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Storylines: Offseason work leads to this point

JOHN-HARBAUGH-STORYLINES

The wait is finally over.

The New York Giants kick off the 2026 campaign on Sunday with a primetime matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Not only does the game represent the start of the season, but it also marks the official beginning of the John Harbaugh era.

"This kind of kicks off the season," the head coach said to open his Wednesday press conference. "We were talking to the guys in the team meeting today in terms of you look back to when we started this particular journey and it feels two things. It feels like it's taken forever to get here, and it feels like it happened just like that at the same time. And I don't know how that works. Time is a crazy, amazing thing. But it feels both those things at the same time.

"Yet, they've worked really hard. We all have. There's been a lot – a lot that's gone – a lot of water's gone under the bridge to get us to this point. And now we get an opportunity to see how far it's taken us, and then we'll go from there again."

Here are some storylines to follow in Week 1.

View photos of the Giants on the practice field as they prepare for this week's season opener against the Cowboys.

'Fired up' to open season at home

It's not until the regular season that teams have the real opportunity to go out on the field and show who they are. After more than eight months since he took over as head coach, Harbaugh and the rest of the team are excited to get things started against a divisional rival.

"It feels like a big game, an opening game that we have against a division team," Harbaugh told the media Wednesday. "And I'm excited about it. It's the first time for me, personally, in this rivalry. It's going to be the first time – like some of the other guys on the team, too, and some of the other coaches to be in that stadium for a regular season game. That's going to be exciting. I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to be a part of it. I'm really fired up about it, and I'm looking forward to it.

"Yet I'm trying to keep it in perspective just like the other guys are. It's a football game that we need to go out and we need to operate. We need to do our best. We need to perform and make good decisions and all those different kinds of things as best we can. So, that's really what you think about. It's not so much about how does it feel. It's more about like, 'Okay, let's be ready to go and do our best.'"

The Super Bowl champion head coach comes to the Giants with some impressive stats overall, but especially when it comes to divisional games, home games, and season openers. Throughout his 18 seasons in Baltimore, Harbaugh's Ravens were 63-45 against the AFC North, 102-45 at M&T Bank Stadium and 12-6 in Week 1.

Latest on WR Malik Nabers

Outside of the arrival of Harbaugh, the biggest storyline all offseason has been the health of Malik Nabers. After sitting out the offseason workout program as he worked his way back from last year's knee injury, the wide receiver was able to get back on the practice field during training camp. Nabers shed the red, non-contact jersey a couple of weeks ago and has been participating in team drills with the rest of the offense. Nabers practiced in full Wednesday, but the head coach would not commit to him definitively playing on Sunday night.

"I think he's ready to go, man," the head coach told the media after practice Wednesday. "We'll see though. I mean, it's still four days, five days, four days until we play. So, if he's ready to go and he feels like he's ready to go, then he'll play. If he's not and he's not ready, then he won't play. That's how it works."

Nabers has had success going up against the division foe in this young NFL career. Prior to his Week 4 knee injury last year, the young wideout caught nine passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns during the Week 2 overtime thriller between the two teams. This came after catching 20 passes for 184 yards in the two meetings against the Cowboys in 2024.

The Giants had a relatively clean injury report to open the week. In addition to Nabers, the other players listed were defensive lineman Shelby Harris (Achilles), offensive lineman Bryan Hudson (knee), tight end Theo Johnson (shoulder), and offensive lineman Andrew Thomas (knee). All five players listed were full participants on Wednesday.

Jaxson's Year 2 leap

After the Giants traded up to select him with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Jaxson Dart put together a pomising rookie campaign. In 12 starts, Dart threw for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions to go with 487 yards and an additional nine touchdowns on the ground. It was an encouraging first season for the 6-foot-2, 223-pound quarterback, and now Dart gets an opportunity to start Year 2 on a strong note against a division rival.

