At this rate, there won't be any healthy starting QBs by midseason.
Jaxson Dart's early exit set the tempo (or really, an absence of tempo) for a Giants offense that looked anemic only a week after hanging four touchdowns on the Cowboys. One could argue that facing the "vaunted" Rams defense on the road made this an uphill climb, with or without Dart. Losing Malik Nabers for part of the game didn't help. But they had chances to score, and backup Jameis Winston struggled to convert.
If Winston starts Week 3 against the Titans, I think it'll be tough for managers to start Nabers, Isaiah Likely, and even Cam Skattebo with confidence. The former #1 overall pick is somehow only three years older than Joe Burrow, which doesn't seem right, but there you go.
When Winston throws it 40+ times, he's usually decent enough. Of course, he hasn't done that since 2024 -- for a Browns team that finished 3-14 and had nothing to lose airing it out. The Giants have a lot more to lose. It's a franchise that, at its best, can compete for the NFC East title. As long as they get Dart back soon (and based on early reports, that seems possible), they're set up nicely these next four weeks with three winnable home games (Titans, Cardinals, and Saints) and one winnable road game (Commanders).
I bring this up because Winston's built a reputation as a boom-bust quarterback. Teams take the good with the bad and hope the good wins in the end. Yet despite the negative game script last night, the Giants didn't abandon the run until the fourth quarter, when nine of their 10 offensive plays were through the air.
Meanwhile, nearly 34-year-old Davante Adams put on a show with Puka Nacua sidelined. Apparently there is no "next man up" for the Rams' wideouts. Tutu Atwell and Konata Mumpfield each had one catch on two targets. Instead, 2025 second-round TE Terrance Ferguson had his third 12+ point fantasy outing in his past four games (dating back to last December). Although Nacua could be back next week, it's notable that Stafford seems to have better chemistry with his 1A tight end than with any wideout not named Puka or Davante.
The Rams' backfield is about as 50/50 as any backfield can be. Kyren Williams now has 14 touches in each of his first two contests, while Blak Corum had 13 last night and 10 the week before. Williams still has a clear edge through the air, and he still seems like the preferred red-zone option. In favorable defensive matchups, both are startable. The good news is that L.A. has a lot of favorable defensive matchups.
And what do we make of Matthew Stafford? The fantasy market was a little bit wary (QB12 ADP). I was even more wary. Everything lined up perfectly last season after three straight years of mediocrity. And yet, the same skill players are back. The same offensive line (Stafford has taken only one sack in two games). If Stafford and at least one of his "big two" receivers stay healthy, maybe he could comfortably exceed expectations.
Finally, back to the Giants: it's a great sign for managers who drafted Likely that he had 10 targets. Every tight end with 90+ targets last year finished among the top-10 TEs. The year before, they all finished in the top 12. About 5.5 looks per game is a good barometer for whether a TE is streamable. Likely seems locked in regardless of who's under center.
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