NFL insider John Frascella called the Giants-Cowboys matchup “one of the weirdest games” someone could ever see. Meanwhile, Giants HC John Harbaugh described it as “absolutely electric from beginning to end.” Same 60 minutes, but two complely different takes. And honestly, both of them have a point.

Between a historic debut, an unexpected backflip, a touching tribute, and some worrying developments that Dallas didn’t see coming, the season opener had much more going on than the 28-20 scoreline suggested. So, let’s look at the scenes one by one.

The Cowboys lost more than the game

There was no silver lining for the Cowboys on Sunday night. There were plenty of things that went wrong for Dallas, and one of the biggest concerns came on the defensive side of the ball. After the game, Emmy Award-winning journalist Mike Leslie made sure to point it out.

“Christian Parker’s defense gave up 394 yards of offense and 9-for-11 on 3rd down to the Giants in his debut,” Leslie wrote on X.

The defensive coordinator certainly struggled to find answers, but there were also opportunities that could have completely changed the game.

The Giants fumbled the football four times, but the Dallas Cowboys recovered only one of them. That was one of the most frustrating parts of the night. The Cowboys were around the football and created chances to force turnovers. The ball simply did not bounce their way often enough. Imagine if Dallas had recovered two or three of those four fumbles. The result could have been very different.

But that was only one part of the story. Dallas Cowboys had to deal with a penalty problem too, finishing the night with eight flags. One of the more costly moments came when Javonte Williams was called for taunting, a penalty that led to a missed extra point. After the game, a few more blows were waiting for them.

According to Dallas News’ Calvin Watkins, Malik Hooker may have suffered a fractured forearm, while “DeMarvion Overshown has a hamstring injury, and he wasn’t ‘sure the severity.’” 

Both injuries could raise questions about the Cowboys’ defensive readiness going forward. More information from the medical team in the coming hours should provide a clearer picture.

However, there was a concerning moment during the game in the Giants’ camp as well.

Cam Skattebo’s return to action was nerve-wracking

Sunday night marked New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo’s return to action after a severe dislocation of his right ankle and a lower-leg fracture ended his 2025 rookie season. And he wasted little time to make his return memorable. On the opening drive, he found the end zone and celebrated with an end-zone backflip, giving the home crowd a picture-perfect moment. But Skattebo did end up giving the Giants a brief scare!

He was seen bleeding from the nose after taking a hit and drawing a missed facemask penalty from the Cowboys’ defense. However, Skattebo stayed in the game and finished with 81 rushing yards and a touchdown in the Giants’ 28-20 win.

The coaches were not happy for different reasons

Apart from the fact that this was his first game as Giants HC, John Harbaugh’s night also carried a more meaningful moment. For the 9/11 anniversary, he wore an NYPD/FDNY hat as a tribute to the first responders. And as far as the game was concerned, he received plenty of praise from the NFL fraternity for his coaching performance.

For example, ESPN’s Giants beat reporter Jordan Raanan wrote on X: “Giants were the better team. More disciplined. More physical. Better coached. This is how they drew it up to beat the Cowboys 28-20. 1-0 under John Harbaugh.” 

Doug Rush, the Fansided journalist covering the Giants, echoed a similar sentiment while highlighting the tough grind the team had gone through during training camp. However, during the game, the HC was not exactly pleased with the officials.

With 1:28 left in the third quarter, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott completed a 15-yard pass to WR CeeDee Lamb, taking Dallas to the Giants’ 2-yard line. On the next play, Prescott tried to find Lamb again, but the pass fell incomplete. However, Giants CB Andru Phillips was called for defensive pass interference, resulting in a 1-yard penalty that moved the Cowboys to the Giants’ 1-yard line.

John Harbaugh was caught on camera saying, “That’s bullshit,” after the call. He continued to say a few more things while walking along the sideline after the flag was thrown.

However, the Cowboys’ HC had a very different reaction to his team’s performance.

So far, there have not been many positive things said about the Cowboys’ showing Sunday night, and that is hardly surprising. Brian Schottenheimer himself admitted as much after the game.

“Not good enough on either side of the ball. We gotta do a better job running the ball, stopping the run. The penalties aren’t good enough. Too many drops. We’ll get going. A lot of things to clean up,” he said.

And while the coaches had their own reasons to feel frustrated about the game, the fans had one too.

The NBC host faced unexpected wrath from the fans

NBC’s Cris Collinsworth faced a wave of criticism from NFL fans Sunday night, likely something he did not expect when the broadcast began.

Early in the first quarter, Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown was given a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty for a late hit on Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart. During the broadcast, Collinsworth said Dart was “far out of bounds” before the hit.

However, the slow-motion replay shown on the screen at the same time appeared to show Dart taking only one step near the sideline. Viewers quickly pointed out the apparent disconnect between Collinsworth’s commentary and what the replay showed.

Later, in the second quarter, Dart was sacked by safety Caleb Downs. Collinsworth then said that, as a “veteran player,” Dart needed to know where the unblocked rusher was coming from.

Fans were quick to point out that Dart is in his second year in the league, rather than a seasoned veteran. One social media user even asked whether Collinsworth could retire immediately.

Now, you may understand why there were two very different reactions to Sunday night’s game. For the Giants, it was an exciting start to the John Harbaugh era. For the Cowboys, it was a night filled with missed opportunities, mistakes, and plenty of questions to answer.