Sportsbook Insiders: How Myles Garrett Injury Impacts Odds for Giants vs. Rams in Week 2

The Myles Garrett era in Los Angeles is off to a brutal start.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year was nowhere to be found in the Los Angeles Rams’ Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, failing to make a single tackle, and it’s likely because he was playing hurt.

Ahead of Sunday’s action in Week 1, it was reported that Garrett would have surgery on his ailing knee and the team would place him on injured reserve, knocking him out of the next four games.

That includes Monday night’s standalone matchup with the New York Giants, who dominated the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 to begin the John Harbaugh era. Los Angeles is still favored in that game, but there has been quite a lot of movement to the line due to the Garrett injury.

“Myles Garrett's injury is worth about 1.5 points to the L.A. rating,” Johnny Avello, Director of Race and Sports Operations for DraftKings Sportsbook, told Sports Illustrated. “He's one of those impact players, certainly on defense. And that, coupled with the Giants looking very favorable on Sunday Night Football, brought that line down to 7.

“Now, the lookahead line was 9.5, so it even dropped – you take their performance, their adjustment to the rating, and him being out 1.5 – so that's just about where we thought it would end up.”

Even with their Week 1 loss, the Rams remain touchdown favorites on Monday night, a sign that oddsmakers expect a bounce-back showing at home after a one-of-a-kind season opener in Australia.

Garrett broke the single-season sack record with the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 season and won his second Defensive Player of the Year award. So, he’s one of the few defensive players that’ll move the spread more than point, even though a some books opened at a smaller number than DraftKings’ 9.5.

“They opened that game at 8.5, and they're currently sitting at 7,” Ty Gour, Sports Trader at Fanatics Sportsbook, told Sports Illustrated. “Garrett is probably worth about a point to the defense and another half a point of that is Giants steam as well moving that line down.”

One consistency from oddsmakers that spoke to SI Betting was that the Giants’ Week 1 performance really impacted this line.

New York’s offense was No. 3 in EPA/Play and No. 2 in success rate against Dallas in the season opener, and it could have a lot of success against a Rams front that is down the best pass rusher in the game.

Jaxson Dart’s play under Harbaugh is certainly something that oddsmakers took into consideration when moving this line down from the lookahead number.

“Myles Garrett's injury made an adjustment to how this Rams team is viewed by the market,” Joey Feazel, Head of Football at Caesars Sportsbook, told Sports Illustrated. “Couple that with a clearly more poised Jaxson Dart under Harbaugh, the market moved from the 9.5-point look-ahead to the flat 7 we see today.”

In Week 1, Garrett was not listed on the Rams' final injury report and played against San Francisco, He appeared in 40 defensive snaps (61.5 percent) and six special teams snaps. He did not record a tackle, sack or quarterback hit in the loss, but the Rams still have to find a way to replace his presence on the defensive end.

Garrett is going to draw a ton of attention and double teams, which is why he is one of the most valuable defensive players to the spread. Since Garrett is sidelined for at least four games, his Defensive Player of the Year odds have taken quite a hit at DraftKings, falling all the way to +5000 (15th overall).

He will be first eligible to return against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 18.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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