Likely catches eight passes and two touchdowns in Giants debut

Jaxson Dart threw three touchdown passes, two to Isaiah Likely, and the New York Giants opened John Harbaugh’s tenure with a 28-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. New York turned a late first-half interception into the lead, scored again after halftime and kept the ball for the final 5:16 to finish the opener.

Dart completed 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards without an interception and added 54 rushing yards. Likely caught all eight of his targets for 78 yards in his Giants debut. Cam Skattebo supplied 81 yards on 18 carries and the game’s first touchdown in his return from last season’s leg injury.

The sequence before halftime changed the game. Dallas recovered Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s fumble with two minutes remaining in a 7-7 tie. Instead of taking the lead, the Cowboys gave the ball back when Jevón Holland intercepted Dak Prescott with 58 seconds left. Dart drove New York 55 yards and found Likely for a 15-yard touchdown with 20 seconds remaining.

New York followed that score with a 12-play, 74-yard drive to begin the third quarter. Likely’s 2-yard touchdown reception ended a possession that consumed 8:01 and pushed the lead to 21-7. Dallas had spent the break trailing by one score; by the time its offense returned, the deficit had doubled.

Prescott answered with a drive capped by Javonte Williams’ 1-yard touchdown run. But New York again moved downfield, with Dart finding Devin Singletary repeatedly out of the backfield. Singletary’s 9-yard touchdown catch with 7:26 left restored the two-score lead. He finished with four receptions for 22 yards and six carries for 16 yards.

Dallas scored once more when Williams caught a 17-yard touchdown pass. His taunting penalty moved the extra-point attempt back 15 yards, and Brandon Aubrey missed wide right. The Cowboys needed a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie, but never regained possession. Donovan Ezeiruaku’s late face-mask penalty helped New York finish the drive in victory formation.

Blogging The Boys’ game report identified the same recurring problem for Dallas: its defense could not interrupt New York’s long possessions. The Giants gained 394 yards to Dallas’ 244 and held the ball for 36:40. New York’s official report counted nine conversions on its first 10 third-down attempts, before the final kneel-down.

Malik Nabers returned from his knee injury with six catches for 69 yards on nine targets. For Dallas, Prescott finished 22 of 34 for 175 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. CeeDee Lamb caught five passes for 44 yards and a touchdown; Williams added five catches for 31 yards to his 41 rushing yards.

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Malik Hooker may have fractured his forearm, with more testing planned Monday, according to the team’s postgame update. DeMarvion Overshown also left with a hamstring injury; Schottenheimer said its severity was not yet known. The Cowboys host Washington next Sunday; the Giants visit the Rams on Monday, Sept. 21.

The roster takeaway is the distribution of work: Likely converted all eight targets, Nabers led New York with nine, and Skattebo’s 18 carries exceeded the eight shared by Singletary and Tracy. Williams handled 12 of Dallas’ 18 rushing attempts and caught all five targets. One opener establishes those workloads, not a season-long guarantee.