"I feel like I'm not even the same person at all," the young quarterback said about his development since last year. "Obviously, the growth that you make from the experiences that you have from one year to the next. And I just feel like I've grown a ton through this offseason. So, I feel comfortable. I feel like I'm seeing things really well. And this is going to be a really good test for our team and with a team like the Cowboys are going to be really competitive. It's going to be great for us to go out there and compete."

Dart appeared in the first preseason game against the Vikings. He completed three of four passes for 26 yards and an impressive touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Malachi Fields. Sunday's matchup against the Cowboys will be a good first test for Dart and the whole offense.

"He's done a great job," Harbaugh said of Dart. "He's worked really hard at it. I think he's diligent. He wants to do well. He wants to understand everything inside and out. He wants to be sharp and on point, and he's worked at it. So, he's prepared to play."

While they struggled last season, the Cowboys' defense should look significantly different this year. For starters, they changed defensive coordinators, hiring Christian Parker to replace Matt Eberflus. They also made some major changes on the roster, starting with the veteran addition of Rashaan Gary and the drafting of Caleb Downs. On top of that, DeMarvion Overshown is back healthy after missing most of last year in his recovery from a torn ACL, MCL and PCL.

Meanwhile, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark both spent the entire offseason with the team, something they did not get to do last year after being traded to the Cowboys at the start of the season (Clark) and at the trade deadline (Williams). Veteran defensive backs Jalen Thompson and Cobie Durant were also signed during free agency, which, along with Downs, should provide the Dallas secondary with a big boost.

"They're rebuilding their defense, they have a new defensive coordinator, comes from a great system," Harbaugh said of Parker. "He's a really sharp, up-and-coming guy. So, they're a very formidable football team, very formidable opponent."

Scouting the Cowboys' offense

The Giants and Cowboys split the 2025 season series, with each team taking the game at their home stadium. Dallas won the Week 2 OT thriller by a score of 40-37, while the Giants picked up the 34-17 win in the season finale. The Cowboys finished the season 7-9-1, despite a lot of success on one side of the ball.

The Cowboys had one of the best offenses in the NFL last season, led by the play of quarterback Dak Prescott. The veteran signal-caller completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a passer rating of 99.5. He added 177 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on the way to his fourth Pro Bowl selection.

The biggest beneficiaries of Prescott's success were his two star wide receivers, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. The former caught 75 passes for 1,077 yards and three touchdowns in just 14 games, but a high ankle sprain forced him to miss a three-game stretch. Pickens took advantage of this opportunity with two games with 130+ receiving yards and four total touchdowns, which sparked a big season for the former Steelers receiver. Pickens finished the season with team-highs in receptions (93), receiving yards (1,429) and receiving touchdowns (nine). Tight end Jake Ferguson finished second on the team with 82 receptions, which he took for 600 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Cowboys' run game also got a big boost with the addition of Javonte Williams. The veteran running back took 252 rush attempts for 1,201 yards (4.8 avg.) and 11 touchdowns while adding 35 receptions for 137 yards and an additional two touchdowns.

This will be a tough first test for Dennard Wilson's unit, which enters the season with a lot of promise. The Giants have a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball, starting with their talented trio of edge rushers. Brian Burns is coming off a career-high 16.5 sacks, Abdul Carter seemed to flip the switch over the final six weeks of his rookie campaign, and Kayvon Thibodeaux enters a big year with a double-digit sack season previously under his belt. These three could set the tone for the whole defense this year, but let's not forget about the two players behind them. The Giants transformed their corps with the additions of veteran Tremaine Edmunds and rookie Arvell Reese, providing the defense with a pair of long, athletic linebackers who can play sideline to sideline.

The starting secondary boasts mainly the same players as last season, with veteran cornerback Greg Newsome II being the lone new addition. But following a strong summer, Deonte Banks looks primed for a big bounce-back season. Add in the fact that Wilson has a history of getting the most out of his secondary as a former defensive backs coach, and it's easy to see how Banks and the rest of this group make a big improvement from last season. With the opening matchup against Lamb, Pickens and Ferguson, they will certainly be thrown right into the fire in Week 1.

View rare photos from the historic rivalry between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

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