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znModeratorIt is true that the Giants were more banged up than the Rams. But of course the Rams were banged up too. On the Rams side, this led to the double specter of a top run game and a brilliant connection between Stafford and Adams, all against a very good defense.
There were times we can all remember where the Rams would lose games like this.
For me, in the midst of the weird combo of gaudy yet mistake prone offense, it was a pleasure to see players like Adams and McDuffie excel.
And in the middle of all this chaos league wide driven by compromised OL play, it was good to see the Rams OL just be solidly effective.
Some details.
* Kyren Wms said he worked on his speed in the offseason. To me, it showed. He didn’t suddenly become Tony Dorsett, but he had a bit more speed in his game.
* The Rams DL is so deep it’s almost unbelievable. And we didn’t even hear much from Fiske or Ford. I have this radical new deep revelation that leads to me to a profound new claim: namely, I think this unit is going to just get better and better. Really. I promise. It’s true. I swear.
* Some games, Lake just makes plays. When he does that he just seems to be tuned in to what the opposing offense is trying to do.
* Atwell, in his few plays, looked more confidently decisive than before. He’s still a role player, but it could grow into an important role.
* Ferguson took steps toward being the “TE in the 3rd WR” role that he is kind of destined for in McVay’s mind. I like the fact that both Stafford and McVay chewed him out for the dropped 3rd down pass, and that he responded to that in a constructive way.
* Protection is big for this offense. Higbee was more a 6th lineman than a true TE. I bet we see more of that this year.
* Everyone on defense plays crazier and more tuned in when Donald is active–that’s whether he is on the field or the sideline. Players used to say that with Steven Jackson on the team, you just played harder out of respect for him. I think it’s the same with Donald.
* Special teams has gone from being a game-killing, bottom of the league unit capable of causing multiple disasters, to being just somewhat below average/slash/mediocre. So…big improvement!
* On third and short, setting up a run look then rolling Stafford out to hit a TE who had lined up before the snap as a blocker? That play looks unstoppable. In the future, teams will defend that, but doing so will just subtract from the run defense. It’s a clever thing McVay does with that, since the play and then (eventually) just threatening to run that play will force defenders into contradictory no-win responses.
* To be honest? I knew Adams was good, we all did. But I had no idea how good. He truly ranks right up there with a very long list of great Rams WRs, including Ellard, Bruce, Holt, Kupp, OBJ, and Nacua. That’s just true of course but what I want to stress here is how much seeing him in that game just drove that point home. In one game, I went from “yeah he’s good glad we have him” to “wow.”
znModeratorOddly, according to Nick Wright, the Rams are still favorites to win the super bowl — but both the 49ers and Seahawks are slightly favored over the rams to win the division.
w
vThat’s a conceivable scenario. In fact in 2021 the Rams were a wildcard team.
It’s conceivable because as things now stand, they have key injured players who will be coming back, and depth players (Stewart, Bailey, Ferguson) who could develop. They could be much stronger by the end of the year.
znModeratorfrom ESPN, Ben Solak: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49999213/week-3-seven-things-solak-thinks-baker-mayfield-patriots-chargers#lar
… Aaron Donald’s ridiculous retirement workout regimen has paid off
Thirty-two snaps? For a 35-year-old defensive tackle who hasn’t played in 2½ years? I really can’t believe it. Even if you remind me that this guy is a supervillain athlete, I still would have guessed 15, maybe 20 snaps in his debut game.
Only three defensive tackles at least 35 years old have taken at least 30 snaps in a game since the start of last season: John Jenkins, Calais Campbell and Cameron Heyward. Donald could have easily gotten to 40 if forced to contribute in the second half; he took four snaps in the fourth quarter.
The Rams didn’t give Donald long strings of plays. They subbed their lines consistently, especially as they used four- and five-man fronts to combat various personnel groupings from the Giants. So, I still have conditioning questions, though those will exist with any big man playing at his age; it’s hard to keep that engine humming for four quarters.
The Giants also wanted to test that motor, and they went tempo in the third quarter when Donald was on the field, though they weren’t good enough on offense to pick up first downs and keep him trapped.
But how did Donald look with fresh legs? I was impressed. He’s still quick as a cat off the line of scrimmage. Watch here on the final play of the first quarter. The Giants are trying to pin him with the right tackle and pull the center and guard around the block. Donald is so quick upfield that he forces the center (John Michael Schmitz Jr., No. 61) to take a wide path around his disruption (and he gets a little tug on the jersey as a bonus) while running back Cam Skattebo is accelerated by the blitz behind. The timing of the play is ruined.
— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) September 22, 2026
Late in the first half, the Giants ask tight end Isaiah Likely to block down on Donald so they can run a puller in behind. This is a very silly idea. Donald again gets too far upfield and disrupts the puller, and Najee Harris is forced to burrow his head into the line of scrimmage and eat a TFL.
— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) September 22, 2026
As long as that first step is still kicking, Donald will be a problem for opposing offenses. Next Gen Stats had Donald with a 0.75-second get-off in this game, tied for the third-fastest get-off for a defensive tackle in a game this season. That sort of upfield disruption, even if it comes with fewer finished rushes and sacks, or comes on a lower snap count, still matters a great deal.
Were this a random game in 2023, I’d call it a bad performance for Donald’s pass-rushing presence. He ate a lot of double-teams, which opened up other rushers. But he struggled to separate from offensive linemen and create pressure on the quarterback. He had only one pressure on the day, which occurred late in the fourth quarter, when the Giants were down by 22 and in desperation mode. In the Next Gen Stats era — from 2016, 134 regular-season and playoff games — Donald has had only one pressure in eight games. This was a rare sight.
I’d be worried about that if it weren’t a weird game script: Jaxson Dart out (knee), good Giants offensive line, no real reason to play Donald in the fourth quarter. The pressures will come as Donald gets back into the flow of pass rushing against real offensive linemen. That’s the sort of thing that no shirtless Instagram workout can really replace.
znModeratorWyatt@WyattB_FF
The Terrance Ferguson thesis before the season was that he’s a highly athletic tight end who showed the ability to perform a role few other TEs can as a rookie, and he had the capability of rounding out the rest of his profile.He was projected to operate as the Rams WR3, and be featured in the TE rotation, which game him multiple outs to fantasy success. Last night we saw one of his outs happen.
znModeratorMatthew Stafford is only in his sixth season with the Los Angeles Rams and he’s already approaching the top of the team’s all-time leaderboards. On Monday night against the New York Giants, Stafford threw two first-half touchdown passes to give him 143 in his Rams career.
That moved him into second place all-time in Rams history, behind only Roman Gabriel, who had 154 touchdown passes with the franchise. Stafford has only played 65 games with the Rams, which is half as many as Gabriel played (130) to reach 154.
znModerator.@Giants @RamsNFL when the O-Line and the scheme protect Stafford like they did last night; the Rams are hard to beat. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/aflRoGlMij
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 22, 2026
znModerator.@Giants @RamsNFL @AaronDonald97 started and played over 1/2 the snaps and the movement and arsenal is still there #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/vRweYfBZkj
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 22, 2026
znModeratorStud: Trent McDuffie
How good has McDuffie been thus far? He’s been worth every penny (and pick) the Rams paid to get him, looking his best on Monday against New York. He had four total passes defensed, including his first interception as a member of the Rams. He was sticky in coverage, physical as a tackler and has looked every bit like the All-Pro the Rams thought he’d be in L.A.
Stud: Quentin Lake
Lake was peppered with targets in Week 1 and held up fairly well in coverage, despite giving up some completions. The Giants went after him early, too, but Lake responded with some excellent plays. He drove on the ball and nearly came away with an interception in the first quarter, broke up a pass intended for Isaiah Likely over the middle and also forced a fumble on Cam Skattebo that went out of bounds. He finished second on the team with six tackles, three passes defensed and the forced fumble.
Stud: Byron Young
Without Myles Garrett, Young had to step up as the Rams’ top edge rusher. And he delivered with a terrific performance. He had five tackles, including a sack, along with three quarterback hits and a tackle for a loss. He was constantly around the quarterback throughout the night, whether it was Jaxson Dart or Jameis Winston. And his speed was on full display when he chased down Jameis from behind for the sack.
znModeratorAaron Donald… is back… 🥹🥲 pic.twitter.com/sFp7oEcZm7
— Rams Tapes 🇵🇷 (@RamsTapes) September 22, 2026
AARON DONALD COMES UP WITH THE THIRD DOWN STOP pic.twitter.com/2PkkpNgLxg
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) September 22, 2026
znModerator#Rams HC Sean McVay on the difference between Week 1 (blowout loss) and Week 2 (blowout win):
"Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. And sometimes you have a dumbass coach that makes travel plans that puts you in bad spots." 😂😅
(🎥 @ArashMarkazi) pic.twitter.com/KLQtDbhE6z
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 22, 2026
znModeratorI think it’s safe to say we have seen vintage Davante Adams tonight pic.twitter.com/ezsiPsKudo
— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) September 22, 2026
znModeratorNFL+@NFLPlus
Matthew Stafford is now second all-time in Rams history with 142 TD passes 😮💨Howard Balzer@HBalzer721
49ers, Seahawks and Rams have outscored their opponents this week, 94-26Doug McKain@DMAC_LA
Davante Adams had exactly ONE reception of 40+ yards last season. He has three grabs of 20+ yards or more tonight. Davante Adams turned back the clock tonight. The Rams needed him to step up with Puka out, and he delivered in the biggest way possible.PFF@PFF
Most receiving TDs among active WRsDavante Adams 118
Mike Evans 109
Stefon Diggs 77
Keenan Allen 70
Odell Beckham Jr 59Rams Wire@TheRamsWire
Davante Adams outgained and outscored the Giants by himself Mondayroberto clemente@rclemente2121
tonight’s targets:12 tights ends
10 adams
5 all other wide receivers
3 running backsthis is only the 4th time in 19 games with the rams that adams has seen 10+ targets in a game – comparatively, nacua had seen 10+ targets in 25 of the 51 games he’s played.
