Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said last week that he gets a "tingle" every time his team faces off against the New York Giants.
I wonder if he still feels the same way after losing 28-20 to Big Blue and new head coach John Harbaugh on national television on Sunday night.
Here are some quick takeaways from the win.
The tide is turning
Jones' team never had the lead for a single second in the game against a team they have dominated over the past decade. It was the Giants' second consecutive win over the Cowboys and just their third in the last 19 meetings.
The Giants looked every bit the NFC East contender on Sunday night, going blow-for-blow with the team that has bullied them since 2017 and coming out on top.
The Giants are clearly not the team they were last year
and proved to the world that you're going to have to work hard if you are going to beat them. They played 60 minutes of football and closed out the game properly with a final possession that used the running game to move the chains and secure the victory.
Money well spent
The first thing the Giants did this offseason was reunite tight end Isaiah Likely with his coach from the Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh, by signing him to a three-year, $40 million free agent contract. Observers were curious why the Giants would give a backup tight end such a lucrative deal in the opening hours of free agency.
They wonder no more. Likely appeared to be uncoverable and in complete synch with quarterback Jaxson Dart, catching eight passes for 78 yards with a career-high-tying two touchdown receptions. He is a weapon in coordinator Matt Nagy's offense that is resembling what Travis Kelce was to Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
Dart has grown up
Jaxson Dart was a wild card last season as a rookie, flying by the seat of his pants. On Sunday night, he looked much more polished, leading the Giants on four long touchdown drives of 63, 60, 73 and 74 yards. The Giants held the ball for 36:40.
He completed 23 of 29 passing attempts, for a career-high 79.3 completion percentage, for 230 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 134.2, also a career-high. Dart rushed 11 times for 54 yards and did not make a single trip to the blue medical tent.
Dart, who was the sixth-highest rated quarterback in fantasy football in 2025, picked up where he left off. He racked up 26.6 FPS on Sunday night, fourth-highest among quarterbacks so far this week.
A night of comebacks
The most visible comeback was that of veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who played his first game in Giants blue since 2018. He was greeted warmly by the 83,000-strong home crowd. But OBJ was not much of a factor in the game, playing just 11 snaps and not garnering a single target.
One reason for Beckham's lack of production was the return of Malik Nabers from a serious knee injury that held him to four games last season. Nabers caught six of nine targets for 69 yards and showed signs of his old self, easing the fans' collective anxiety about his health.
Running back Cam Skattebo showed no signs that the gruesome ankle injury that cut his rookie season short after eight games has slowed him down. He led the Giants with 81 yards rushing and was integral in gaing key yards and first downs late in the game to preserve the lead.
Big, fast and physical
Anyone can see the Giants are bigger, faster, and more physical than they were a year ago. The rigorous training camp and the focus on bringing in players to play Harbaugh Ball.
On offense, the additions of rookie guard Francis Mauigoa and fullback Patrick Ricard give the Giants two players who can take it to defenses and drive them back on their heels. 6-foot-4 rookie wideout Malachi Fields not only creates mismatches, but he also has speed and can get open down the field.
On defense, the idea of pairing rookie linebacker Arvell Reese next to veteran Tremaine Edmunds gives the team two tall, rangy, fast, and physical presences in the middle that teams are going to find hard to penetrate.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: What we learned from New York Giants' 28-20 win over Dallas Cowboys
