The New York Giants have a long, treacherous history of having their lunch money snatched by the Dallas Cowboys. It's become like clockwork, especially since Dak Prescott began quarterbacking "America's Team" — until now.
A man by the name of John William Harbaugh has entered the mix and flipped everything on its head. The Giants' new head coach wasn't born within these lines and is evidently choosing not to stay in them. He stepped in and immediately broke a boundary the franchise might have forgotten even exists: taking down the Cowboys, specifically with Prescott under center.
Prescott had been haunting New York's players and fans alike for quite literally a decade. Excluding his rookie year, he won 14 straight games against them, but who's counting? The club's two wins over Dallas since 2017 came without him available or in a meaningless Week 18 finale; emphasis on the past tense, though.
At long last, the dragon has been slain. The Giants took down the NFC East rival Cowboys in an impressive 28-20 Sunday Night Football victory.
John Harbaugh breaks Giants' Dak Prescott curse with a flair
Talk about a helluva way to kick off the Harbaugh era! New York's seemingly spellbinding Dak Prescott curse is officially a thing of the past. While there are no parades for coming out on top in Week 1, this may have been Big Blue Nation's Super Bowl.
A Prescott-led Cowboys squad beating the G-Men, whether at home or away, had become a (deplorable) annual tradition like no other. He was notably removed from the contest at halftime of their low-stakes end-of-season meeting, wrapping up a lost 2025 campaign for both sides. Veteran backup Andy Dalton was Dallas' starting signal-caller in the 2021 showdown that saw New York prevail.
It truly feels like a massive weight was lifted off the Giants' shoulders in what was a true statement performance. They controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, letting Dallas know this group is no longer to be trifled with. Harbaugh leveled the playing field, and now these two longtime foes can play on his terms just as easily as they can on Prescott's.
John Harbaugh, Giants dictated the action vs. Dak Prescott-led Cowboys
New York had a clear plan heading into their opener. They focused on preventing big plays through the air and stopping the run while playing smashmouth football offensively, and did precisely that. Their well-rounded efforts start at the top, with Harbaugh's presence having a massive influence on the wire-to-wire defeat of Dallas.
Harbaugh's Giants were prepared and executed at a high level, aside from some penalty issues that can arguably be chalked up to wonky officiating. The defense deployed Cover 4 at the NFL's second-highest rate (41.7 percent) heading into the first Monday Night Football of 2026. They also imposed their will on the ground, and the approach paid dividends.
Despite questions surrounding the secondary, New York delivered versus what many consider the league's premier wide receiver duo, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Dallas' star playmakers combined for eight catches and 72 scoreless yards. Cowboys bell-cow Javonte Williams scored twice (one rushing, one receiving), though he was largely ineffective as a runner, posting a lowly 3.42 yards per attempt.
While they don't have any sacks to show for it, the Giants' pass rush deserves a ton of credit. They made life difficult for Prescott and his supporting cast, logging 14 pressures, 11 hurries and three QB hits as a unit.
Moreover, New York recorded 165 rushing yards and a touchdown on a whopping 37 carries, yielding a solid 4.5 yards per attempt. Of course, the burgeoning sophomore backfield duo of bruising tailback Cam Skattebo and quarterback Jaxson Dart led the way, accounting for 135 of those yards.
Note: Advanced metrics courtesy of Fantasy Points' data suite and Pro Football Focus' premium stats. Subscription required for both.
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