Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season closes with a Monday night matchup that already has a little line drama attached to it: the Los Angeles Rams are still laying seven at home against the New York Giants, even after the number moved in New York’s direction earlier in the week.
That shift makes sense on paper. The Giants opened the season by beating the Cowboys as underdogs in an NFC East game, while the Rams got hammered by the 49ers in Australia. Add in the injury news around Myles Garrett, who is out with a knee injury and on injured reserve, and it’s easy to see why bettors nudged this spread off 7.5 and down to the key number of seven.
Christian Cipollini, Senior Trading Manager at BetMGM, pointed to that move and said, “[Myles Garrett] is one of the few defensive players that will have an impact but his was minimal as we are already around the key number,” Christian Cipollini, Senior Trading Manager at BetMGM told Sports Illustrated. “We moved the game from -7.5 to -7.”
Still, the case for the Rams is pretty straightforward if you’re willing to look past one ugly opener. Los Angeles is the current Super Bowl favorite, and the expectation here is that Sean McVay’s offense looks much sharper at home with a normal week of preparation. The Rams are also trying to avoid an 0-2 start, which gives this one a little extra edge.
SI Betting’s Iain MacMillan, who is picking every game this season in his Road to 272 column, landed on Los Angeles as well. His read is that Week 1 can fool people fast, and this matchup has all the ingredients of an overreact-or-underreact spot.
“The Los Angeles Rams had a disastrous Week 1, losing to the 49ers and then putting Myles Garrett on IR, but this game is now the ultimate overreact/underreact spot. If we put a ton of value into Week 1, taking the points with the Giants is a no-brainer bet. The Rams looked bad against the 49ers, and the Giants looked great against the Cowboys.
With that being said, I have to stick with my preseason belief about both teams and not overreact to one game. The Rams are still an elite team, even with Garrett out of the lineup. They were victims of a bad travel strategy against the 49ers, but the bright side of that strategy is that I think they can re-acclimatize back to the United States better than San Francisco.
I need to see more from the Giants before I'm convinced they're an NFC contender. I wouldn't back the Rams if this spread increases any more, but at exactly seven points, I'll bet on them to put on a bounce-back performance.”
That’s the heart of the handicap: the Giants deserve credit for how they played in Week 1, but there’s still a question about how much of that was them and how much was Dallas. The Cowboys’ defense, which was the worst in the NFL last season, also ranked 30th in EPA/Play and 31st in success rate in Week 1, which makes the New York breakout a little easier to squint at.
The Rams, meanwhile, are being given the benefit of the doubt because of who they are and where they’re playing. The strange circumstances of their opener make it hard to treat that loss as a clean read on the team, and the belief here is that McVay gets them back on track with the extra rest that comes with a Monday night home game.
The Giants may be able to score, especially with Garrett sidelined, but the expectation is that Los Angeles can answer. In the end, the call is that the Rams have enough firepower to win a game that turns into a shootout.
In Other News...
Rams Hit With Another Frustrating Issue Ahead Of Giants Game
The Rams are trying to steady themselves after dropping their season opener to the 49ers, and the week has already brought a fresh layer of frustration. Two players were fined for separate penalties from that game, a reminder that the opener not only ended in a loss but also left the team dealing with discipline issues as it turns its attention to the Giants.
Tyler Davis was fined $6,225 for a hit on Brock Purdy that involved contact to the head and neck area, while Nate Landman was docked $11,111 for unnecessary roughness tied to helmet use. The money from both fines will go to the Professional Athletes Foundation and the NFL Foundation, but for a Rams team looking for a cleaner start, the bigger concern is limiting the kind of mistakes that pile up before a tough stretch can really settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Send A Clear Message About Their Linebacker Concerns vs Giants
The Rams kept shoring up their linebacker room ahead of Monday nights matchup with the Giants, activating Elias Neal from the practice squad as they continue to manage some uncertainty at the position. Omar Speights and Nate Landman have both been dealing with injuries, but both are expected to be active, which gives Los Angeles a little more stability in the middle of the defense entering a game where depth could matter.
Neal, an undrafted free agent signed in 2024, gives the Rams another body for a group that has been tested by the injury report and a useful presence on special teams. Even with Speights and Landman trending toward playing, the decision to bring Neal up underscores how carefully the Rams are handling the linebacker spot as they prepare for the Giants. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Have One Monday Night Scoring Edge Fans Should Watch
Monday night gives the Rams another chance to lean on the same offensive pieces that shaped their opener, with Kyren Williams and Blake Corum both drawing attention in the scoring market. Los Angeles has reasons to believe it can create chances against a Giants defense that showed some early vulnerability, and the setup points to another game where the Rams backs and playmakers could matter in the red zone.
Malik Nabers and Jaxson Dart are among the New York names to watch on the other side, but the Rams biggest edge may come from how they manage the scoring opportunities that appear in the first place. Week 1 offered enough defensive questions for both teams to make this feel less like a clean matchup and more like a game where one early finish near the goal line could set the tone. [Read more 🡒]