Tom Rock: Giants and John Harbaugh live up to all the hype
Giants defensive end Chauncey Golston and head coach John Harbaugh celebrate after defeating the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Ed Murray
John Harbaugh had eight months to think about how Sunday night was going to go down. Eight months to plan for it and prep for all of the emotions. And then, just as he was about to pull in for his debut as head coach of the Giants, he came face-to-face with an unforeseen issue.
Traffic.
“The parking lot was off the chain,” he said of the congregation that had gathered and briefly delayed his arrival at MetLife Stadium.
Welcome to New York.
Once he was in the building, though, the thrills and excitement kept coming, from the chills-inducing pregame ceremonies that honored the 25th anniversary of 9/11 to the touchdown on the opening drive all the way through the final kneel-down on a 28-20 victory over Dallas.
A building that in the past was overrun so often by Cowboys fans instead burst with Giants pride from long before kickoff to long after the final whistle.
And yes, the traffic heading into the game was nothing compared to what it was like getting out. No more leaving early for these folks.
“It was more than I expected, in all honesty,” Harbaugh said of the vibes. “It was incredible. It was everything you would think, but it was more than I thought. It was really something, man.”
Of course, the same could be said about him.
In a world in which things rarely live up to expectations, in which hype often is followed by disappointment and talking rarely is backed up with action, the Giants delivered on just about every promise Harbaugh made in his introductory news conference in January and has been preaching since.
They were a physical, precise, disciplined, tough, well-conditioned, crafty, prepared team. They were more than anyone had a right to expect. Certainly more than the stunned and battered Cowboys thought they were going to get.
“We’re on our way,” Harbaugh said. “Everybody understands the vision.”
Now they have a concrete example of it, too.
“None of this would be possible without him,” tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “The mentality we have now, the way we think about the game and handle the game, the discipline we have . . . The mentality he brought here was something we missed, and everyone is feeding off of that.”
You could feel it all night long, with every shoulder Cam Skattebo lowered to plow through a would-be tackler to every nifty offensive play Jaxson Dart ran.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that one of the players who knows Harbaugh best — tight end Isaiah Likely, who followed him here from Baltimore in the offseason — was the most productive Giant with two touchdown catches and several key blocks on other plays.
Likely also had two key receptions on the final drive after the Cowboys trimmed the Giants’ lead to 28-20 with 5:21 left. In a situation in which past Giants teams almost certainly would have given the ball back to Dallas and possibly fallen in dramatic fashion, these Giants were able to play keepaway thanks to two third-down conversions by Likely and a key second-and-7 run by Skattebo.
There still is a long way to go, but Harbaugh has the players believing and the fans bursting. It felt like the start of something spectacular.
Even Harbaugh, the Super Bowl winner who had been a near-perennial playoff participant during his 17 seasons as coach of the Ravens, had to admit that this one felt different . . . and not just because he was wearing Giants logos and an NYPD cap as opposed to his previous purple-and-black gear.
“My dad always says, he’ll say this in the car on the way home, he’ll say, ‘John, you’ve never had a better win than that,’ ” Harbaugh said. “He says it every time. And I’m gonna tell you, I think this time it might be true.”
Harbaugh had a chance to embrace his parents, Jack and Jackie, in the locker room after the game. He even gave a little speech and handed an old game ball over to his dad before asking him the familiar Harbaugh question.
“Who has it better than us?” John asked.
“Noooo-body!” howled Jack.
There also was another game ball that changed hands in that locker room shortly before that small family ceremony. Right after the game, after Harbaugh handed several out to the players, team president and CEO John Mara stepped up and gave one to Harbaugh.
“He deserved it,” linebacker Brian Burns said. “Him building this culture, man, I’m, really here for Harbaugh. I love Harbaugh for sure.”
Harbaugh clearly was touched by the recognition from ownership, especially after citing Mara’s presence as a steward of the league and one of its marquee franchises as a reason for his arrival.
“It made me feel good,” Harbaugh said. “It made me feel very proud. I felt grateful to be the coach of the Giants.”
He certainly isn’t the only one thankful that he is.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
