Malik Nabers didn’t look like a receiver making his way back from a major knee injury on Sunday. He looked like the Giants’ No. 1 target again.
In his first NFL game in nearly a year, Nabers caught six passes for 69 yards in New York’s 28-20 win over the Cowboys. It was his first action since tearing his ACL in Week 4 of 2025, and there was no visible hesitation as he worked the intermediate middle of the field.
Jaxson Dart, meanwhile, opened with a strong performance of his own, throwing for 230 yards and three touchdowns. But the most important development for the Giants offense was the same one they spent last season waiting on: Nabers being back and moving like himself.
The timing matters because Nabers’ return was never just about one Sunday. The Giants went through last season without their top receiver, and getting him back for a full 17 games changes what this offense can be.
Nabers finished second on the team in receiving yards behind tight end Isaiah Likely, and he did it just three days shy of eleven months after knee surgery. The injury came in a Week 4 win over the Chargers in 2025 and ended his second season after only four games. New York had listed him as a full participant in the days leading up to the opener, and his six-target, six-catch night made it clear the clearance was real.
His rookie season remains the clearest picture of what he gives this team when he’s right. In 2024, Nabers put up 109 catches for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games, a rookie year that already sits among the most productive in franchise history before the knee injury interrupted his follow-up.
The numbers tell the story plainly:
2024 (rookie): 15 games, 109 receptions, 1,204 yards, 7 TD
2025: 4 games, 18 receptions, 271 yards, 2 TD
2026 (Week 1): 1 game, 6 receptions, 69 yards, 0 TD
He averaged 80.3 receiving yards per game as a rookie and 67.8 in his shortened 2025 season, then came back and posted 69 in his first game back. That kind of line points to a receiver whose burst and separation are still there.
The Giants also found a useful split in their passing game. Likely handled the scoring, catching eight passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns in his Giants debut, while Nabers served as the volume receiver and chain-mover. That setup gave Dart a clear red-zone option and let the offense stay balanced enough to lean on Cam Skattebo’s 18 carries.
Dart completed 23 of 29 passes, and with Nabers available as a steady first read, the Giants have a much cleaner path on third down. That’s the kind of structure that turns a manageable situation into a conversion.
The schedule may be working in New York’s favor, too. The Giants head to Los Angeles for a Monday night game against the Rams, and Nabers’ return comes at a good time.
The Rams will be without two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, who is headed to injured reserve after knee surgery and will miss at least four games. With less heat on Dart, Nabers should have more room to work against the secondary downfield.
After nearly eleven months of rebuilding his knee, Nabers answered the biggest question in one night. The Giants have their top receiver back.
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For New York, the part that lingers is not just the trade compensation but the expectation that came with moving on from a player who had been central to the defense for years. Lawrences debut was statistically quiet, yet the larger conversation around him still centers on the same thing it always has: how much impact he can create even when the numbers do not fully show it, and whether Giants fans will come to view this as a necessary reset or a loss they will keep measuring for a while. [Read more 🡒]