The New York Football Giants opened the 2026-2027 NFL season with a Sunday night prime-time win over the division rival Dallas Cowboys. The last time they beat Dallas in a season opener was in 2016, when Eli Manning was still playing, and Dak Prescott was a rookie.
This was no ordinary win, though: despite the final score of 28-20, the Giants dominated on both sides of the ball throughout the game. They also did something much different than last season – they didn’t blow a lead. Calling this the best team since Super Bowl 46 may be premature, but there is not much competition for that title. Here’s why this Giants team is the best the franchise has seen since the 2011-12 season.
Since their 2011 Super Bowl win, the Giants have been on a slow, decade-long downward slope, with no shortage of drama. From the horrid trade of Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns to the departure of Saquon Barkley to the Eagles, the Giants have been dysfunctional at best. To be fair, they made the playoffs in 2016 with an 11-5 record, but they were fraud-checked quickly with a 38-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. They confirmed the fraudulent title with a 3-13 record the following season. Since then, New York has failed to reach double-digit wins even once.
After the departure of Tom Coughlin following the 2015 season, the Giants struggled to find an adequate replacement as head coach. From Ben McAdoo in 2016 and 2017 to Pat Shurmur and finally Joe Judge, the Giants were allergic to competent coaching. Don’t even get Giants fans started on the GM before Joe Schoen, Dave Gettleman, who set the team back years. Almost every decision under Gettleman’s rule was unpopular. It’s safe to say this Giants team is better than any roster from that era.
Head coach Brian Daboll and GM Schoen ushered in what fans thought was a new era of Giants football in 2022. They led New York to a playoff appearance and a 9-7-1 winning record in their first year together. This was NY’s first winning record since 2016 and first playoff win since Super Bowl XLVI, all with Daniel Jones at QB.
You would think that this roster is better than the current Giants team, freshly coming off a four-win season. Still, the years following 2022 clearly say otherwise. The Giants had six wins in 2023 and three wins in 2024, all while Barkley had one of the best offensive seasons of all time, to add insult to injury. Daniel Jones dealt with injuries and left for Indianapolis last season (where he played his best football up until he got injured again. Notice a pattern)?
Last season, New York was not as bad as their record made it seem. They held a double-digit lead in 5 separate games, and six of their losses were by seven points or fewer. Two of their four wins also came against playoff teams: the Chargers and the Eagles. They stayed this competitive with mediocre (at best) coaching and a slew of injuries throughout the roster. It was clear NY was just stable coaching away from several more wins.
The Giants’ performance a few days ago proved that in their first game with John Harbaugh. The young squad was more composed than we have seen in over a decade. Harbaugh whipped the young team into shape this offseason, especially Jaxson Dart.
Dart had arguably the best game of his career: 230 passing yards and three touchdowns on 79.3% completion, along with 54 rushing yards. Instead of doing his best Cam Skattebo impression and going headfirst into the defense like last season, he actually targeted the sideline on many of his runs. That’s something Harbaugh definitely had a hand in, given his time coaching Lamar Jackson.
Darts’ 134.2 QB rating was the highest of his career, and much of it is due in part to rookie tackle Francis Mauigoa. He did not allow a single pressure in 36 snaps. He’s just about everything Giants fans hoped Evan Neal would be. Although many Giants fans wanted Caleb Downs at the 10th pick in the 2026 draft, Mauigoa is clearly the correct pick based on this past Sunday.
A big question mark for this team was the return of Cam Skattebo and Malik Nabers from season-ending injuries. It’s safe to say they’re as good as new. After Skattebo’s productive rookie season was cut short in Week eight, there were concerns he would not return the same. Luckily, he clearly recovered well, giving all football fans a heart attack by celebrating with a backflip after his first touchdown of the season (which he paired with 81 rushing yards).
Malik Nabers was an even bigger worry after the treacherous MetLife Stadium turf took his ACL in Week four, an injury that has derailed several players’ careers. Nabers proved quickly that he is not one of those players, putting up 69 yards and six catches. To put that into perspective, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens had 72 yards combined for the game.
As for the new free-agent additions, Isaiah Likely leads the way as one of – if not the best signings of the offseason (which you could read more about in this article). He looked like prime Travis Kelce, putting up two touchdowns and 78 yards and quickly establishing himself as the best Giants tight end since Evan Engram. Another Raven signed this offseason, fullback Patrick Ricard, also made his presence known in the running game with much-needed blocking. He’s got the perfect mentality to drill into the younger players on the roster.
The defense was elite, even after fan favorite Dexter Lawrence’s trade request this offseason. Brian Burns and Abdul Carter held it down on the defensive line, while Jevon Holland was a difference-maker in the secondary with an interception and two tackles. It’s no secret the Giants defense has struggled the past few years, even while looking good on paper, but those days may be gone based on week one. The defensive line should be scary for years to come, with Arvell Reese showing a lot of potential and Kayvon Thibodeaux still having room to grow.
Looking ahead to Monday night, the Giants play the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. The Rams were preseason favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, but struggled in Week One. It may have just been jet lag from traveling to Australia, but they left the game with only a single touchdown, and the reigning MVP Matthew Stafford had one of the worst games of his career. The Rams are still undoubtedly a contender (right?), but based on Week one performances, the Giants have a genuine shot to lay down the law this game.
The Rams will be without Myles Garrett for at least four Weeks after placing him on IR shortly after Week one. They will have Aaron Donald back in the lineup, but he hasn’t played in a few seasons. It’s hard to say how well he will perform. LA’s defense is elite either way, but if the Giants’ offensive performance continues into next week, it should be nothing they can’t handle. Coach Harbaugh seems to be just as confident as Giants fans, which only fuels this take:
Not only are the Rams dealing with injuries, but this Giants team has a fire lit under them after last week’s impressive showing. They have a young, exciting offense and a demanding defense that has plenty of room to grow. On top of that, New York has a stable coaching staff, for what seems like the first time in years. Harbaugh’s experience in the league is doing numbers for this impressionable team, and it’s clear in some of his bizarre coaching tactics (like tackling Malik Nabers pregame to overcome any mental holds about contact after his 2025 injury).
The New York Giants have been looking for some semblance of stability since Tom Coughlin left the team. Finally, it’s here with John Harbaugh and the boatload of young talent on the roster. This could be an overreaction to one game, but a look at the past decade makes it hard not to think that way. Three winning seasons since the 2011 Super Bowl, and only one playoff win (which sent this franchise back 5 years). New York was held back by atrocious coaching on each side of the ball last season, and that’s clearly the least of their worries now.
A victory against the Rams would only add fuel to this fire in New York. This will be their hardest opponent of the season, especially when playing them in LA. Based on New York’s schedule, there is no reason they can’t enter their Week eight bye with five or six wins if they win this Monday. It is truly a new era of Giants football, and fans should be excited about what’s to come. They have the best coaching, quarterback, offensive line, and defense since 2011, and more young talent than almost any team in the NFL.
I’m calling it now: Super Bowl champions within five years. Something is brewing in New York. If the Knicks could win it all after 53 years, anything is possible.
If you love sports, download Stadium Rant from the Apple App Store and join one of the fastest-growing social sports communities. Be sure to follow us on socials too — you can find all our profiles on our Linktree.
