Perhaps the Los Angeles Rams simply needed a full night of rest.
Eleven days after arriving in Melbourne and suffering an embarrassing loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles rediscovered its identity Monday night against the New York Giants.
Matthew Stafford passed for 327 yards and four touchdowns, Davante Adams delivered a dominant performance without Puka Nacua, and Aaron Donald made his highly anticipated return as the Rams defeated the Giants 28-6 before 73,773 fans at SoFi Stadium.
The emphatic win was exactly the kind of answer Sean McVay needed after a 27-7 season-opening defeat exposed troubling issues. The offense had appeared stagnant, while the defense failed to produce a single sack on 34 pass attempts.
The Rams were not flawless Monday, but they were sharper, more focused and far more energetic than they had been in Australia.
Here are three takeaways from Los Angeles’ first victory of the season.
1. Rams offense is better, but there are still bugs to fix
Four touchdown passes from Stafford. More than 400 total yards. More than 150 rushing yards combined from Kyren Williams and Blake Corum.
That looked much more like the Rams offense many expected to see this season.
Even so, a closer review of Tuesday’s film will reveal plenty that needs to be cleaned up.
Los Angeles produced that offensive output without All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua, who sat out because of a hip injury. Yet for a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, the Rams still committed too many avoidable mistakes.
Williams lost a fumble inside the Rams’ own 10-yard line, effectively handing the Giants points. Terrance Ferguson and other receivers also dropped catchable passes. The running game was slow to find its rhythm, and the offense lacked the consistent precision that has long defined McVay’s teams.
Against an injury-depleted Giants squad, those errors were manageable.
Against Denver, Philadelphia or another NFC contender in January, the same mistakes could send the Rams home.
Still, Stafford’s four-touchdown outing represented a major rebound from his dreadful performance in Melbourne. The 38-year-old quarterback also moved past Jim Everett into second place on the Rams’ all-time touchdown-pass list.
2. You’re in good hands with Davante Adams
No. 17 came through when Los Angeles needed him most.
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With Nacua sidelined, Adams was more than Stafford’s preferred option. He essentially became the Rams’ entire downfield passing game.
Adams finished with eight catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns, turning in the vintage performance that helped explain why Los Angeles signed him.
After barely making an impact in Australia, Adams was impossible to miss Monday night.
His opening touchdown was especially memorable. Adams elevated to make the catch before completing the play in the end zone. It was also his first touchdown with the Rams on which he did not catch the ball in the end zone.
Most importantly, Adams showed that the Rams do not need to panic when Nacua is unavailable.
3. Aaron Donald changed the temperature of the defense
Aaron Donald didn’t need to record three sacks or throw an offensive lineman into Jaxson Dart to make his presence felt.
He just needed to be Aaron Donald again.
The building erupted when No. 99 ran out of the tunnel during pregame introductions, two years after walking away from football. Then Donald reminded everyone why that reception was so loud.
One of his biggest plays won’t dominate the highlight shows. Donald stuffed Najee Harris on third-and-2, helping force the Giants to settle for a field goal.
That is what Donald has always done. He wrecks plans.
More importantly, his presence appeared to change the Rams around him.
After producing zero sacks in Australia, Los Angeles recorded two Monday, including the first career sack for undrafted rookie Wes Bailey. Donald finished with three tackles while playing more than 30 snaps in his return.
The pressure up front also made life easier for a revamped secondary, where All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie recorded his first interception as a Ram.
Donald isn’t going to fix everything by himself.
But Monday night offered the first glimpse of what this defense can look like when No. 99 is standing in the middle of it.