Giants no match for Rams as Jaxson Dart’s health hangs over injury-filled loss

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The best horror screenwriters in Hollywood couldn’t have penned a more terrifying script for the Giants than what happened Monday at SoFi Stadium.

Read more Jameis Winston’s ghastly performance dooms Giants after Jaxson Dart injury

Jaxson Dart suffered what is feared to be a sprained MCL that will sideline him for a couple of games, and Malik Nabers (dislocated shoulder requiring an X-ray), Arvell Reese, Brian Burns (low ankle sprain) and Andrew Thomas (groin) all exited with injuries at one point.

Reese’s replacement, Zaire Barnes, immediately had a touchdown thrown over his head as the Giants fell behind and never stopped sputtering in a 28-6 loss to the Rams in front of 73,773 fans. Much of that crowd was rooting for Big Blue and was silenced.

“As a team, coaches and players, none of us impacted the game like we needed to,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “We did not do anything much.”

The Giants were stuck playing catch-up with their franchise quarterback in the locker room getting his left knee examined and with their all-world receiver Nabers glued to the bench with a towel over his head as he dealt with the right shoulder pain from landing hard on the ground after an incompletion.

There was an initial thought within the Giants that Dart might be able to return to the game, but he is “in the neighborhood” of a sprained MCL, Harbaugh said.

Dart was unavailable to the media after the game but clearly wore a bulky knee brace under his sweatpants as he gingerly walked through the locker room.

“The fact that it’s not that outcome that you’re talking about, the devastating outcome,” Harbaugh said, referring to a torn ACL, “is really good news.”

All of the Giants’ good vibes from the Week 1 out-toughing the Cowboys — and thoughts about what that mean for beating a potentially jet-lagged Rams and starting a path to the playoffs — went up in smoke on the seventh offensive snap as Dart writhed on the turf. Players from both teams dropped to a knee around him, as usually is only the case for a serious injury.

“This was a test for everybody,” Burns said. “Coming off a huge win with Dallas, a little piece of humble pie.”

The fateful Dart play was a mess before the snap as Nabers looked confused about where to line up, and Dart ultimately threw a floater into coverage that Theo Johnson dropped as the quarterback got folded on hits from both ends by Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart.

Dart ultimately hobbled off the field to the sideline injury tent for an examination and then limped back to the locker room with the medical cart following him into the tunnel and out of view, ready to take him for X-rays.

“It was frustrating,” right guard Sisi Mauigoa said. “As an offensive lineman, you want to protect your quarterback. When you see your quarterback go down, it’s not the best feeling.”

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Reese’s injury only caused him to miss three plays, but they were costly, especially with top backup Micah McFadden sidelined by a neck injury.

Matthew Stafford found Davante Adams for a 31-yard touchdown behind Barnes and in front of safety Jevón Holland.

It was the first of Stafford’s four touchdown passes — he is the reigning MVP for a reason — and just the start of a career night for Adams, who victimized a depleted Giants secondary (eight catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns) even without the attention-drawing help of injured All-Pro Puka Nacua.

Nabers returned during the second quarter as the Giants drove into the red zone to cut into a 14-0 deficit, but Jameis Winston’s deep-slant throw to Nabers died at the goal line and was undercut by Trent McDuffie for an interception.

The Giants showed their faith in Winston by rewarding him with a two-year, $13 million extension just before the season.

But that’s the price to provide leadership and emergency snaps — not to start for a chunk of the season. Even if the next four games — Titans, Cardinals, at Saints and Commanders — represent the soft part of the slate.

“For us to come in here and … get punched in the face, you have to get back up and keep going,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “There’s still 15 more rounds. We need to win more than we lose, beat the Titans and get back on a roll.”

When the Giants made their own luck, they still didn’t capitalize. And that’s how you lose 11 of your last 12 appearances on “Monday Night Football,” dating to 2019.

Holland, an early-season takeaway machine — who has two interceptions and two forced fumbles in as many games — punched out a fumble from Kyren Williams and recovered the loose ball at the 11-yard line.

The Giants handed off four straight times to three different players (one negated by an offside penalty) and settled for a 24-yard field goal without even putting the ball in the air once — a lack of trust in the roller-coaster Winston, even with Nabers available to target.

“That’s play calling in the heat of battle,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll second-guess ourselves. We already are.”

Dart was back on the sideline in the second half to see the offense struggle: Winston’s timing with receivers was off as he was 11-for-27 passing for 111 yards, the offensive line allowed eight quarterback hits and blocked for just 2.5 yards per carry.

Read more Giants appear to avoid the worst with Jaxson Dart injury: ‘Going to be OK’