The John Harbaugh era is underway.

Just like he did against the Bengals 18 years ago, Harbaugh began a new tenure as head coach by winning a divisional rivalry at home. This time, it was his Giants defeating the Cowboys, 28-20, on Sunday Night Football, a game in which the home team never trailed.

It marked Harbaugh's 194^th victory, including a Super Bowl title, but this ranks No. 1 because it's the one right now.

"My dad always says that," John Harbaugh said. "He'll say this in the car on the way home (tonight), he'll say, 'John, you've never had a better win than that.' He says it every time, you know, and I'm going to tell you, I think this time it might be true. But this was really special because these guys, these players, these guys who've had belief from the beginning, who don't bat an eye, who just try to do the right thing every single day."

On top of that, they did it in front of their home crowd.

"This crowd, I'm telling you, man, the parking lot. The parking lot was off the chain driving in here," Harbaugh said. "It was packed. I'm talking like four and a half hours before the game. I get here early now, and I'm thinking it's going to be easy to get in here and it wasn't. And then the stadium was just absolutely electric from beginning to end. The sideline was electric before the game. I mean the whole thing was just quite an environment. It was really great to be a part of it and to see our guys step up in that environment, to handle all that and to focus on the football."

THE GAME WAS OVER WHEN…

The Giants needed seven yards and Cam Skattebo gave them eight for the final first down after the two-minute warning. Jaxson Dart took over in the victory formation and kneeled three times to run out the clock. Not including the final sequence, the Giants converted nine of 10 third downs.

NOTABLE

Dart is the first quarterback in NFL history to open a season with at least three passing touchdowns, 50 rushing yards, and a passer rating of 130.

The Giants scored touchdowns on all four of their drives in the red zone.

According to NFL Research, the Cowboys were one of two teams in the last 20 seasons to have just two possessions in the second half. The other instance was the 2024 Steelers against the Eagles in Week 15.

Harbaugh's 194th victory moved him from tied for 13th place (Chuck Knox, 193-158-1) to tied for 12th in all-time head coaching wins. Sean Payton currently sits at 194 wins as his Broncos get set to face the Chiefs on Monday Night Football.

Through 20 career games, Malik Nabers has 133 receptions, the second-most by any player through that many games. He trails only Odell Beckham Jr., who caught 141 passes in 20 games.

QUOTABLE

"Just give Harbaugh and his team a bunch of credit. They were the more physical team tonight. That's certainly not our standard. That's certainly not how we see our identity playing. They shoved us around in the running game. We couldn't get the running game going on offense. Situationally, they were outstanding. They did a really good job of keeping the ball away from us in the second half. I think they had the ball for 36 minutes and 40 seconds. So, this is a humbling business. We got humbled tonight, and that's what I told the guys." - Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer

GAME BALLS

Harbaugh handed out game balls to Dart, tight end Isaiah Likely (first tight end to catch two touchdown passes in his first game as a Giant), Skattebo (18 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown), and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (team-high eight tackles).

Harbaugh received his own game ball from Giants president John Mara for his first win as the Giants' head coach, his 194^th overall.

"It meant a lot," Harbaugh said. "It meant so much. And the guys, you can see the respect the guys have for Mr. Mara. And when he steps into the middle of the circle there and said what he said, they, man, it gets quiet real fast. He's a presence. He's a titan in this industry. I'm very grateful that he's our owner."

Harbaugh then presented his father Jack with a special painted game ball from Jack's NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game as head coach of Western Kentucky.

STARTING OFFENSE

• TE Isaiah Likely
• LT Andrew Thomas
• LG Jon Runyan Jr.
• C John Michael Schmits
• RG Sisi Mauigoa
• RT Jermaine Eluemunor
• WR Malik Nabers
• WR Malachi Fields
• QB Jaxson Dart
• FB Patrick Ricard
• RB Cam Skattebo

STARTING DEFENSE

• OLB Brian Burns
• DL DJ Reader
• DL Shelby Harris
• OLB Abdul Carter
• LB Tremaine Edmunds
• LB Arvell Reese
• CB Greg Newsome II
• CB Dru Phillips
• CB Deonte Banks
• S Tyler Nubin
• S Jevón Holland

INJURY REPORT

Cornerback Greg Newsome II was evaluated for a concussion and cleared to return.

INACTIVES

• RB Najee Harris
• S Jason Pinnock
• CB Nic Jones
• OL J.C. Davis
• TE Thomas Fidone II
• DL Bobby Jamison-Travis
• WR Dalen Cambre

The list did not include wide receiver Malik Nabers, who had six catches for 69 yards in his first game since suffering a season-ending knee injury on Sept. 28, 2025. Nabers practiced fully all week and was listed as questionable heading into Sunday night. Nabers, who broke the franchise's single-season reception record as a rookie, was the only Giants player with a game designation on the final injury report.

"Well, I didn't really want to ask for a while," Dart said about Nabers' pregame status. "So, I was just watching him during the warm-ups, and I was trying to keep my distance. ... And then I saw him give one little nod before he came in and did routes on air, and then I went over and told (Giants quarterback) Jameis (Winston) that I think Uno's (Nabers) playing, and I was just ecstatic from that point on."

WHAT THE WIN MEANS

The Giants will look for a 2-0 start with another primetime game. They travel to Los Angeles in Week 2 for a Monday night matchup with the Rams, who fell to the 49ers, 27-7, on Thursday night in the NFL's first regular-season game played in Australia.

"I think we're on our way," Harbaugh said. "You'll talk to the players and they're going to tell you that we have a lot of work to do. They're going to tell you all the things that could have been better and should have been better. But they're also going to tell you that we're on our way. We took steps in that direction and then you can keep creating it throughout the course of a season. I feel like everybody understands the vision, and it's not like one man's vision. It's our vision together because everybody contributes to that and what it's going to look like. We're talking with each other all day, coaches-players, players-coaches, players-players, all day, all the time about how to get where we want to get. We've got guys meeting with their coaches and they're meeting on their own, watching tape on their own, after meetings are over, trying to create that vision that you're talking about."