INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Things change fast in the NFL. The New York Giants entered Monday night riding high off a huge Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys. They’ll enter Tuesday feeling as deflated as any team in the NFL after losing to the Los Angeles Rams 28-6, and more importantly, losing quarterback Jaxson Dart to what appeared to be a significant knee injury.

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How much time Dart will miss is the big question, with the answer likely coming after further testing Tuesday. The Giants quarterback was forced to leave Monday night’s game after taking a brutal hit in the first quarter, as he was sandwiched between Rams defenders Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart while attempting a pass downfield.

After Dart exited, the Jameis Winston-led Giants became easy pickings for the Super Bowl favorite Rams, who shook off their brutal Week 1 loss with a big win in their home opener at SoFi Stadium.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (327 yards and four touchdown passes) and Davante Adams (eight catches, 195 yards and two touchdowns) led the way on offense, while future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald made some vintage plays in his first game back in a Rams uniform in almost three years.

Dart’s early exit deflated Giants

Dart is such an energizing force for the Giants that it’s no surprise his injury seemed to take a toll on the team.

While the defense stabilized to keep it a two-score game going into halftime, the offense under Winston struggled to get anything going. Yes, an injury and quarterback change will disrupt things, but it was such a stark departure from the clinic the Giants offense put on in Week 1 against the Cowboys.

As a result, the team could only get points through rookie kicker Dominic Zvada.

Rams recover
from Week 1 dud

It mostly is. Stafford and Adams looked like they did in training camp. The tight ends are the complementary options. The backfield was an even but potent split between Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. The secondary was making plays, with Quentin Lake getting his hands on the ball and Trent McDuffie grabbing an interception. The pass rush was strong, led by Young, who needs to be the lead force on the edge with Garrett out.

Some of the shortcomings are to be expected, too. The Rams don’t have a defined No. 3 pass catcher. And they still have some special teams issues, as shown by a 38-yard punt, a 43-yard missed field goal and some shaky returns from Xavier Smith.

Winston struggled mightily in relief

Winston is viewed as one of the league’s top backups. His talent allows for flashes that give teams a chance to win any game. But the 2015 No. 1 pick is no longer a starter because of how bad he is at his worst.

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That’s the version the Giants got in relief of Dart on Monday night. Winston never looked comfortable, spraying passes all over the field. It didn’t help that the Giants were totally overwhelmed by the Rams’ pass rush from the outset, but Winston looked far too jittery for a quarterback with 44 career starts.

Donald is back
from retirement

This was a difficult first game for Donald, as he re-joined the Rams in part to avoid double-teams while playing next to Garrett, and now those double-teams are coming his way. It did create some one-on-one edge rush opportunities that Young cashed in on.

And when the Rams were in short-yardage situations with too many defensive linemen to double, and with Donald on the edge more, he made multiple great stops, including the third-down run he stuffed in the backfield to force a field goal after Williams’ fumble.

Time will tell whether he can work through those doubles to produce as a pass rusher, but the volume, energy and clutch plays looked like vintage Donald.

The Stafford-Adams connection flourished

With Nacua out, it was absolutely critical, because what also became clear in these first two games is that the Rams do not have a set third option in their passing game just yet. Perhaps Terrance Ferguson can become that, and he had a strong second half, but Adams needed to be the engine.

It was easy to look at his 789 yards last season as a man slowing down in his 30s, but it was really more about the time he didn’t get with Stafford missing all of training camp while Adams was new to the team.

The two looked terrific in training camp, and they put much of that on display against the Giants with back-side digs, deep post routes where Adams could go up and snare the ball, back-shoulder fades in the red zone and acrobatic plays along the sidelines for first downs.

As long as Adams stays healthy, the two should have a stronger year together than they did last season.

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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.