For the first time since the 1970 merger, three NFL teams will play their first two games of the same season in prime time. Two of them square off on Monday Night Football to conclude Week 2 in a big-market special as the New York Giants (1-0) visit the Los Angeles Rams (0-1). It's a typical 8:15 ET kick on both ESPN and ABC and already a bit of a must-have spot for preseason Super Bowl-favored L.A. The other club with a second prime-time game this week was Kansas City (2-0), incidentally.
The Giants were one of nine clubs to win Week 1 after missing the playoffs last year and are above .500 for the first time since 2022. Since 1990, teams that win their season openers have reached the playoffs 54.3% of the time. Meanwhile, 25% of teams in that span to start 0-1 like the Rams played extra football, including both of last year's Super Bowl participants in the Patriots and Seahawks.
But starting 0-2 is a different matter, as only about 12.8% of teams in that span made the playoffs after doing so and there have been only three Super Bowl winners that began 0-2: 1993 Cowboys, 2001 Patriots and 2007 Giants. However, it's becoming more common to overcome that adversity. Three clubs in 2024 reached the playoffs following 0-2 starts, including the Rams, and another three did in 2025.
One obvious storyline here is how the Rams might have adjusted to playing that opener in Australia, although they were only in the country for like 72 hours, it seemed, so maybe it won't be an issue. Although, flying into Melbourne like it was a business trip didn't work at all, with L.A. blasted by rival San Francisco, which was Down Under for more than a week. And the other big potential story is the expected season debut of Rams defensive tackle and three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. Out of retirement, his conditioning wasn't quite ready for Week 1. With Myles Garrett out following knee surgery, Donald is needed.
We'll take you through every aspect of the Giants vs. Rams game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, DFS, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the prime-time matchup.
Who wins Giants at Rams in Week 2? And what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know to dominate your Monday Night Football bets, plus get expert picks, model sims, prop bets, DFS lineups, and more!
GET VEGAS EXPERT PICKS FOR NFL, MLB, NBA, CBB, GOLF, NHL, HORSE RACING AND MORE - PLUS ADVANCED COMPUTER SIMULATIONS, WINNING TOOLS, AND MORE!
