Sunday night’s impressive victory over the Dallas Cowboys has resulted in the New York Giants taking a massive leap in Week 2 NFL power rankings. The Giants have moved from No. 23 in our aggregated rankings from around the Internet to No. 16, the league’s midpoint.
ESPN | No. 18
Week 1 result: Beat the Cowboys 28-20
Non-QB newcomer debut: TE Isaiah LikelyLikely was quarterback Jaxson Dart’s go-to receiver, catching two third-down passes on the game-ending drive to go along with two touchdowns earlier.
Overall, Likely caught all eight targets for 78 yards. The chemistry with Dart throughout training camp carried over to the season, to the point where it’s easy to see Likely having a huge campaign despite never reaching 500 receiving yards in any of his four years with the Ravens. The performance was no surprise to coach John Harbaugh. “I mean, we paid him a lot,” Harbaugh said with a laugh. “That’s what we paid him for, and he did it.”
FOX Sports | No. 17
It’s a well-deserved leap in the rankings after John Harbaugh’s debut showed he has a tough, well-rounded and healthy team. When WR Malik Nabers is off his pitch count, this versatile offense is going to cause problems for everyone.
Pro Football Network | No. 23
The John Harbaugh era of New York Giants football kicked off in triumphant fashion. They defeated the Cowboys at home, coming away from Sunday night with a key divisional victory. Emotions were high with the Giants’ pregame ceremony honoring those affected by Sept. 11, and New York went home happy.
Jaxson Dart got it done through the air and on the ground, throwing for 230 and three passing touchdowns while rushing for 57 yards. The likes of Isaiah Likely and Cam Skattebo were key in the Giants’ victory, and the team’s run defense limited Dallas’ offense to just 3.8 yards per carry.
USA Today | No. 14
Don’t want to overrate them this early, but Sunday night’s victory over the Cowboys was no fluke. This was efficient, smashmouth, Harbaugh football, and the rest of the NFC East is officially on notice.
Yahoo Sports | No. 14
No team had a better offensive EPA per play through Sunday’s Week 1 games than the Giants. Not even the Bears, who scored 59 points. What stood out was the impact new tight end Isaiah Likely had. He led the Giants with eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns. If the Giants’ offense stays mostly healthy, perhaps this can be a surprise playoff team.
The Athletic | No. 18
What we learned: They might be for real
High expectations around the hiring of John Harbaugh were tempered by what seemed to be just an OK roster. But the Harbaugh era started smashingly, Jaxson Dart looked legit and the defense more than held its own against a good (or so we thought) Dallas offense.
Bleacher Report | No. 21
So maybe hiring John Harbaugh was a pretty good idea.
Offensively Sunday night, New York was ruthlessly efficient. Jaxson Dart was poised and accurate. Cam Skattebo didn’t have huge numbers, but he got the tough yards when he needed to. Tight end Isaiah Likely was a revelation in his first game with the team.
New York was 9-of-11 on third down. That’s nuts.
The defense remains a work in progress, but it made just enough plays against one of the NFL’s best offenses a year ago to win the day—and a second straight contest with the Cowboys at Met Life Stadium.
It’s still too early to say the Giants are good—the Dallas defense has been awful dating back to 2025. But they were in Week 1, and we’ll find out soon enough how sustainable the improvement is.
