The New York Giants will be facing the Dallas Cowboys without one of Dallas's Pro Bowl stars.
The New York Giants will be taking on the Dallas Cowboys to kick off the 2026 NFL season.
The two teams will be playing on Sunday Night Football, giving fans an exciting NFC East matchup to start the year. Each team will be trying to grab this win, helping to set themselves up well for the year.
But coming into the game, the Giants will be facing Dallas without one of its best players. The Cowboys have placed Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith on injured reserve, meaning he will be out for the first four games of the season.
Having Smith out could change this game in the favor of the Giants. Smith is one of the best guards in the NFL, and this means that New York may have an easier time getting into the backfield during the game.
The Giants will be opening the John Harbaugh era in this game, hoping to build the organization toward a playoff spot. New York does have plenty of talent on the roster, giving them an outside chance to make it.
Harbaugh does bring more credibility to the mix, but he alone won't be able to get this team to where it needs to go. There will be a lot of pressure on the shoulders of quarterback Jaxson Dart, who is entering his second season in the NFL.
Dart, the first-round draft pick of the Giants last season, looked good in limited time with the Giants a year ago. But other teams now have more tape on him, and he won't be able to surprise anyone.
If Dart can play up to par, the Giants could be a sneaky team to watch in the NFC. Last season, Dart threw for 2,272 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.
The one thing that Dart will have to do is not take so many hits, many of which were his own fault last season. Dart likes to run around the field, getting into open space, but in the NFL, that typically has been the cause of players having short careers.
This game against the Cowboys will be a good test for the Giants early in the year, giving them an opportunity to make a statement. Harbaugh will have his team ready to go, and now it's just up to the players to execute the game plan to get the win over a division rival.
