The noise inside MetLife Stadium on Sunday night made one thing clear: Giants fans were ready for a reason to believe. They got one, and the reaction came fast.
A win over a division rival on national television in Week 1 tends to send opinions flying in every direction. That’s part of the deal. But buried inside the hype are a few takeaways that might actually stick for the Giants.
One of the biggest is Isaiah Likely. When New York needed a play, it kept coming back to him, and he delivered.
Likely finished with eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns, but the impact went well beyond the numbers. He moved the chains on four third downs, helping the Giants go 9 of 11 on third-down conversions, and he was also asked to do the dirty work as a lead blocker.
That included a key role on Jaxson Dart’s long run on the opening drive. If he keeps giving the offense both of those things, there’s a strong case he never leaves the field.
None of this came out of nowhere, either. Likely was Dart’s top target through training camp and the preseason, so this wasn’t some random one-game spike. Two touchdowns every week is not the expectation, but the role is clearly there.
Dart, for his part, looked like a different quarterback. Yes, he still took some hits he probably shouldn’t have, but the real jump showed up in the passing game.
He was calm in the pocket, accurate under pressure, and much sharper before the snap than he was as a rookie. For a quarterback in only his first game in Matt Nagy’s system, he played with the kind of command that shut down most of the offseason criticism.
By the numbers, Dart was the best quarterback in the NFL in Week 1. That probably won’t hold all season, but the larger point is hard to miss: he already looks a lot better than he did a year ago.
There’s also something to be said for the tone John Harbaugh has set. Hard practices can sound like offseason fluff until the real games start, and in this one they showed up immediately.
The Giants were the more physical team against the Dallas Cowboys, especially up front, and that edge carried through the night. New York still had issues - the 10 penalties for 114 yards were impossible to ignore - but Harbaugh’s brand of football was easy to spot.
For the first time in a while, the Giants have a foundation built on physicality and competence.
The one thing to pump the brakes on? The idea that the run defense is suddenly elite.
New York held Dallas to 69 rushing yards and 3.8 yards per carry, and the front seven, particularly the linebackers, spent plenty of time in the backfield. That was real.
Still, it’s fair to wonder how much of that was matchup-related. Dallas was without All-Pro guard Tyler Smith, which made life harder on inside runs. Against a cleaner offensive line, the Giants may not look quite as suffocating.
So yes, the run defense is better. Just don’t go too far and crown it yet. If New York can simply be average against the run, that may be enough to keep this team on the right track.
In Other News...
Giants Fans Are All Saying The Same Thing About NBCs Booth
A curious broadcast moment during Sunday Night Football ended up drawing as much attention as the game itself, thanks to a mid-sentence burst from Cris Collinsworth that got clipped and shared all over social media. During the Giants-Cowboys telecast, Collinsworth let out an unexpected ehhh!!! on the air, and it was just unusual enough to send fans into detective mode about what was happening in NBCs booth.
For Giants followers, the bigger intrigue may be how quickly a small on-air hiccup turned into a full round of speculation about the dynamic between Collinsworth and Mike Tirico. No official explanation has come from either broadcaster, and theres nothing to suggest anything beyond a professional working relationship, which makes the clip more odd than ominous. Still, in a game full of familiar stakes, it was the booth moment that had a lot of people talking after the broadcast ended. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Skattebo Return Sparked A Giants Controversy Fans Wont Ignore
Cam Skattebos return gave the Giants a much-needed jolt after he worked his way back from a right ankle dislocation and fractured fibula. Against the Cowboys, he handled 17 carries for 73 rushing yards and scored a touchdown, showing the kind of physical, tone-setting presence New York has been missing in the backfield. He even had to navigate a scrappy game within the game, committing a fumble and then recovering it himself as the Giants tried to keep their footing.
The bigger talking point, though, came on a hit away from the usual flow of the offense, when Skattebo was punched in the kidney by a Cowboys player and no penalty was called. It was the kind of moment that can linger after the final whistle, especially in a rivalry game where every collision gets magnified. For the Giants, the encouraging part is obvious: Skattebo looked like a player they can build around again. The frustration is just as clear, and it is not going away quietly. [Read more 🡒]
Paulson Adebos Push For A Giants Starting Role Hit Trouble Fast
Paulson Adebos bid to carve out a starting role for the Giants has run into an early snag. He saw only a brief stint against the Cowboys, and on a third-and-12 he gave up a 15-yard completion, another reminder that the cornerback competition around him has tightened since training camp.
Adebo came into camp with a chance to push for first-team work, but the job has gone to Greg Newsome II and Deonte Banks for now. He sits third on the depth chart, which leaves him in a tricky spot: he still has time to climb back into the conversation, but only if his play sharpens or the guys ahead of him slip. [Read more 🡒]