Isaiah Likely is named the New York Giants' newcomer who shined in Week 1.
ESPN named TE Isaiah Likely the New York Giants' newcomer who shined in Week 1.
Likely, who followed John Harbaugh from the Baltimore Ravens to the Giants in the offseason, was unstoppable against the Dallas Cowboys. He caught eight passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
"Likely was quarterback Jaxson Dart's go-to receiver, catching two third-down passes on the game-ending drive to go along with two touchdowns earlier. Overall, Likely caught all eight targets for 78 yards. The chemistry with Dart throughout training camp carried over to the season, to the point where it's easy to see Likely having a huge campaign despite never reaching 500 receiving yards in any of his four years with the Ravens. The performance was no surprise to coach John Harbaugh," Jordan Raanan of ESPN wrote.
The Giants upset the Cowboys by a final score of 28-20 at home. Likely's monster game didn't surprise Harbaugh, who has watched the 26-year-old have big games time after time in important games.
"Yeah, I kind of was. I mean, we paid him a lot (laughter)," Harbaugh said. "That's what we paid him for and he did it. And even after he put the ball on the ground, which I was not happy about, he knows he's going to get that video about three o'clock in the morning this morning with a comment. But he said, he goes, 'You can trust me.' He said, 'You can trust me.' And Skatt (RB Cam Skattebo) said the same thing. He said, 'You can trust me.' And I do trust him. I do trust those guys."
The Giants haven't made the playoffs since the 2022 season. That was the first year of the Brian Daboll era.
It would certainly be quite the story if New York made the playoffs in Year 1 of the Harbaugh era.
The Giants started the season with a win for just the second time in 10 years. They will look to go 2-0 by beating the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.
To beat LA, Likely has to have a huge game again.
