The New York Giants opened the John Harbaugh era with a 28-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium, ending a long run of Week 1 disappointment for the franchise.
The Giants had lost eight straight Week 1 primetime games against the Cowboys dating back to 1986 and had not held an above .500 record in 51 games spanning 1,331 days. They had also gone 1-14 in their previous 15 games against Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, opened the season with a loss in eight of the last nine years, and had not won a Week 1 home game since 2010. None of that history repeated itself Sunday.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-29 passing, spreading the ball to Malik Nabers and tight end Isaiah Likely. The Giants also rushed for 166 yards despite committing four fumbles during the game.
New York built a cushion late in the game with a 65-yard drive that made it 28-14 with 7:25 remaining. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy repeatedly called a dump-off pass to running back Devin Singletary in the left flat, connecting on four of five plays in that stretch after fumbles by Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr. Singletary capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run.
The Giants’ first touchdown came on a 10-play, 83-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock, featuring heavy use of fullback Patrick Ricard. Skattebo, playing in his first regular-season game since fracturing his tibia last October, scored on a 3-yard misdirection run and celebrated with a handstand into a backflip.
A two-minute drill before halftime produced the Giants’ second touchdown for a 14-7 lead. Dart completed 5 of 6 passes to four different receivers for 60 yards in 29 seconds, including a 16-yard third-down conversion to Nabers, an 18-yard completion to Darnell Mooney, and a 15-yard touchdown pass to Likely.
Likely, who joined the Giants after previously playing for Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens, finished with eight catches for 78 yards on eight targets, converting four of those receptions on third down.
The Giants defense, under new coordinator Dennard Wilson, forced a three-and-out on a fourth-and-1 stop when Prescott failed to draw the Giants offside with a hard count, though the pass rush did not register a sack. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had said before the game on hometown radio that his biggest concern was whether Dallas could block New York’s front, but the Giants’ offensive line proved to be the bigger factor, helping the offense convert 9 of 10 third-down attempts.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Giants protecting a one-score lead, Dart completed a third-down pass to Likely and then drew a facemask penalty on a keeper, setting up a first down before the two-minute warning. Skattebo sealed the win with a first-down run with 1:51 remaining, and the Giants ran out the final 110 seconds in victory formation.
Pregame festivities included tributes to the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, along with the return of Odell Beckham Jr., who had been traded away in 2019, and the introductions of Nabers and Skattebo following their season-ending injuries last year.
