Giants Beat Rams, 28-16, Behind Eli Manning’s 2 TDs

Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw two first half touchdown passes, and New York capitalized on numerous St. Louis mistakes to beat the Rams, 28-16, Monday night to improve to 1-1. The game marked the return to New York of Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, the former Giants defensive coordinator, who saw his current team fall to 0-2 on the season.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford threw for 331 yards and a touchdown to Danario Alexander, but that didn’t offset several stalled St. Louis drives and a second quarter screen pass to Cadillac Williams, which was ruled a backward lateral that Giants linebacker Michael Boley returned 65 yards for a touchdown.

The Giants lost receivers Mario Manningham and Domenik Hixon to injuries during the game. Hixon was hurt after making a juggling 22-yard catch for a touchdown with under a minute left in the first half.

Both teams had significant injuries entering the game. The Rams were without starters Steven Jackson at running back and receiver Danny Amendola, while the Giants were minus linebacker Jonathan Goff and cornerback Terrell Thomas on defense. New York defensive lineman Justin Tuck played his first regular season game of 2011 and recorded 1.5 sacks.