Robert Griffin III@RGIII
The Rams with Aaron Donald are a different Monster. His presence impacts both sides of the ball.Defensively they made the Giants go 3/14 on 3rd Down, held the passing game to 43.75 completion %, only gave up 11 first downs.
roberto clemente@rclemente2121
stafford’s 61.2 passer rating in week 1 was the second lowest in his 85 games with the rams.the good news? stafford’s last four passer ratings the week after posting a rating in the 60s are:
131.3 – 4 tds, 1 int (tonight)
127.6 – 3 tds, 0 int
114.5 – 4 tds, 0 int
124.5 – 4 tds, 1 intznModeratorSicko. #9 pic.twitter.com/NQbKKBOCUG
— Rams Bros. (@RamsBrothers) September 22, 2026
znModeratorWESLEY BAILEY FROM OTTAWA WITH HIS FIRST CAREER SACK 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/zFgZQiWIBm
— NFL Canada (@NFLCanada) September 22, 2026
znModeratorWith other teams if a star player is out, they lose that player’s production and try to compensate for that.
With the Rams it’s like, okay, Nacua is out, so this gives us a chance to make up for neglecting Adams as much as we have till now.
BTW I don’t know if people know this, but the Rams had 3 WRs on the inactive list, 2 cause of injury. Nacua, Whittington, and Daniels.
znModeratorLook at the pressure Young had on Jameis. Pressures can be just as effective as sacks. Pressure forced that turnover pic.twitter.com/22puiRv4s7
— trey wingo (@wingoz) September 22, 2026
znModeratorDespite not having Myles Garrett on defense, is this what everyone expected from them?
ATKINS: It mostly is. Stafford and Adams looked like they did in training camp. The tight ends are the complementary options. The backfield was an even but potent split between Kyren Williams (85 yards on 12 carries) and Blake Corum (79 yards on 12 carries). The secondary was making plays, with Quentin Lake getting his hands on the ball and Trent McDuffie grabbing an interception. The pass rush was strong, led by Young, who needs to be the lead force on the edge with Garrett out.
Some of the shortcomings are to be expected, too. The Rams don’t have a defined No. 3 pass catcher. And they still have some special teams issues, as shown by a 38-yard punt, a 43-yard missed field goal and some shaky returns from Xavier Smith. — Nate Atkins, Rams reporter
znModeratorFrank Schwab@YahooSchwab
Well, the Rams are fine after all. Sure the Giants lost Jaxson Dart early on, but LA didn’t want to hear injury excuses as it was without Myles Garrett and Puka Nacua. Imagine how good the Rams will look when they return.Brett Kollmann@BrettKollmann
Per @NextGenStats the Rams had a pressure rate of 58.6% tonight.The Giants, after all of their investment in the Edge group over the years, somehow ended up at 15.2%
Sarah Barshop@sarahbarshop
The Rams had a 66.7% Pass Rush Win Rate on Monday, according to ESPN Analytics/NFL NGS.That is their highest rate in any game since Week 11 of the 2022 season. In Aaron Donald’s first game back, the Rams had a Pass Rush Win Rate higher than any game since he last played.
Next Gen Stats@NextGenStats
Trent McDuffie held Malik Nabers without a catch on three targets across 21 coverage matchups, which included a second-quarter interception.McDuffie spent 32.8 seconds in tight coverage throughout the game, second-longest in a game in his career.
Sosa Kremenjas@QBsMVP
Rams defense this week, per @SumerSports:
-0.44 EPA/play (2nd-best)
44.1% man coverage
55.9% zone coverageA LOT more balanced this week than the Week 1 gameplan. Looked a lot more like what we expected with the new CBs and personnel under Chris Shula.
Greg Beacham@gregbeacham
Wesley Bailey makes his first NFL sack. The undrafted free agent rookie Canadian is getting real defensive snaps, and he continues to make plays.Tom Byrne@1TomByrne
Matthew Stafford is 38 years old and just casually carving up an NFL defense for 320 yards and 4 TDs.We’ve gotten way too comfortable with how absurd this era of old quarterbacks is.
