The time has finally arrived. The Dallas Cowboys are going to play a regular-season football game, and what better way to kick off their 2026 season than opening things up with a familiar foe, the New York Giants. Starting the year with a nice road win is a great way to get things going, but it won’t be easy.
These revamped Giants have upgraded their skill positions and upgraded their head coach, bringing in Super Bowl champion John Harbaugh from Baltimore. There are many things to occupy our attention, but here are five things to watch when the Cowboys travel to MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.
1. Confusing Jaxson Dart
The Giants have a fearless, playmaking quarterback who has brought excitement back to Jersey with an impressive rookie résumé of big plays. Whether he’s dazzling with his arm or taking off and strutting his smash’em, crash’em rushing appeal, he somehow finds a way to get it done. When he’s in rhythm, he can be an efficient operator with quick decisions and well-placed intermediate throws. And if he doesn’t like what he sees, he’ll go off script and use the legs to extend plays and see what develops. The hope is Dart won’t like what he sees after the ball is snapped. The second-year quarterback can be a little Jekyll-and-Hyde, with the Hyde part possibly coming out if he is forced off of his primary look.
Jeckyl: Dart led the league in big-time throws while under pressure (10.2%)
Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker, will face his first test subject as the team employs its new deceit defense, disguising their intentions and then rotating late. Dart is the perfect victim. The goal is to make him hold on to the ball too long, and when he tries to play hero, step in front of his receiver and make him pay. Snap your fingers, and the ball goes to Dallas. 2.
Interior attack
The Cowboys’ defense was notoriously bad last season, but no NFC team allowed more rushing yards last year than the Giants. They surrendered 145 rushing yards per game. Making matters even worse is the team traded away their best interior defender in Dexter Lawrence who was shipped to Cincinnati right before the NFL draft. New York will once again face challenges in the interior of their defense.
Fortunately for them, they’ll avoid having to face one of the best guards in the league, as we recently learned that the Cowboys would be without Tyler Smith for the first part of the season as he undergoes thumb surgery. In his place, Dallas will send out backup guard T.J.
Bass. Despite Smith’s absence, the Cowboys will look to attack inside behind the power of Tyler Booker and Cooper Beebe. Look for running back Javonte Williams to follow his lead blocks and use a physical rushing attack to keep the Cowboys offense out of third-and-long situations. And that is important because of item number three. 3. Pressure from the edge
As bad as the Giants defense is inside, they are equally impressive on the edge.
Veteran Brian Burns is an absolute force, and they also have some recent draft picks in Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux who can do some damage. This is a very dynamic trio of edge rushers. If the Giants are to have success against the Cowboys on Sunday night, it will come in the form of putting Dak Prescott on the ground. Both tackle positions have always been an area of concern, with left tackle Tyler Guyton offering up mixed results while right tackle Terence Steele can be downright awful in pass protection. The Cowboys also have a mystery at swing tackle and no longer have the Tyler Smith “break glass in case of emergency” option available. There is a range of outcomes where this one could get a little messy. If the Giants’ defensive coordinator can deploy some creative pressure packages, that could be the ticket to getting the Cowboys’ high-powered offense off the field.
4. New guy excitement
The Cowboys front office has spent the last year loading, uploading, and re-loading defensive talent to the point where they don’t even have enough numbers to go around, and they have to bribe players from the offensive side.
Unlike the 2025 unit that started the season, this new-look group has Quinnen Williams, Caleb Downs, Rashan Gary, Von Miller, Jaylen Thompson, and Cobie Durant. And the list goes on.
If some of these new guys waste no time making their presence felt, it will do wonders in building excitement for this football team. Whether it’s a Miller sack, a pass breakup by Thompson or Durant, or, quite honestly, anything positive from the rookie Downs, seeing these new investments produce immediate dividends will set the tone for the season, where they can finally turn the page on what was a dreadful defense. 5. Breaking the Banks
The second season of the amazing wide receiving duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens will be full of excitement.
All eyes will be on a great matchup between Pickens and Giants cornerback Greg Newsome II, as these two are very familiar with each other from their time in the AFC North. It should be a physical battle with those two fighting for every contested pass. Look for the Cowboys to turn to their other alpha, Lamb, and utilize his shiftiness to create separation and cause problems for the other Giants cornerback, Deonte Banks. If Klayton Adams moves him around and constantly forces help over the top, it opens the door for some unattended receivers flying down the seam. With so much attention given to the Cowboys’ top dogs, don’t be surprised if Ryan Flournoy or KaVontae Turpin come up with a huge play in this one.
