Malik Nabers didn’t need a full workload to leave a full-sized imprint on the Giants’ 28-20 win over the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
That was the kind of night it was for New York: a loud, charged-up opener that felt bigger than one result, with Odell Beckham Jr. running out of the tunnel to a MetLife Stadium crowd roaring for the first time since 2018, fireworks going off everywhere, and the Giants coming away 1-0 in the John Harbaugh era.
Nabers was a game-time decision after being questionable all week while he continues to recover from a season-ending ACL injury suffered last season. He didn’t even think he’d be playing. Nabers told his family not to come to the game because he didn’t think he'd play; however, he felt it was the right time and went on to play a major role in Matt Nagy’s offense.
And when it was over, he made the clearest possible statement about what this team believes about itself.
After the game, Nabers met with the media and was asked about the message that Sunday Night’s game sent. His answer was simple: “It's not really a message we sent to anybody - just ourselves.
We expect to win...it's a new team this year. And everybody knows it, everybody feels it.”
That line fit the night. The Giants looked like a group that had bought in completely to the new brand of football Harbaugh and his staff have brought in, and the execution reflected it.
The play-calling stood out, and Jaxson Dart looked calm, cool, and collected from the jump. On his first pass of the game, the second-year signal caller went right to No. 1 for a nine-yard grab, and the home crowd exploded.
Even with a snap count in place, Nabers was right in the middle of it. He finished with six catches on nine targets for 69 yards, averaging 11.5 yards per catch, and his production carried real weight considering everything he went through mentally and physically last year.
For the Giants, the night had the feel of a true team win, with contributions from everywhere. Jaxson Dart and Isaiah Likely had obvious impact, but Nabers’ presence helped define the standard the Giants are trying to set in 2026: win.
If this is what the new version of the Giants looks like, with Nabers coming along, the group continuing to believe, and Harbaugh’s physical, hard-nosed style taking hold, then this win may be more than a hot start.
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