Giants at Rams Start/Sit: Monday Night Football Week 2 Lineup Calls

Monday Night Football closes Week 2 with the New York Giants visiting the Los Angeles Rams (8:15 p.m. ET). The Rams are favored by about a touchdown at home, but the fantasy story is a health question: Puka Nacua is questionable with a hip issue after missing Friday and Saturday practice, and reporting on Sunday had him trending the wrong way. Here is who to start, who to watch, and who to leave on the bench.

Start with confidence

Kyren Williams

Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles. The clear lead back, and he scored the Rams' only touchdown in a 27-7 Week 1 loss to San Francisco. Los Angeles was never in that game, which suppressed his volume. A competitive home script fixes that. Start him as an RB2 with weekly RB1 upside, and note his floor climbs further if Nacua sits and the offense leans on the run.

Isaiah Likely

Isaiah Likely, TE, New York. The best tight end play of the night. Likely caught 8 passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the Giants' Week 1 win, and he is clearly a primary read for his quarterback. At a position this thin, that usage makes him a set-and-forget TE1.

Jaxson Dart, QB, New York. Dart was excellent in the opener, going 23 of 29 for 230 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-20 win over Dallas. He draws a Rams defense that will be without Myles Garrett, who is headed for knee surgery. Dart is a legitimate streaming QB1 in a spot where the Giants may need to throw to keep pace.

Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles. A bounce-back candidate. Stafford managed just 155 yards with an interception in the blowout loss, but he is home, favored, and facing a New York secondary that is banged up. Cornerback Paulson Adebo is on injured reserve and Deonte Banks is dealing with a calf issue. Treat Stafford as a low-end QB1.

Cam Skattebo, RB, New York. Eighteen carries for 81 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 is real workload. He is a flex play with touchdown equity, though a negative game script as a road underdog is the risk.

The Nacua watch

Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles. This is the call that decides a lot of lineups. He put up 5 catches for 74 yards on a team-high 9 targets in the opener and is the engine of this passing game. If he is active, he is an every-week WR1 and you start him without hesitation. The Rams release inactives about 90 minutes before kickoff, and he is expected to test the hip in warmups, so do not lock your lineup early.

Davante Adams, WR, Los Angeles. The direct beneficiary if Nacua sits. Adams drew 6 targets for 3 catches and 26 yards in Week 1 while playing second fiddle, and he becomes the clear number one option in this offense the moment Nacua is ruled out. Start him with confidence in that scenario, and treat him as a boom-or-bust flex if Nacua plays.

If Nacua does sit, the rest of the downstream effect is straightforward: Stafford's ceiling drops a notch, the Rams lean harder on Kyren Williams, and this game gets lower scoring than the total implies.

Temper expectations

Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles. He handled 10 carries for 54 yards in Week 1, which is useful context but not a start. Corum is a flex flier only in deeper leagues, and his value is tied to Kyren Williams either resting in a blowout or missing time.

Rams pass catchers behind Adams. Past Nacua and Davante Adams, the target tree is unsettled. Chasing the third option on a Monday night, without knowing who absorbs the work, is how you lose a week. Wait for confirmation rather than guessing.

Bottom line

Start Kyren Williams, Isaiah Likely, Jaxson Dart, and Matthew Stafford with confidence, treat Cam Skattebo as a touchdown-dependent flex, and make your Nacua decision off the official inactives rather than the practice report. For the rest of your week, our waiver wire has the top adds, the start/sit analyzer settles your closest calls, the defense matchups show who to target, and the consensus rankings have everyone slotted. Then enjoy the Week 2 finale.