The New York Giants showed the football world they mean business against the Dallas Cowboys, scoring a 28-20 win that included the triumphant return of running back Cam Skattebo. New York fans watched with a mixture of delight and fear as Skattebo hit a backflip celebration that came less than a year after a season-ending open fracture to his right ankle in 2025.

The celebratory mood was made possible because of a ruthless attitude adopted by new coach John Harbaugh's team this offseason that paid big dividends with their win over the rival Cowboys in Week 1, exemplified by Jaxson Dart's display of toughness.

Skattebo pointed toward penalties as the reason why his team didn't win by more points and called for a better effort going forward.

“We're gonna punish you for four quarters, you know, we're in a 15-round fight, and we're not gonna finish you 'til 15 rounds is over,” Skattebo said (h/t Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports).

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“We don't wanna knock you out in the second quarter, we wanna knock you out in the fourth quarter. So, we have to continue to build off that, obviously, but penalties killed us early, so if we clean up those penalties early, this game coulda been way different, we coulda been up three touchdowns going into the fourth quarter.”

Dart and Skattebo recaptured the magic they flashed in 2025 as the Giants' QB finished with 230 yards and three touchdowns while Skattebo had 81 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown.

A September 21 Monday night showdown against the Rams in Los Angeles could prove a taller task for coach John Harbaugh's team, which looked strong against the Cowboys, but there is plenty to clean up, as Skattebo mentioned.

The feeling after one game is that Harbaugh will live with the mistakes for now as long as Skattebo and his teammates continue their aggressive and fearless ways on the field.