The New York Giants came into the 2026 season as one of the more interesting teams in the NFL, simply because of the moving parts on the team. John Harbaugh is in as the new head coach and has a completely new staff around him, and New York also has a second-year quarterback in Jaxson Dart who is looking to establish himself as a franchise QB.
In Week 1, the Giants went from an interesting team to one worth watching in the NFC playoff picture. Harbaugh and company bullied the Dallas Cowboys in prime time, dominating the line of scrimmage in a 28-20 win to get a head start in the NFC East.
Now, the Giants will be on everyone's radar heading into the heart of the season as a team that can potentially be a frisky pick to snag one of the NFC Wild Card spots. Week 2 provides an even bigger test, when New York goes on the road to take on the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.
The Rams are coming off of one of the biggest duds of Week 1, as they were crushed 27-7 by the San Francisco 49ers in Australia. Still, the Rams have one of the most talented rosters in all of football and will be hungry to get in the win column against the Giants.
Can New York replicate its physical formula on both sides of the ball in Week 2?
Note â All stats via Next Gen Stats unless noted otherwise
Giants want to run the ball first, second and third
In Week 1, the Giants firmly established their new identity under Harbaugh, and it is all about running the football. Matt Nagy is the new OC in New York and Greg Roman is also on staff with the Giants, so it comes as no surprise to see the Giants running the ball effectively.
New York dominated the Cowboys in Week 1 with a number of heavy personnel groupings and gap scheme runs. Cam Skattebo is a bruising running back, and the Giants added Patrick Ricard as a fullback to lead the way. Jaxson Dart can also impose his will in the running game, making this multifaceted attack very hard to stop.
Skattebo isn't an explosive runner, so the Giants' EPA numbers on the ground won't blow anyone's minds. However, it is the down-to-down efficiency that stood out on Sunday night, especially in the second half.
The Giants' rushing success rate of 48.6% in Week 1 was one of the best marks in the NFL. Their stuff rate allowed, the percentage of plays stopped for no gain or a loss of yards, was just 5.4%. They wore down the Cowboys' defense with that running game in the second half, and Dallas had no answers to stop it.
On the other side, the Rams really struggled to defend the run in Week 1 against a 49ers team that has a strong running game themselves. Kyle Shanahan and his zone-heavy scheme does things a little bit differently than the Giants did in Week 1, but LA will still have its hands full with the ground game in this one.
In Week 1, the Rams allowed +0.19 EPA per rush against San Francisco, the fourth-worst mark in the NFL. They also allowed 5.8 yards per carry, the second-worst mark in the league. That is a bad sign for a defensive line that traded away an elite run defender in Jared Verse and just lost Myles Garrett to IR.
Of course, there is a chance that the Rams will get Aaron Donald back this week, but it remains to be seen just how big his role will be, especially on early downs. All signs point to the Giants being able to run the ball on Monday night.
Jaxson Dart's improvement
One of the biggest storylines not only in New York, but in the NFL coming into this season was whether Jaxson Dart could cement himself as a franchise quarterback for the Giants. Last season, Dart showed flashes of talent but he was extremely spotty as a passer down-to-down and struggled to stay on the field.
In Week 1, Dart showed signs of improvement in all of those areas. He showed a willingness to slide or get out of bounds when he was running the ball, which will help him stay on the field all year if he can keep it up.
Perhaps even more encouraging for the Giants were the developments that Dart showed as a passer, especially from the pocket. On a number of occasions in Week 1, the former first-round pick repeatedly got through his progression on time and got the ball where it needed to go, even if his first read wasn't open.
As a result, the numbers for Dart in this game were spectacular. He finished the week with a mind-blowing +0.65 EPA per dropback, the second-best mark in the NFL behind only Trevor Lawrence. On top of that, Dart's average time to throw was just 2.64 seconds, the sixth-fastest number in Week 1.
A season ago, Dart's time to throw was up over 2.8 seconds, which was an average mark. It may not seem like a big difference, but cutting that time to throw down is indicative of Dart playing on schedule and taking what the defense gives him more often than he did as a rookie.
The Rams, even without Garrett, have a lethal pass rush that includes the likes of Braden Fiske, Byron Young, and Donald if he is able to make his return in Week 2. Getting the ball out on time is crucial for Dart if the Giants want to pull off another upset in Week 2.