Cam Skattebo made his long-awaited return to the field Sunday night, and he didn’t waste any time reminding everyone why the New York Giants missed him so much. The second-year running back scored a 3-yard touchdown on New York’s opening drive against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium, capping a 10-play, 83-yard march and giving the Giants a 7-0 lead in new head coach John Harbaugh’s debut.
Skattebo’s rookie season came to a brutal halt last October when he suffered an open ankle dislocation, a fractured fibula and a ruptured deltoid ligament in a Week 8 game, an injury so severe he needed emergency surgery that same night in Philadelphia. The Arizona State product spent the better part of a year rebuilding his leg from the ground up, and his availability for Week 1 was never a certainty until he actually jogged onto the field Sunday.
A Signature Return on Opening Night
The touchdown came at the 6:40 mark of the first quarter, with Skattebo bursting through for the score to punctuate New York’s opening possession. It was the first sign that a full offseason of rehab had paid off, and it set the tone for what became an emotional homecoming in front of the MetLife Stadium crowd. Malik Nabers, himself working back from a torn ACL, was also in the lineup as the Giants tried to piece together a healthier offense than the one that limped through last season’s 4-13 finish.
Jaxson Dart, entering his second season as the starting quarterback, got his first live snaps of 2026 after Harbaugh held him out of all three preseason games. Dart called the moment one he had been waiting for, and the Giants leaned on the ground game early to set up their new quarterback for success behind an offense now running through new coordinator Matt Nagy’s system. Bettors who want to check the latest lines on the Giants moving forward can find them on live NFL odds, where Dallas opened as three-point favorites in the rivalry matchup.
Harbaugh’s Debut and What Comes Next
Sunday marked the first game of the Harbaugh era in New York after the franchise moved on from Brian Daboll, and the head coach brought several familiar faces with him from Baltimore, including tight end Isaiah Likely and fullback Patrick Ricard. For a Giants team that finished with the fewest wins in the NFC last season, getting Skattebo back on the field healthy is as important to the rebuild as any coaching change. He was New York’s most electric offensive weapon as a rookie before the injury, averaging nearly 84 total yards per game through his first seven outings.
The Cowboys, who beat the Giants in a wild overtime thriller in their first meeting a year ago before New York closed out the season series with a 34-17 win in the finale, came into MetLife Stadium looking to open Dallas’s season on the right foot against an NFC East rival. With Skattebo back in the fold alongside Nabers and a Dart-led offense trying to find its footing, the Giants have the pieces in place to be competitive in the division if the health holds. For those following the odds and lines throughout the season, HelloRookie’s sports betting odds hub tracks matchups like this one across the NFL slate.
