Giants coach John Harbaugh wins debut, Jaxson Dart throws 3 TD passes in victory over Cowboys

Malik Nabers stretched on the field slowly as teammates jogged around him. The Giants receiver wasn’t just warming up, he was getting comfortable nearly a year after his ACL injury.

He whispered some final words to Allison Boudreau, the Giants’ coordinator of rehabilitation and return to play. Boudreau gave a thumbs-up. Nabers soon was ruled active by the Giants and received loud cheers as he was introduced at MetLife Stadium.

The Giants fed off that electricity for a season-opening 28-20 win over the Cowboys on Sunday night. It not only was their first season-opening win since 2002 but gave John Harbaugh a win in his debut as Giants coach.

Nabers finished with six catches for 69 yards. He didn’t score a touchdown, but his presence was enough to lift an offense that gained 394 yards.

“He had to feel like he was ready to go and he could protect himself and perform the way he wanted. And he did. Malik played a great game,” Harbaugh said.

Cam Skattebo, in his own comeback from a season-ending ankle injury last year, didn’t miss a beat with 81 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

Jaxson Dart finished 23-for-29 for 230 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions. He also rushed for 54 yards on 11 carries. He looked decisive, composed and in control, whether it was taking more snaps under center or calling out adjustments at the line of scrimmage.

With offensive coordinator Matt Nagy calling plays, the Giants looked more clinical than flashy. They scored on their opening drive on a 3-yard run by Skattebo. Their first two drives of the second half lasted 12 and 13 plays, respectively, and more than eight minutes of game time elapsed on each.

Both ended with touchdowns. Isaiah Likely — who already had caught a 15-yard touchdown pass — had a 2-yard touchdown reception on the opening drive of the third quarter and Devin Singletary added a 9-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter that gave the Giants a 28-14 lead.

For good measure, the Giants ran out the final 5:21 of the game and finished 9-for-11 on third downs, with one of the failed attempts coming on a kneel-down on the final drive.

“I felt very comfortable,” Dart said. “Thought we just did a really good job staying in progress throughout the game, whether it was the run game, whether it was the pass game. Thought our O-line just played their [butts] off and that was helping everything around.”

Nabers started the game alongside rookie receiver Malachi Fields and caught his first target, a 9-yard pass.

“I knew after I was stretching. Felt really good,” he said. “And the trainers were like, we need an answer. I was like, yeah, let’s do it. I think it’s time.’’

Skattebo’s touchdown was the Giants’ first in a season opener since 2022. Fittingly, he celebrated with his usual backflip after a cartwheel set it up. Fullback Patrick Ricard threw a key block to give Skattebo a clear runway.

Likely finished with eight catches for 78 yards, including two third-down conversions on the final drive.

The Cowboys also scored on their first two possessions of the second half, both aided by Giants penalties. After Likely’s second TD made it 21-7, Dru Phillips’ pass-interference penalty gave the Cowboys new life, and they capitalized with Javonte Williams scoring on a 1-yard run.

Jevon Holland aided the Cowboys’ next drive by committing a personal-foul penalty on Ryan Flournoy, throwing him down out of bounds after a catch. Williams caught a 17-yard touchdown pass but then held the ball out to taunt the Giants, drawing an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. It pushed the PAT back 15 yards, and Brandon Aubrey missed it to leave the score at 28-20.

Dart showed sound judgment on two long runs, avoiding contact. In the first half, he had gains of 22 and 16 yards toward the sideline, with Likely leading the way. The first run drew an illegal-hit penalty on DeMarvion Overshown, which added 15 more yards and prompted several teammates to run to Dart’s aid.

If there was a flaw for the Giants’ offense, it was ball security. They had four fumbles but recovered three of them.

The one lost fumble came when Tyrone Tracy was stripped in the second quarter and Cowboys defensive back Shavon Revel recovered it.

The defense bailed out Tracy on the next drive. With Kayvon Thibodeaux forcing pressure, Dak Prescott threw while backpedaling and Holland made a sliding interception.

Dart and the offense took the field with 49 seconds left and marched 60 yards in 29 seconds, with Likely ending the drive with his 15-yard touchdown catch. Dart went 5-for-6 on that drive with completions to four different receivers.

“For him to have all this on his plate and to execute the way he did,” Harbaugh said, “to me, it was just tremendous and very impressive.’’

After the final kneel-down, Dart gave the ball to Nabers. It was a welcome-back present and a welcome start to a hopeful new era under Harbaugh.

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.