Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes to move into sixth place in NFL history, Davante Adams produced the finest performance of his time in Los Angeles, and Aaron Donald made a long-awaited return to competitive football as the Rams defeated the New York Giants 28-6 at SoFi Stadium on Monday Night Football on 21 September 2026.
The result, thoroughly reflected in the yardage, allowed Los Angeles to rebound emphatically from the 27-7 season-opening defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia. The Rams outgained the Giants 481 yards to 182 to move to 1-1, while New York — diminished by a succession of injuries including a feared sprained MCL to starting quarterback Jaxson Dart — dropped to the same record.
Stafford climbs the all-time list
The evening’s defining individual moment came in the third quarter when Stafford found Adams on an 11-yard fade route. That completion was the 426th touchdown pass of his career, moving him past Philip Rivers, who finished on 425, according to NFL records. A fourth scoring throw to tight end Terrance Ferguson late in the contest took Stafford’s total to 427.
He now sits behind only Tom Brady (649), Drew Brees (571), Peyton Manning (539), Aaron Rodgers (528) and Brett Favre (508) in the all-time rankings, per NFL figures. Stafford told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the game that it was a humbling feeling and that he had enormous respect for the players who preceded him, describing it as cool simply to be mentioned alongside those names.
The milestone passes also carried significance within Rams franchise history. Stafford’s 10-yard touchdown to Kyren Williams was his 143rd with the club, moving him past Jim Everett (142) into second place in team history. Only Roman Gabriel, on 154, now stands ahead of him in that list, according to NFL reporting. Stafford completed 22 of 31 passes for 327 yards and posted a passer rating of 131.3, a substantial improvement on the 61.2 he recorded in Melbourne. ESPN noted he was considerably more effective on throws of ten yards or further downfield, completing nine of 13 for 219 yards and two scores but also throwing one interception on such attempts, compared with three from ten for 74 yards against the 49ers.
Adams at his best in Rams colours
Adams made eight catches from ten targets for 195 yards and two touchdowns, figures ESPN reported as his best receiving total and catch count in a Rams uniform. His 195 yards were also the most by any player in a single game across the season to that point. His first score — a two-handed grab converted into a 31-yard touchdown — arrived on the Rams’ second possession. A 64-yard reception on the following drive then set up Williams’s 10-yard scoring catch.
ESPN Research noted that his first-quarter score was his first receiving touchdown with the Rams not thrown into the end zone. Each of his 15 receiving touchdowns in his first Rams season had been thrown into the end zone. His outing gave him 29 career games with multiple receiving touchdowns, tying him for fourth in NFL history in that category, per ESPN.
With All-Pro wide receiver Puka Nacua unavailable through injury, second-year tight end Ferguson stepped up as the Rams’ second receiver, contributing six catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Adams had said the previous week that the opener was an unreliable indicator of what the offence was capable of, and the evidence here supported that view. He said after the game that the team had reached its confidence level through the work it had put in and intended to place no limits on what it could do, describing the performance as in line with what the squad was capable of.
Donald back after 32 months
The occasion carried additional weight because of Donald’s presence. The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year — who skipped the Week 1 trip to Melbourne — played his first NFL game in 32 months, having initially retired after the 2023 season before announcing his return ahead of the 2026 season. He recorded three tackles and one run stuff across 32 defensive snaps, representing 58.2 per cent of defensive plays, according to ESPN, and received sustained applause from the home crowd throughout. Donald said afterwards that it felt good to be back and to get a game under his belt, though he acknowledged he was feeling sore. One of his tackles, stopping Najee Harris on a third down near the Rams’ goal line just before half-time, prevented New York from converting a Jevon Holland forced and recovered fumble at the Los Angeles 11-yard line into points.
Giants pay a heavy injury toll
New York’s evening unravelled on the seventh play when Dart was struck on the left knee after Rams linebacker Byron Young hit him from the right side and sent him into linebacker Josaiah Stewart. Sources informed ESPN that Dart is believed to have suffered a sprained MCL. X-rays were negative and an MRI was scheduled for Tuesday. Giants head coach John Harbaugh said the diagnosis was in the neighbourhood of a sprained ligament but that the club would wait for the scan. He and general manager Joe Schoen both indicated the injury was not expected to end Dart’s season. Dart reportedly attempted to return during the first half but the Giants did not allow it.
Backup Jameis Winston completed 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards and threw an interception to cornerback Trent McDuffie in the end zone in the second quarter. The Giants finished with just 52 rushing yards at 2.5 per carry — starkly different from the 165 yards and 4.5 per carry they managed against Dallas the previous week.
Wide receiver Malik Nabers hurt his shoulder in the second quarter, went to the sideline, and later said he had popped it back in and would have it X-rayed; he returned and finished with one catch for one yard. Left tackle Andrew Thomas departed in the fourth quarter with a groin problem, while outside linebacker Brian Burns suffered what Harbaugh described as a low ankle sprain late on and left the stadium in a boot. None of the three are expected to miss significant time, according to ESPN’s reporting of the Giants’ assessment.
Competitive significance
Playing without two injured All-Pros in Nacua and Myles Garrett, the Rams still outgained a Giants side that had been praised for its physical style by 299 yards. The aggregate evidence — Stafford’s passer rating, Adams’s yardage, the defensive restriction of New York to two field goals — collectively supports the Rams’ own contention that Melbourne was an aberration rather than a benchmark. The Giants, by contrast, must now prepare to host the Tennessee Titans potentially without their starting quarterback, possibly still missing Thomas and Burns. Harbaugh acknowledged after the defeat that his side had not performed to the required level across the board. The Rams travel to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.