The John Harbaugh era has officially started at the New York Giants with a 28-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The clash also witnessed a return to the gridiron for Malik Nabers, who was playing his first game since his ACL injury.

Though there was some skepticism about whether or not Nabers would suit up for the Giants against the Cowboys, coach Harbaugh cleared that up with a surprise knee check for the veteran wide receiver. As detailed by Jaxson Dart, Harbaugh literally tackled Nabers right before the game to assure his player he’s all ready to hit the field.

“We're all just standing there, and then all of a sudden Leek goes down on the ground,” Dart said via SNY Giants. “Our team's super protective of him. So we all turned to look, and it's Coach Harbs tackling Leek, and then he pops up and he goes, ‘See, you're all good.’”

John Harbaugh tackled Malik Nabers during walkthroughs to remove any fear he would have of being hit

Jaxson Dart tells the story pic.twitter.com/j8pbAlLsHz

— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) September 14, 2026

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Nabers suffered a right knee injury and tore his ACL and meniscus during the Week 4 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. It happened while he was making an attempt to catch a deep pass downfield.

However, Harbaugh’s unorthodox way of helping Nabers realize his potential worked out really well. Nabers made an impressive return despite being listed as questionable and having his workload managed during training camp. The third-year wideout looked comfortable in his first game back.

Nabers finished with six catches on nine targets for 69 yards, leading his team in targets while helping secure an impressive win over the Cowboys.