John Harbaugh says his debut as New York Giants coach was more than I expected after two touchdowns by Isaiah Likely helped the hosts win their opener 28-20 against the Dallas Cowboys. Super Bowl XLVII winner Harbaugh left the Baltimore Ravens after 17 years to take charge of the Giants, calling the atmosphere at the MetLife Stadium for NFL Week 1 absolutely electric from beginning to end.This crowd, marvelled the 63-year-old. Im telling you, the parking lot was off the chain driving in here. It was packed Im talking like four-and-a-half hours before the game.I got here early, thinking it was going to be easy to get in here, and it wasnt. The sideline was electric before the game. The whole thing was just quite an environment and really great to be part of it.Table of ContentsDallas Cowboys vs New York Giants: Harbaugh explains mindsetNew York Giants: MetLife unbelievable on NFL Week 1Malik Nabers injury: Giants receiver returnsJaxson Dart: Why Giants quarterbacks display was greatNFL Week 2 scheduleDallas Cowboys vs New York Giants: Harbaugh explains mindsetJaxson Dart provided Likelys touchdowns and supplied Devin Singletary with anothe after Cam Skattebo scored the first on the running backs return from injury.Dak Prescotts throw allowed CeeDee Lamb to draw Dallas level during the second quarter and Javonte Williams also reduced the deficit twice.(C) Duncan Williams/Cal Sport Media/Alamy Live NewsMy dad always says this hell say this in the car on the way home that Ive never had a better win than that, said Harbaugh.He says it every time. This time it might be true. But this was really special because these guys have believed from the beginning, dont bat an eye [and] just try to do the right thing every single day, to be on point.Even when theyre not on point, theyll bounce back and make it right. Maybe theres a false start, theyll come back the next play and find a way to make a play and erase the mistake and make it right and make it better.Buying into that kind of mindset just in practice and seeing it happen in the game thats what, as a coach, you feel so good about.New York Giants: MetLife unbelievable on NFL Week 1Harbaugh said the MetLife Stadium was incredible. It was everything that you would think, but it was more than I thought, he reflected.I want us to play well enough that we can create that atmosphere every single week here throughout the season.Thats up to us. Thats our job as coaches and players: to create a football team good enough to deserve that type of stadium every time we play.Malik Nabers injury: Giants receiver returnsMalik Nabers took six catches for 69 yards after spending almost a year out with an injury to the receivers right knee.I got a sense two-and-a-half, three hours before the game when he went out and tested it, said Harbaugh.He felt ready. Thats when the decision was made. It was his call. He had been cleared medically but he had to feel ready.He had to feel like he was ready to go and perform the way he wanted to, and he did. He played a great game; he played a heck of a game.Jaxson Dart: Why Giants quarterbacks display was greatDart completed 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards. Seeing the quarterback execute the way he did he had a lot on his plate, too, said Harbaugh.We can get better in and out of the huddle, to the line, calling the plays, all kinds of things, operation-wise.But Jaxson did a great job of managing that because there was a lot for him to manage. Some of those throws at the line of scrimmage on the sideline were just pinpoint-accurate type throws.It was a great performance by Jaxson. We had a really good game plan. The coaching staff really worked well together.We had a lot of good plays that we felt could be difference-making plays in the game. Youve got to have those kind of plays and that was one of those calls.The first touchdown run was one of those calls, too, where you just try to create plays that are going to make a difference for us. They did a great job with that.Here are some of Darts key statistics against the Cowboys.Completions (attempts)YardsTouchdownsInterceptionsSacks23 (29)230302NFL Week 2 scheduleThursday, September 18: Detroit Lions @ Buffalo Bills 01:15 BST. Sunday, September 20: Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons 18:00 BSTSunday, September 20: New Orleans Saints @ Baltimore Ravens 18:00 BSTSunday, September 20: Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears 18:00 BSTSunday, September 20: Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans 18:00 BSTSunday, September 20: Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots 18:00 BSTSunday, September 20: Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets 18:00 BSTSunday, September 20: Cleveland Browns @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 18:00 BSTSunday, September 20: Philadelphia Eagles @ Tennessee Titans 18:00 BSTSunday, September 20: Jacksonville Jaguars @ Denver Broncos 21:05 BSTSunday, September 20: Las Vegas Raiders @ Los Angeles Chargers 21:05 BSTSunday, September 20: Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals 21:25 BSTSunday, September 20: Washington Commanders @ Dallas Cowboys 21:25 BSTSunday, September 20: Miami Dolphins @ San Francisco 49ers 21:25 BSTMonday, September 21: Indianapolis Colts @ Kansas City Chiefs 01:20 BSTTuesday, September 22: New York Giants @ Los Angeles Rams 01:20 BST Topics Dallas Cowboys Jaxson Dart john harbaugh New York Giants Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read 2026 NFL Season: The key storylines to follow as super team lead challengers for Seahawks crown Nicholas McGee 9th September, 2026 Ryan Clark: NFL analyst fired from $2m-a-year ESPN job during show Ben Miller 21st July, 2026 2026 NFL Schedule: International Series games confirmed as 2025 playoff team gets set to break unwanted record Nicholas McGee 13th May, 2026 NFL Draft picks 2026: Full first round results as Fernando Mendoza is first pick after quarterback dreamed of being best friends with Las Vegas Raiders co-owner Tom Brady Ben Miller 24th April, 2026 What time does the Draft start? 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