Right when things with the New York Giants and wide receiver Malik Nabers seemed like they couldn’t get any weirder leading up to Sunday’s regular-season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, head coach John Harbaugh stepped in and said … “Hold my beer.”
For the Giants, maybe weird is the way in 2026.
Nabers, hesitant to commit to playing in the season opener after reconstructive surgery to fix a torn ACL, didn’t take his first full tackle until pregame against the Cowboys — and left his teammates in shock until they realized who made the tackle — it was Harbaugh.
Knowing he could finally take a full hit, Nabers played and had 6 receptions for 69 yards on 9 targets in a 28-20 upset win — his 1st game since tearing his ACL in Week 4 of the 2025 regular season.
“We were all just chilling on the sideline, right before we were supposed to start our walkthrough,” Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart said. “Things were just up in the air (with Nabers) so me and Coach Harbaugh had some conversations and (Harbaugh) was like ‘You know, I think just once he gets hit for the 1st time and realizes he’s OK, he’s gonna feel confident.’ So I think in his mind it trigger ‘Oh, maybe I should just tackle him’ so right then and there, all of a sudden, Malik goes down on the ground and our team was all on edge because we’re super protective of Malik … then we realized it was Coach Harbaugh, who popped up and was like ‘See, you’re all good.’ ”
Nabers to Giants: Waiting on Sign From God to Play
With the Giants playing on Sunday Night Football, the day couldn’t have gotten off to a more bizarre star than when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on what Nabers had told Harbaugh and his coaching staff when they asked Nabers if he was going to play that night.
“The big injury question centers around Malik Nabers, who’s status for tonight’s game remains murky at best,” Schefter said during a television appearance Sunday morning. “Giants elevated 2 wide receivers to the 53-man roster on Saturday but have not gotten clarity from Nabers, who has said he is leaving whether or not he plays to God, and he wants God to guide him if he will go tonight against the Cowboys.”
Less than 1 hour before the game, word came down that Nabers had made a decision.
“Malik Nabers is active,” Schefter wrote on his official X account.
“A little context on Nabers being active tonight,” NFL on Prime’s James Palmer wrote on his official X account. “I was told during the week that he was working his ass off and everyday was better than the previous day. But even at the end of the week it still was up in the air. They watched him pregame and that pushed it over the edge.”
Devastating Injury Early in 2025 Regular Season
As a rookie in 2024, Nabers seemed like 1 of the NFL’s best wide receivers right out of the gate with 109 receptions for 1,204 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 15 games on the way to being named a Pro Bowler.
Nabers’ return was thrown into question when reports surfaced that he’d needed a 2nd surgery to fix his knee.
Nabers tore his ACL just 4 games into the 2025 regular season — coincidentally the 1st career start for current Giants starting quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Giants HC John Harbaugh’s Unconventional Move Got Malik Nabers to Play vs. Cowboys