John Harbaugh’s Giants Are Playing Tough Football – How Far Can He Take Them?

by Arop KualSeptember 25, 2026, 1:40 pm >

John Harbaugh’s first game as New York Giants coach couldn’t have gone better for the veteran. His team played physical football in a 28-20 win over the rival Dallas Cowboys in their season opener.

Harbaugh spent the last 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, already coaching big games and winning a Super Bowl; this win was special.

“This was really special because these guys, these players, these guys who have believed from the beginning, they don’t bat an eye,” Harbaugh said after watching his team outplay the opposition. “They just try to do the right thing every single day. They try to be on point. And even when they’re not on point, they’re going to bounce back and make it right. Maybe there is a mistake. Maybe there is a false start. They find a way to make a play and erase the mistake and make it right and make it better.

“Buying into that kind of mindset, just when you see it in practice and see it happen in a game, that is what, as a coach, you feel so good about.”

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.

Harbaugh’s vision for the team was to build a big, physical team. The Giants outrushed Dallas 165 yards to 69. He focused on playing disciplined situational football. New York ran out the final 5:16 of the game clock to secure their victory.

After the game, team owner John Mara presented Harbaugh with a game ball.

“We have one more game ball. It’s his first victory as New York Giants head coach,” Mara said before handing it to Harbaugh.

In his postgame news conference, Harbaugh was asked to rank this game among his 205 career victories.

“It’s No. 1,” he said. “Because it’s the one right now.”

He learned this from his dad, Jack, who was a former longtime coach at Western Kentucky. Jack always told his son the most recent win was the best win.

“‘John, you never had a better win than that,'” he recalled hearing from his dad on every car ride home. “He says it every time. I think this time it might be true.”

The Giants players took pride in getting Harbaugh his first Giants win. Harbaugh laid out the blueprint when he first arrived, and the team executed it perfectly.

“From day one, he told us he wants to punish the other team and run the ball and throw play-action passes. That’s what we did,” said running back Cam Skattebo, who led the Giants with 81 yards rushing. “The stuff we did worked. They trusted the plan, and we came out here and executed.”

Before this game, the Cowboys have beaten the Giants in 16 of the last 18 games; this victory could warn the NFC East that the Giants could be a threat with a Super Bowl-winning coach in charge.

“It was huge,” New York quarterback Jaxson Dart said. “I just think that we have so much respect for Coach, and this team will do whatever he says because we have all the faith that he’s going to put us in the best situation. A team’s identity starts at the top. It starts with how he’s conducted himself, with how he’s created a tough team.

“We want to take that on our shoulders, and we bought into what his plan is week in and week out. We’re definitely happy to get it for him. We’re just really happy we did it, not only for the players but for the organization.”

While it might be too early to tell, the Giants under Harbaugh could be the beginning of a new era for Giants football.