Giants Score Six Points on Nine Drives After Jaxson Dart's Injury in 28-6 Loss to Rams

The Giants scored six points on the nine possessions that followed Jaxson Dart's first-quarter knee injury in Monday night's 28-6 loss to the Rams at SoFi Stadium. Jameis Winston played the rest of the game and completed 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards with an interception and a 37.7 passer rating, according to ESPN's box score. The nine drives ended in five punts, two field goals, an interception and a turnover on downs.

The Rams outgained the Giants 481 yards to 182. The Giants converted 3 of 14 third downs and scored no touchdowns on two trips inside the Rams' 20, per ESPN. In their Week 1 win over Dallas, the Giants converted 9 of 10 third downs before a final kneel-down and went 4-for-4 in the red zone, according to giants.com.

Dart had completed 3 of 5 passes for 20 yards when he was hurt on a third-and-8 incompletion with 11:28 left in the first quarter, GiantsGator has reported. Giants coach John Harbaugh said Tuesday that evaluations of Dart were ongoing and that no decisions had been made, according to the team. Asked about Winston if Dart misses time, Harbaugh said he had "absolute faith in all of our players," according to a team transcript.

Third-and-long

Winston threw eight passes on third down with an average of 10.4 yards to go, by GiantsGator's count of ESPN's play-by-play. He completed one, a 15-yard pass to Darnell Mooney on third-and-8 in the third quarter. The Giants ran 21 times for 52 yards, 2.5 yards per carry.

"We went in third-and-long a lot so I have to execute better on first and second down," Winston said after the game, according to a transcript released by the Giants. Asked what the Rams did to trouble the passing game, he said, "When you know a pass is coming, it's very challenging to throw the ball when you know that a pass is coming."

Harbaugh said after the game that Winston "came in, executed, he operated really well" and was "on point with all the things in terms of running the offense."

The interception

Winston's interception came on third-and-7 from the Rams' 18 with 6:31 left in the second quarter and the Giants trailing 14-0. Cornerback Trent McDuffie intercepted his pass down the middle for Malik Nabers a yard deep in the end zone and returned it 22 yards, per ESPN. Earlier on the drive, Winston completed a 33-yard pass to Mooney and converted a fourth-and-1 at the Rams' 22 with a 1-yard run that stood after a Rams challenge.

"Third down, we got one-on-one coverage on the outside. They got some pressure up the middle. I gave our guy a chance and the cornerback slipped underneath," Winston said.

The takeaways

The Giants scored three points off their two takeaways, both by safety Jevón Holland in the second quarter. Holland intercepted Matthew Stafford, and the Giants took over at their 29. That drive lasted four plays, gained 21 yards, included a sack of Winston by linebacker Wesley Bailey and ended in a punt, per ESPN.

On the Rams' next possession, Holland forced a fumble by Kyren Williams and recovered it at the Rams' 11 with 3:11 left in the half. The Giants called a run on all four snaps that followed. The first was wiped out by a Rams offside penalty that moved the ball to the 6. Cam Skattebo gained nothing, Najee Harris gained 3 yards on second down, and Harris lost 3 on third-and-2 when defensive tackle Aaron Donald tackled him. Dominic Zvada kicked a 24-yard field goal.

Harbaugh was asked after the game why the Giants did not throw. "We'll go back and second guess ourselves on that for sure. Even the specific plays that we ran, we'll second guess ourselves, we already have," he said.

Holland forced a fumble by Blake Corum in the fourth quarter. Corum recovered it, and Stafford threw a touchdown pass to tight end Terrance Ferguson later on the drive to make it 28-6, according to giants.com.

The Rams' pass rush

The Rams sacked Winston twice and were credited with eight quarterback hits in the game, per ESPN. Outside linebacker Byron Young had a sack and three hits, including hits on the play on which Dart was injured and on Winston's interception. Bailey had the other sack. Rams defenders were credited with 10 passes defensed, four by McDuffie.

"I thought the games were a problem for us, the interior games were the thing I noticed the most, without watching the tape," Harbaugh said.

Where Winston's passes went

Tight end Isaiah Likely drew nine of Winston's 27 targets. Nabers caught one of four targets for 1 yard. He was hurt on a Winston incompletion with six seconds left in the first quarter and returned early in the second, per ESPN.

"On second-and-long, third-and-long, they're able to play outside leverage and do things that take away our attack on them," Winston said of how the Rams covered Nabers.

Winston completed 1 of 7 passes that ESPN charted as deep throws, the 33-yarder to Mooney. Three of the seven went to Malachi Fields, including an incompletion on fourth-and-10 from the Rams' 35 on the Giants' final possession, a play on which Fields was also flagged for offensive pass interference, which the Rams declined. Two went to Nabers.

The Rams' offense

Stafford completed 22 of 31 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns, and Davante Adams caught eight passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, per ESPN. The Rams ran 28 times for 163 yards. Stafford was pressured on 15.2% of his dropbacks and went 20 of 27 for 302 yards and all four touchdowns when he was not, according to NFL.com. Outside linebacker Abdul Carter had the Giants' only sack.

The Giants play the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at 1 p.m. at MetLife Stadium.