Davante Adams reminded everyone Monday night that he can still look like one of the best wide receivers in football.
asserted
he → remind → football
The Rams will need more time to convince everyone they are bound for the Super Bowl.
asserted
they → need → Bowl
Those are separate conversations, and a productive night against the Giants should not blur the distinction.
asserted
night → blur → distinction
Adams was exceptional when the Rams desperately needed him to be.
asserted
him → need → ?
Capable of taking a game that felt uncomfortable and giving Matthew Stafford a way to make it manageable.
asserted
it → take → way
He finished with eight catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns, a forceful reminder that, at 33 and in his 13th season of a career bound for Canton, Adams can still be the best player on the field.
asserted
Adams → finish → field
That needs work.
Kyren Williams’ fumble at the Rams’ 11-yard line handed the Giants three points.
asserted
fumble → hand → points
A better opponent might have collected seven.
uncertain
opponent → collect → seven
Terrance Ferguson dropped a perfectly thrown ball from Stafford, negating what would have been a first-down pick up in Giants territory.
asserted
what → drop → territory
He forced a throw into double coverage and paid for it with an interception.
asserted
He → force → interception
Meanwhile, special teams supplied more reasons for concern than confidence.
asserted
teams → supply → confidence
And as the night wore on and the Giants began to wilt, the Rams presented a more encouraging picture.
asserted
Rams → wear → picture
But reaching their lofty goals will require them to clean up the sloppiness.
asserted
reaching → reach → sloppiness
Better opponents loom, and they’ll charge full price for the mistakes the Giants let slide.
asserted
Giants → loom → mistakes
Adams gave them enough to get away with it Monday.
asserted
Adams → give → it
They cannot count on their next opponent being so forgiving.
asserted
opponent → count → ?
For all the hoopla surrounding the Giants’ season-opening win over the Cowboys, this was still a team coming off four wins, finding its footing in its first season under John Harbaugh.
asserted
this → surround → Harbaugh
Then quarterback Jaxson Dart went down on the opening drive.
asserted
Dart → go → drive
Jameis Winston picked it up from there, although “picked it up” might be giving him too much credit.
uncertain
picked → pick → credit
That matters when assessing what happened Monday at SoFi Stadium.
asserted
what → matter → Stadium
So does the fact that, outside of Adams, the Rams still looked a little off-kilter, hardly the juggernaut so many expected them to be.
asserted
them → do → Adams
They needed this game after losing their opener to the 49ers in Australia.
asserted
They → need → Australia
They also needed to give everyone a reason to believe the problems that followed them home were being addressed.
asserted
that → need → them
Adams did his part.
asserted
Adams → do → part
Before halftime, Adams had five catches for 145 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown and a 64-yard reception that set up another Rams touchdown.
asserted
that → have → touchdown
He was the spark, the solution and, for considerable stretches, the best reason to trust that the offense could find its way.
uncertain
offense → trust → way
It was an impressive response to an assignment the Rams had hoped they wouldn’t have to give him.
asserted
they → hop → him
With Puka Nacua sidelined by a hip injury, somebody had to become Stafford’s primary weapon.
asserted
somebody → sideline → injury
Adams remembered how.
asserted
Adams → remember → ?
There was a time when that would hardly have qualified as news.
asserted
that → be → news
Adams spent years being the receiver defenses built their plans around, stacking thousand-yard seasons and making a convincing argument that nobody played his position better.
asserted
nobody → spend → position
Time has moved that conversation along.
asserted
Time → move → conversation
Nacua now belongs near the front of it.
asserted
Nacua → belong → it
Adams came to the Rams with a different job description, one that allowed him to complement an extraordinary young receiver while giving Stafford another accomplished target.
asserted
him → come → target
Adams was perfectly capable of making Robin a miserable problem for opposing defenses.
asserted
Robin → make → defenses
There was no need to ask whether Adams could still carry an offense when the Rams already had someone equipped to do it.
uncertain
Rams → be → it
Suddenly, the luxury of having Adams became the necessity of leaning on him.
asserted
luxury → have → him
And there he was, turning two of his first four catches into the kinds of plays that can change the direction of a night.
asserted
that → turn → night
The touchdown put points on the board.
asserted
touchdown → put → board
The 64-yard reception put the Rams in position for more.
asserted
reception → put → more
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
