By OkayGoal
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart will undergo an MRI on Tuesday to confirm he has sprained the MCL in his left knee and not torn it.
Dart went down after being hit hard by Los Angeles Rams linebackers Byron Young and Josiah Stewart in the first quarter as the Giants lost 28-6 at SoFI Stadium.
ESPN reported Dart attempted to re-enter the game in the first half but was overruled by Giants medical staff and he was officially ruled out in the third quarter.
“We’ll know more [Tuesday],” coach John Harbaugh said. “We’ll get an MRI [Tuesday] and have a real good feel for it.”
Harbaugh expressed confidence that the MCL was not more severely damaged.
He added: “There’s no question. The fact that it’s not that outcome that you’re talking about, the devastating outcome, is really good news.”
Skattebo backs decision to take Giants QB Dart out of the game
Giants running back Cam Skattebo believes it was the right call to take Dart out of the game.
“We talked, and we have a long season,” Skattebo said. “So, if he feels like he can go play, then let him go play. If it’s better for him to sit out and take a little rest to be healthy and be ready to go and be himself 100%, then I think that is the right decision.
“So the doctors looked at him and said, ‘Hey, you should probably sit out there,’ and that was the decision they made. He obviously probably wasn’t OK with it. He came out [to the sideline], gave us some energy and did what he had to do.”
Rams boosted by returning Donald
It was a rotten night for the Giants who failed to back up their opening win over the Dallas Cowboys. Wide receiver Malik Nabers, outside linebacker Brian Burns and left tackle Andrew Thomas also sustained injuries although none are believed to be serious.
They had no answer to a Rams team that were buoyed by the return of defensive tackle Aaron Donald, making his first appearance since 2023 after coming out of retirement.
“If you didn’t get chills when he was introduced, then you’re not freaking alive,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.
“He elicits attention. He brings everybody up around him. And I didn’t think it was by coincidence that the energy that we played with [tonight]. I thought really the defensive coaches did a great job with their game plan, but ultimately just elevating situations he’s in and people that he’s around and that’s what the greats do and that’s what he does.”
QB Matthew Stafford was the architect of the Rams’ win as they bounced back from a dismal defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in their opener in Melbourne, Australia.
Stafford threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns, two to wide receiver Davante Adams. He now holds sixth place in the NFL’s career passing touchdown list with 426, trailing just Tom Brady (649), Drew Brees (571), Peyton Manning (539), Aaron Rodgers (528) and Brett Favre (508).
“This game is a special game,” Stafford said. “It’s treated me and my family and my life really well. So, just happy to be a part of it and have so much respect for those guys that did it before me.”