Matthew Stafford and Davante Adams shine as Rams beat Giants

Aaron Donald made his triumphant return to NFL relevance on Monday night, and notably so did the Rams.

The team that looked lost in its Down Under debut returned to form against the New York Giants, even with star receiver Puka Nacua watching in street clothes because of hip pain.

Matthew Stafford was surgical with his passing, throwing four touchdown passes in a 28-6 victory. Receiver Davante Adams made several acrobatic catches befitting of the retina-burning yellow “Classic Sol” jerseys that turned the Rams into human highlighter pens.

“Played with a bunch of passion, energy, excited to be back home,” Stafford said, speaking about the team as a whole and especially the defense.

“We did enough offensively, but we still left some plays out there. I wasn’t as efficient as I would have liked in certain areas. Some plays that we can make that we didn’t make. We’ll keep working on that. But it was nice to get a win as we’re finding a way to get better.”

Adams had eight catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

“To be here with Matthew, just to be able to bond a little bit, be a part of his deal…,” Adams said. “It’s just a blessing.”

Cornerback Trent McDuffie, acquired by the Rams in an offseason trade with Kansas City, made the most of his home debut with an interception in the second quarter that snuffed a Giants scoring threat. He broke up a game-high four passes.

“He’s a stud,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “He was active, did a great job being sticky in coverage. Even on a couple plays where the ball’s down the field, his heart rate never raises.”

SoFi Stadium, meanwhile, was a house of horrors for the Giants, who lost starting quarterback Jaxson Dart five minutes into the game when he was sandwiched by Rams defenders Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart and his left leg bent in an unnatural way.

That was a devastating blow to the Giants (1-1), who watched Dart wincingly limp off the field and into the blue medical tent. Later, it was off to the locker room for the second-year quarterback, and TV cameras showed him getting picked up by a cart in the bowels of the stadium, presumably for a more thorough medical examination before he was ruled out with a knee injury.

Surely, Dart could hear the roar of the Rams-heavy crowd as Adams made catch after catch — including a 31-yard touchdown in the first quarter and an 11-yarder in the third — and Kyren Williams pitched in with some pivotal plays of his own.

The Rams (1-1) extended their lead to 14-0 in the second quarter when, on third and six, Stafford connected with Williams on a 10-yard touchdown pass. That was set up by a 64-yard reception by Adams.

These were the Rams that most everyone anticipated seeing, the team with designs on ending this season with another Super Bowl at SoFi, where they raised the Lombardi Trophy in 2022.

Losing Dart was a gut punch to the Giants, who also got a scare early in the second quarter when standout receiver Malik Nabers doubled over in pain after a pass breakup. It was a shoulder injury that briefly sidelined him, although he was able to return later in the quarter.

Dart delirium was growing among Giants fans after the quarterback threw for three touchdowns and had a lofty passer rating of 134.2 in a 28-20 season-opening win over Dallas. So to lose him is a spirit-withering development.

Oddsmakers had the Rams as 7½-point favorites.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes under pressure in the first half against the Giants.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By the second half, a somber Dart was watching from the sideline in street clothes. It was a brutal weekend for a few of the NFL’s rising-star quarterbacks. Washington lost Jayden Daniels to an elbow injury, and Chicago’s Caleb Williams was carted off the field in tears, although that hamstring injury apparently wound up less serious than originally feared.

Donald, who spent his entire 10-year career with the Rams, retired after the 2023 season as one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. After months of speculation, he decided to unretire and rejoin the Rams, who had traded for star Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett.

Garrett underwent knee surgery after the season-opening loss to San Francisco and was placed on injured reserve, meaning he will miss four games. Donald helped pick up the slack Monday, and got a rollicking ovation in pregame as the last Rams defender announced.

Donald, who frequently commanded double-team blocking, made a memorable play near the end of the second quarter with the Giants — who had feasted on a Williams fumble — threatening to score.

On third down from the three, Donald pushed his way into the Giants’ backfield and wrangled running back Najee Harris for a three-yard loss. The beleaguered visitors opted to kick the first of their two field goals.

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald wraps up Giants running back Najee Harris for a three-yard loss near the goal line late in the second quarter Monday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Donald said returning to play was somewhat reminiscent of the 2017 and ‘18 seasons when he held out of training camp for contract reasons, then had to quickly ramp up.

“It took a couple games to get going,” he said, his right hand wrapped for soreness that didn’t seem to concern him. “It’s a little different. I ain’t played for two years, so I’ve got to watch the film, see what I did good, see what I did wrong and clean it up.”

He said emerging from the tunnel and smoke during introductions felt “surreal,” and his coach would agree.

“Did you not get chills when he was introduced?” McVay said. “You’re not freaking alive if you didn’t.”

Stafford, who completed 22 of 31 passes for 327 yards, passed Philip Rivers on the all-time touchdowns list with 427. Still ahead of him are Brett Favre (508), Aaron Rodgers (528), Peyton Manning (539), Drew Brees (571) and Tom Brady (649).

The Rams are squarely in the national spotlight with four prime-time games in five weeks. First, the opener in Australia, followed by the Monday night game. Next week, a Sunday night game at Denver, followed by a day game at Philadelphia, and finally another Monday night home game against Buffalo.

Football coaches loathe looking backward, especially during the season, but before leaving the lectern, McVay made an exception in humorously referring to his team’s ultra-brief stay in Australia.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn,” he said. “And sometimes you have a dumbass coach who makes travel plans that put you in a bad spot.”