue.
After two straight games without surrendering a sack, the Giants allowed four in this game.
This was truly a matchup between two clubs headed in opposite directions. The Rams are 5-1 and pointing towards the postseason while the Giants could be in play for the first overall selection in the 2022 NFL draft, a distinction they haven’t had since they took Tucker Frederickson No. 1 in 1965.
Notes
- The Giants wore their white jerseys instead of the traditional home blue in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Super Bowl XLVI team, who were honored at halftime.
- MetLife Stadium had more than the usual number of empty seats and there were quite a few Rams fans in attendance. The weather was perfect for football, too. It is an indictment on the direction of the franchise. It’s as if the fanbase is firing the owners.
- For the sixth straight game, the defense allowed a touchdown in the waning seconds of the first half.
- Leonard Williams had 1.5 sacks and Xavier McKinney picked off two passes and should have had a third. Sterling Shepard caught 10 passes for 76 yards.
- Linebacker Cam Brown, wide receiver Dante Pettis and offensive lineman Korey Cunningham were all added to the 53-man roster this week and all three dressed for the game.