Giants defeat Rams for first victory

Problem solved?

Maybe. If the Giants played in the weak NFC West, the division where the Rams reside and you don't even need a .500 record to win the title. Big Blue showed Monday night that even without its best effort, it is capable of beating one of the top teams from that quadrant of the conference.

But the Giants live and die in the decidedly more difficult NFC East. So although they can take some solace from their 28-16 win over the Rams -- which avoided the 0-2 whammy that few teams climb out of -- there were still plenty of flaws to fix.

"Obviously, there is much to be improved upon, which is OK,'' Coughlin said. "We'll accept that fact.''

Despite giving up huge chunks of yardage to the Rams' hurry-up offense, the Giants managed to keep the Rams (0-2) out of the end zone for most of the game. Three times the Rams crept inside the red zone and three times they had to settle for field goals.

Two key plays helped the Giants in that regard. Kenny Phillips made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 1 after Deon Grant and Aaron Ross failed to touch Danario Alexander while he rolled on the turf on a 68-yard catch and run. Later in the first quarter, Coughlin ended another drive when he challenged a reception that would have set up first-and-goal at the 4. The call was overturned and the Rams kicked a 25-yard field goal.

The Giants' offense had back-to-back drives overlapping halftime that were at the very least heartening. Brandon Jacobs capped the third-quarter drive with a 9-yard run. The Giants converted three third downs en route -- more than they had in the first six quarters of the season -- to take a 28-9 lead.

The Rams responded with their only TD, a 19-yard pass from Sam Bradford to Alexander on third-and-10 over cornerback Michael Coe with 1:18 left in the third.

Eli Manning completed 18 of 29 passes for 200 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Bradford was 22-for-46 for 331 yards and a TD.

The Giants were so intent on zapping a pulse into their offense that they brought in slot receiver Brandon Stokley on Wednesday. Although Domenik Hixon welcomed his former Broncos teammate, he made it clear he was unhappy with the decision. Hixon thought he was not given a fair chance to earn the job.

Apparently, the coaches agreed, because Hixon was on the field for most of the early three-receiver looks and made an acrobatic catch late in the first half to stake the Giants to a 21-9 lead. The grab might cost Hixon more snaps in the future than it earned him, though. While making the catch, he injured his right calf, and after trying to get back in the game in the third quarter, he did not return.

The Giants' offense was still anemic early -- missing its first five third-down conversions and managing only 81 yards before the 86-yard drive to end the half -- but at least they were scoring. Hixon's catch, with 22 seconds left in the half, was a juggling grab over former Giant Craig Dahl. The ball bounced off Hixon's left shoulder, he tipped it in the air twice and secured it while hitting the turf in the end zone.

It was probably the second- best catch of the night for the Giants, but the only one that counted. Hakeem Nicks made a stunning, one-handed grab down the left sideline on a fourth-and-4 in the first quarter that appeared to be a 23-yard gain, but the Rams were flagged for pass interference and the catch, while visually stunning, was negated.

Not that it mattered much. Two plays later, Nicks caught Manning's first touchdown pass of the season, a 3-yarder in which he snatched the ball away from cornerback Bradley Fletcher for a 7-3 lead.

It was Manning's first TD pass since the 2010 finale, a stretch that included the preseason, but he wasn't the only one struggling with a scoring drought. The Giants led the NFL in takeaways last year but never scored. That changed early in the second quarter when Bradford threw a pass to Cadillac Williams split out on the left that was not caught. Williams turned in disgust, considering it to be an incomplete pass, but linebacker Michael Boley recognized it as a lateral and a live ball. He scooped it and ran 65 yards for a touchdown and a 14-6 lead.

"It's a positive step," linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said. "It's not the position we want to be in yet. But the main thing is we found a way to come out with the win."

Notes & quotes: WR Mario Manningham left the game with a concussion in the second quarter . . . WR Victor Cruz, playing for Manningham, made his first career reception . . . The Giants honored the 1986 Super Bowl champions at halftime.