PFF@PFF
Most 4+ Pass TD games since 2021Matthew Stafford 10
Dak Prescott 10
Joe Burrow 9
Lamar Jackson 9PFF@PFF
Most games with 100+ receiving yards & 1+ receiving TD since 2020Davante Adams 28
A.J. Brown 20
Tyreek Hill 19Jourdan Rodrigue @jourdanrodrigue.bsky.social
This Davante Adams reel is going to be a favorite for people to study for a long long time after this game. Big plays, body control, all of the tiny details too. My goodness.J.B. Long@JB_Long
With tonight’s MNF victory, Sean McVay passes Bill Walsh for sole possession of 50th on the list of regular season wins … his 93rd.Also passes Walsh for combined wins – regular and postseason – with his 103rd.
***
znModeratorBecoming one of the better long-yardage TEs.
Has the size to become an every-down guy too. If he ever develops as a blocker, he goes from situational weapon to cheat code. https://t.co/uaj0Z9dMCI
— Max Toscano (@maxtoscano1) September 22, 2026
znModeratorIntentional route running + no indicators = separation.
Davante Adams just understands leverage and route pacing at an elite level.
Young WR’s pay attention. You don’t need to make an extraordinary move to get open. Subtle manipulation works.☝🏾 pic.twitter.com/DXXjnCkiuj
— Cam White (@RouteUniverse9) September 22, 2026
znModerator69RamFan
This is how we play our Defense,
giving up only a total of 182 net yards,
Our D holding the G-Boys to 52yds in the run game.
UDR/OLB/Bailey with a Sack
BY with 1/sack, 1/TFL, 3/QB Hits
AD playing 30 snap, with 1/TFL in which it kept the G-boys from scoring a TD,
and 3/comb tackles, while getting double and triple teamed.and our backend,
McD with 1/INT & 4/PD
Lake with 6/comb tackles, 3/PD and 1/FF
On the offense:
it was a two-man show between our QB & WR
and the OL, only giving up one sack, while opening up holes for our run game.QB/Stafford: 31/Att, 22/comp, 70.9%/comp 327yds 4/TD, 1/INT QB rating 131.3
WR/TAE 10/Tar, 8/Rec, 195yds 2/TD
Combo rushing between RB/Williams & Corum, for 164yds
znModeratorznModeratorRams Top Plays In MNF Win vs Giants: Davante Adams’ Biggest Catches, Matthew Stafford’s 4-TDs & More
znModerator.@Giants @RamsNFL @tae15adams is turned loose…This is too easy. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/hWOHCNPm6l
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 22, 2026
znModeratorTrent McDuffie picks off Jameis for his first INT as a Ram 💨 pic.twitter.com/np7BJPf7V5
— ESPN (@espn) September 22, 2026
znModeratorHow nice is it to have Davante Adams in man coverage & just say, “I’m throwing the advantage instead of handing it off”
One of the best route runners in the NFL. Sometimes it really is that simple. pic.twitter.com/J9iJHQV438
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) September 22, 2026
znModeratorAaron Donald makes his presence known. pic.twitter.com/NZYtUZlrAT
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 22, 2026
znModeratorLouis Riddick@LRiddickESPN
#Rams were done last week and had more people jumping off ship than you could possible imagine.#Giants were bullies last week and ready to take a big leap to challenge in the East.
Now what …
Mina Kimes@minakimes
Davante Adams in a flow state where every target feels like a sure thing. Fade. Corner. Back shoulder. All automatic.Mike Clay@MikeClayNFL
Davante Adams with Puka Nacua out:
8 rec, 195 yds, 2 TDsRams Bros.@RamsBrothers
Aaron Donald’s night is likely done. Don’t care about any of the stats or the PFF grades. Looked like the same dominant player to me, putting offensive lineman on skates, effecting the run game and generating pressure.Perfect warm up game. 1-0 with 99 on the field.
HoldenCantor@HoldenCantor
McDuffie is the truthSosa Kremenjas@QBsMVP
Trent McDuffie in Week 2, per @SumerSports:
5 targets
0 receptions allowed
0 yards allowed
1 INT
4 PBUsNate Atkins@NateAtkins_
The non-Davante Adams pass catchers on the Rams tonight:16 targets
9 catches
90 yards
1 TD
5.6 yards per targetThe Rams are still searching for that third receiving option. Obviously, it helps that the top two are as good as they are.
Absolutely elite
September 21, 2026 at 11:13 pm in reply to: chat link for the Giants game + (eventually) inactives list #166198znModeratorLooks like you have to register?
September 21, 2026 at 9:50 pm in reply to: chat link for the Giants game + (eventually) inactives list #166194znModeratorWTF, man?
I keep getting an error msg.
NO TEXT CHANNELS
You find yourself in a strange place. You don’t have access to any
text channels, or there are none in this server.Not sure what this is about.
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