Giants Report Card: Offense and Defense Flunk in Ugly Loss to Rams

The Giants' offense and defense both earned an F in a lopsided Monday night loss to the Rams, while special teams was the lone bright spot.

Sep 21, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum (24) runs against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter at SoFi Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Look away, New York Giants fans. The grades are in for Big Blue’s ugly 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and they are not good at all.

Offense: F

The Giants' offensive line had no answers for the Rams' defensive front, which turned up the heat with eight quarterback hits, two sacks, and plenty of other pressures that not only left starting quarterback Jaxson Dart sandwiched between two defenders, but also harassed Jameis Winston, who came in for Dart after he limped off the field with a MCL sprain.

The Giants' run game could get nothing going, finishing with a dismal 2.5 yards per carry average and three straight runs stuffed down in the red zone.

The passing game? Winston looked out of sync with his receivers all game long, missing some easy throws that he should have made.

"Ugly" doesn’t begin to describe this showing.

Defense: F

Jevon Holland was the lone bright spot in a defensive secondary that Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford picked apart.

Safety Tyler Nubin slipped in coverage against receiver Davante Adams, who finished the night with 195 yards on eight receptions. Rookie Colton Hood was predictably Stafford's favorite target in the passing game, and he struggled.

The pass rush? What pass rush? One sack and two quarterback hits, and not much pressure to speak of against a quarterback who is basically a statue in the pocket. And the run defense was back to last year’s abysmal showing, allowing the Rams to average 5.8 yards per carry.

Special Teams: A

The Giants’ special teams units were the only bright spot of the night. Jordan Stout continues to be a weapon, punting six times and putting three of those inside the 20 and one into the end zone.

Kicker Dominic Zvada was money on his two field-goal attempts from 24 and 52 yards. Braxton Berrios had a nice 28-yard kickoff return. Special teams had no issues this week.  

Coaching: F

Sep 21, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh greets Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay after the Rams defeated the Giants at SoFi Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What on earth did we see? Four straight runs in the red zone after a defensive takeaway with zero passes attempted, only to settle for a field goal? Even John Harbaugh all but admitted after the game that they’ll be second-guessing that sequence on the way back to New Jersey. 

And why not have cornerback Greg Newsome II travel with Davante Adams all game long instead of having Colton Hood have to deal with him?

Can we also talk about clock management? On the Giants' first field goal toward the end of the first half, they snapped the ball with six seconds left on the play clock. Why not run the clock down to a second and call a time out? Instead, the Rams had enough time left to move downfield and attempt a field goal, which, luckily for the Giants, was no good.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.