John Harbaugh has only been in New York since the beginning of this year. But he’s fully caught up with the intense rivalry his new home has with the Dallas Cowboys down south. After a back-and-forth between him and star Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, the Giants head coach once again sent the ball to the WR’s court. 

“We’re responsible as a football team to be our very best and go out there and be good enough to win the games that we need to win. That’s our job,” Harbaugh told the media. “That’s kind of what I was saying at the town hall the other day. I love CeeDee’s (Lamb) comeback by the way. It was cute. Comeback was cute, too.”

That comment was Harbaugh’s dig at Lamb, calling the Giants “cute,” after the HC said previously that they’ll be “kicking the Cowboys’ a–.”

The WR’s confidence stems from the fact that the Cowboys have won nine out of 10 games against the Giants in the last five seasons. On top of that, he is 11-1 against New York and has 975 receiving yards and five touchdowns against them. Those numbers weigh heavily on the Giants, who are trying to break free from the slump they’ve hit in the past few years. Had Lamb played them when Eli Manning was still active, perhaps he’d look at the team like a competitor instead of a cupcake.

John Harbaugh started this fight, and it really is his to lose. He comes to a team that hasn’t won a lot, and plans to lock horns with a side that has performed comparatively better than New York. Harbaugh will also have to take on the Cowboys twice this season, in Weeks 1 and 17. The first game is in a primetime slot, and the Cowboys are also favored to win the game. For the second clash, Sports Illustrated also predicts a 74% win for Dallas.

However, there is one way John Harbaugh can flip the narrative (and probably why he’s so fired up about facing Dallas). He was 6-1 vs the Cowboys when he was the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. He’s really invested in turning the Giants into a solid contender. Maybe he is what the team needs to plant its flag in Dallas.

“Everything that he wants the team to be is himself when it comes to intensity, attention to detail,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said at the same Town Hall meeting. “From a player perspective, when you see a coach who is able to sacrifice a lot but has a chip on the shoulder at the same time, it’s someone we can all respect and want to play for.”

“It’s hard. It’s different in a great way,” linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “The future is now.”

This rivalry has become more fun to explore, now that things are heating up a little. The Dallas Cowboys had also landed a previous jab at the Giants in the when they released their schedule.

Dallas Cowboys threw shade at the New York Giants in the schedule release video

The Cowboys did not hold back on their attack at the Giants in their schedule release video. Dallas had Tyler Booker, Tyler Guyton, and Tyler Smith play spies, who go over their strategies to defeat their opponents. Beginning with New York, the Cowboys took a shot at wide receiver Malik Nabers.

Apart from the memo of “torturing” Nabers, the three Tylers also joked about the WR singing praises of Caleb Downs before the draft. But the safety will be suiting up in Dallas colors this season, much to Nabers’ display.

“Caleb Downs is ours, Malik,” Smith said. “Fool.”

Nabers really wanted Downs to join the Giants. He had to pace around for a few seconds after learning that Dallas took him, on Bleacher Report’s coverage of the 2026 draft. He’d even told the safety before that he was “coming to get [him]. Sadly, he will now face him as a rival, and Downs is going to cause him a lot of problems, too.