Top Plays from Cowboys @ Giants<\/p>\n
What did you learn about the Harbaugh Era in New York after one game?<\/p>\n
I think we all learned that Harbaugh\u2019s Giants will put a professional, highly functional product on the field. We learned that unlike many Giants teams since their last Super Bowl victory in February 2012, this one will be prepared nearly every time out.<\/p>\n
This debut was not perfect. The Giants fumbled four times (losing only one, remarkably enough) and committed 57 yards of pass interference penalties on the Cowboys\u2019 second-quarter touchdown drive. However, they kept playing with passion and belief against a Dallas team advertised as a Super Bowl contender, capitalizing on Dak Prescott\u2019s brutal interception before halftime and then opening the second half with a 12-play, 74-yard, 8-minute touchdown drive for the \u201cdouble score\u201d that tilted the field heavily in the home team\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n
We also learned that Harbaugh wasn\u2019t lying when he said he loved what he saw from Dart on his rookie-year tape. Dart outplayed Prescott by a wide margin. The second-year quarterback is one of the primary reasons Harbaugh took this job.<\/p>\n
A half hour after he was hired by the Giants on Jan. 17, Harbaugh was on the phone with me, delivering a message to his new fan base.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to build a team that\u2019s going to play a brand of football that you will be proud of,\u201d Harbaugh said before later adding, \u201cI expect and want to make the playoffs next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know about the playoffs. But I do know that Harbaugh compiled 193 regular-season and postseason victories in Baltimore by making sure his Ravens played the game the right way.<\/p>\n
We learned Sunday night that Harbaugh\u2019s Giants will do the same thing \u2026 and then some. \u2014 Ian O\u2019Connor, columnist<\/p>\n
This Cowboys offense was supposed to be a juggernaut. Why did they struggle so much to get things going until late?<\/p>\n
Maybe they got too full of themselves. Maybe they needed to be humbled by a division rival. It\u2019s tough to say because other than two training camp practices against the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, we didn\u2019t really see them get tested in training camp. The starters didn\u2019t play in the preseason.<\/p>\n
It was surprising to see wide receivers George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb not have a bigger impact Sunday night. It was surprising to see running back Javonte Williams have that uncharacteristic taunting penalty after his fourth-quarter touchdown. But most of all, it was inexcusable to see Prescott throw that awful interception right before the half. It might have been a different game if not for a mistake an 11-year veteran quarterback just can\u2019t make.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one feels pretty bad,\u201d Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. \u201cAs a football team, we were pretty poor. Give Coach Harbaugh and his team a bunch of credit. They were the more physical team tonight.\u00a0 \u2026 This is a humbling business, and we got pummeled tonight.\u201d\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer<\/p>\n
This rivalry has been one-sided lately, with the Cowboys 16-2 in the series since 2017. But with a Giants win and A LOT of trash-talking, fair to say this is a rivalry renewed?<\/p>\n
Oh, this was a fun one \u2014 football at its best, with a charged atmosphere heading into kickoff. While I\u2019ve only been on the beat for four seasons, I can\u2019t recall the parking lots ever being that crowded with four hours to go until kickoff. The MetLife faithful were excited to see the Harbaugh Era begin, and the Giants delivered on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnbelievable environment,\u201d Harbaugh said. \u201cThis crowd, I\u2019m telling you, man, the parking lot, the parking lot was off the chain driving in here. It was packed! I\u2019m talking like 4.5 hours before the game. I get here early. And I\u2019m thinking it\u2019s going to be easy to get in here, and it wasn\u2019t. And the stadium was just absolutely electric from beginning to end.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the trash-talking, the Giants certainly weren\u2019t going to get bullied by a rival. They had no issue standing up for their own \u2014 just look how quickly center John Michael Schmitz and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor were to go after Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown after an unnecessary roughness penalty on Dart. Cam Skattebo seemed like he was talking smack the whole game. This was a lot. I want more! \u2014 Charlotte Carroll, Giants beat writer<\/p>\n
\n The Cowboys and Giants, including Dak Prescott and Abdul Carter, did plenty of talking throughout the game. (Vincent Carchietta \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n MetLife Stadium was rocking all night. The fans seemed more into it than in most of the previous meetings with the Cowboys. The Giants have a good team with a good head coach and a franchise quarterback. There are a lot of reasons to be excited. The Cowboys are likely a better team than they showed Sunday night, but this might not be a division that comes down to the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles again. The Giants look like they are for real. The Cowboys\u2019 dominance since Dak Prescott\u2019s second season looks to officially be over. \u2014 Machota<\/p>\n What were your top takeaways from the new Giants offense and how quarterback Jaxson Dart took to it?\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to imagine the start of Dart\u2019s second season going any better. He was in total command of the new offensive system installed by offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.<\/p>\n Dart completed 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had eight carries for 59 yards before some late kneeldowns, using his legs as a weapon while avoiding any unnecessary hits.<\/p>\n Dart was operating under center far more often than he did during his rookie season, and he looked comfortable, often making adjustments at the line. When Dart had to operate out of the shotgun, like in a two-minute drive at the end of the first half, he was equally smooth.<\/p>\n Most impressive about Dart\u2019s performance: he was making plays from inside the pocket. He has proven he can make the spectacular plays out of structure. But Dart was boringly efficient at times Sunday, highlighted by a fourth-quarter touchdown drive when he repeatedly hit running back Devin Singletary in the flat. Singletary capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown catch on a swing pass from Dart.<\/p>\n \u201cHe played terrific,\u201d receiver Malik Nabers said of Dart. \u201cI mean, I came at him in the third quarter and was like, \u2018You a dawg.\u2019 \u2026 He was throwing the ball in spots \u2026 he was in a zone. \u2026 He was doing everything right.\u201d \u2014 Dan Duggan, Giants beat writer<\/p>\n On a scale of 1-10, how panicked should Cowboys fans be about coordinator Christian Parker\u2019s defense after one week?<\/p>\n A five. It\u2019s only one game for a team that doesn\u2019t play many of its starters in the preseason. However, it was definitely concerning. There were still way too many big gains allowed that left you scratching your head, a lot like last season. The organization sold all offseason that this group would be much better at stopping the run. It didn\u2019t look like that at all Sunday night.<\/p>\n They have some good pieces in defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and rookie safety Caleb Downs, but it still doesn\u2019t look like there\u2019s enough talent on that side of the ball. To make things worse, oft-injured linebacker Overshown exited in the second half with a hamstring injury. Inside linebacker was one of the Cowboys\u2019 biggest issues entering the offseason. After one game, it still looks like an area of concern. \u2014 Machota<\/p>\n How did Malik Nabers look in his first action since Week 4 last year?<\/p>\n There was no shortage of suspense hovering over whether Nabers would even play Sunday night. While the coaching staff suggested Nabers, who tore an ACL and meniscus in late September, was ready to go, the decision ultimately came down to whether Nabers felt ready. So, when the Giants finally announced Nabers would be active Sunday night<\/a>, that alone felt like a minor victory.<\/p>\n That small win became a bigger one the more he played. Nabers fielded a team-high nine targets, catching six for 69 yards. There were a few slips and a scary moment when Nabers headed to the sidelines to get medical attention after taking a hit. But he returned soon after, providing a big sigh of relief to his team and its fans.<\/p>\n![\"Dallas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2026-09-14T023729Z_1988153302_MT1USATODAY29817441_RTRMADP_3_NFL-DALLAS-COWBOYS-AT-NEW-YORK-GIANTS-sc.jpeg\")
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