Giants Season on Standby Following Dart Knee Injury in 28-6 Loss to Rams

Published: Wednesday, September 23, 2026

by Ryan Nelke

Three minutes and 48 seconds. That’s how long Giants fans' season dreams lasted going into Monday Night Football before the life was sucked out of them when Jaxson Dart suffered a season ending knee injury on New York’s first drive of the game. The rest of the game was an afterthought for the Giants, as they fell to the Rams 28-6 behind Matthew Stafford’s 327 passing yards and four touchdown passes, two of which found the hands of Davante Adams.

On a 3rd and 8 play from the Rams 43, Dart skyed a deep pass to Theo Johnson who dropped the ball, which at the time seemed to be the biggest issue for the G-Men. Then, the broadcast cut to Dart on the ground, clutching his left knee. Dart would walk off the field and into the locker room under his own power, and ESPN would later show Dart taking the cart while in the locker room. Dart would be officially ruled out for the game later on, and returned to the Giants sideline to watch the rest of the game in the second half, dressed in street clothes. Adding insult to injury, with the game out of hand by the fourth quarter, New York would lose their best player on the defensive side of the ball, Brian Burns, to injury, as he was assisted off the field after a first down carry from Kyren Williams.

It was a stellar night for Adams, who opened the scoring for Los Angeles right before the close of the first quarter, where he made a spectacular grab off a high pass from Stafford, as he cruised into the endzone on a 31-yard touchdown reception as a result of a breakdown in coverage from the Giants defense. The home squad would tack on to their lead early in the second quarter, as Stafford found his trusty back Williams in the endzone for a 10-yard touchdown, capping off a nearly 11 minute drive. 

The Giants had a glimmer of hope when safety Jevon Holland forced a fumble out of the hands of Williams inside the Rams own 20, but New York would not be able to punch it in from 11 yards out and would settle for a field goal. The Rams would respond instantly with a 27-yard acrobatic reception from Adams to set them up for 43-yarder, but Harrison Mevis sent it wide left, leaving Los Angeles up 14-3 going into the half.

The Stafford-Adams show resumed in the second half, as Adams continued to shred the Giants secondary, raking in his second touchdown of the night with just over six minutes to go in the third. Adams would finish the night with eight receptions, 195 yards, and two touchdowns. New York’s offense was a slog for the remainder of the night, as they could only muster up one more field goal off the leg of rookie kicker Dominic Zvada. Zvada’s 52-yarder with 3:55 to go in the third made it 21-6. The Rams lead ballooned to 28-6 midway through the fourth when Stafford tallied his fourth touchdown pass, finding tight end Terrance Ferguson in the back of the endzone for a five yard grab.

Ferguson’s touchdown would be the last of the scoring, and the Rams would drip away the rest of the clock in the fourth after the Giants turned it over on downs on their final possession. The 28-6 win was much-needed for Los Angeles, as a rebound was necessary following the 27-7 drubbing the San Francisco 49ers handed them in Australia.

Taking a deeper look at the Dart-less Giants offense, Jameis Winston could not settle in the entire night, going 11/27 for 111 yards, and one interception. Cam Skattebo had nowhere to go on the ground, taking 12 carries for 36 yards, while Malik Nabers only finished with one more yard than everyone who watched MNF, corralling one reception the entire night.

 

Following the loss, the Giants (1-1) will return home to host the Titans (0-2), while the Rams (1-1) take a road trip to Mile High to face the Broncos (1-1) on Sunday Night Football.

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