Sep 19, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after striking out during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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It took just one game for the New York Giants to look like a strong team under new coach John Harbaugh.

It was like the ugliness of going 7-27 over the past two seasons had evaporated with one 60-minute football game.

There were solid performances from the players and a stellar game plan from Harbaugh and staff. And there was toughness – something not always found in recent editions of the Giants.

The 28-20 victory over the NFC East Division foe Dallas Cowboys on the Sunday Night stage was a stellar opening to the Harbaugh era.

But as good as the Giants looked, never forget this: Winning your season opener isn’t a sign that a team has arrived. The season can go the other way.

Just ask the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars. Doug Marrone coached Jacksonville to a 27-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1. The Jaguars then lost all 15 remaining games.

You can trust a Harbaugh-coached team won’t bottom out that badly but New York has missed the playoffs in eight of the past nine seasons for a reason.

The simple explanation is the Giants haven’t been very good. Of course, the merry-go-round of coaches (four full-timers, two interims in 10 seasons) is not the type of things equated to winning teams.

So Harbaugh was hired and the mission is to make the Giants a perennial playoff team. Few people expect him to fall short.

Maybe it’s the fact he won 180 regular-season games, produced 11 seasons of 10 or more wins, made 12 playoff appearances and won a Super Bowl ring during his 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

That sounds like a Hall of Fame resume in progress. In fact, only five NFL coaches have 250 career victories. He’s 69 away from joining that club after the victory over Dallas.

Harbaugh teams are typically well-prepared and highly organized. He has a structure and has quickly changed New York’s culture before coaching his second game.

Tight end Isaiah Likely was one of four Ravens who followed Harbaugh to The Meadowlands. He made a stellar first impression by catching two touchdowns against the Cowboys.

Likely spent four seasons listening to Harbaugh’s speeches and watching his methods. He now sees that his new teammates are hearing the messages and buying in.

“I’d say it’s really his identity, his culture,” Likely told The New York Post. “Obviously with the Ravens, he had been there for so long, it feels like it was the Ravens identity. But coach Harbaugh was always the head coach.

“I feel like he instilled the Ravens mantra and everything. So when he got over here, I guess you can quote-unquote say it was the Ravens mantra, but it’s coach Harbaugh’s culture.”

Harbaugh and the Giants are preparing for their Week 2 game on Monday night at the Los Angeles Rams. It will be the team’s second straight prime-time contest, surely another element of the Harbaugh factor.

Why else would a team that went 4-13 last season be on national TV in their first two games of the following season?

Only the Harbaugh factor prompted that double-double.

For New York to be a threat in the NFC playoff competition, second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart needs to take a step forward, while second-year running back Cam Skattebo and third-year receiver Malik Nabers need to stay healthy.

Dart threw 15 touchdown passes against five interceptions last season so that ratio is promising. But there isn’t enough evidence that Dart will become a Top 10 quarterback this season, either.

Defensively, pass rusher Brian Burns was a force last season with 16.5 sacks so imagine the damage New York could do if second-year pro Abdul Carter emerges as a double-digit sack artist too.

New York defensive backs had just six interceptions last season and the Giants had only nine as a team. Surely, becoming more opportunistic – like many Harbaugh teams – is a priority.

The Giants lost nine straight games at one point last season. Anybody think that will ever happen with Harbaugh coaching the team?

Let’s watch and see how things unfold.

But this much is already clear: The New York Giants will no longer be laughingstocks.

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OXFORD, Miss. — Maybe LSU can focus solely on football for a while.

The Tigers certainly hope so.

Because the first three weeks of “football” have been complicated by all kinds of non-football stuff. It all came to a climax Saturday night with a 32-24 loss to Ole Miss.

The game was preceded by a week-long buildup to Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin’s long-anticipated return to the place that he all but promised he’d never depart and then left less than 10 months ago as the Rebels team he built was heading to the CFP for the first time.

The battle between Kiffin’s current No. 7 team and his No. 8 former team was secondary to Kiffin’s return, just as the aftermath of LSU’s dominant 51-10 victory against Clemson two weeks earlier in its opener was complicated by the SEC’s flirtation with kicking the Tigers out of the conference because Kiffin was flirting with adding to his roster a couple of players who had gone to training camp with NFL teams before being released and enrolling at LSU.

The game Saturday was destined to be the most hyped game in recent memory as soon as the SEC released its schedule.

But the hype has been growing in recent weeks, partly because the two recruits in question that Kiffin brought in were former Rebels and partly because Ole Miss served another former Rebel, defensive end Princewill Umanmielen, with court papers related to the school’s lawsuit against him as the player was leaving the Tigers’ practice facility a few days ago.

Then LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt showed up on the Wednesday practice report out of the blue and was listed as doubtful before being upgraded to questionable on Thursday then removed from the list Friday and playing the entire game Saturday, all of which led to speculation that Kiffin was exaggerating if not fabricating any uncertainty about the quarterback’s availability.

Leavitt certainly played like a quarterback who was less than 100 percent as Ole Miss rolled to a 24-7 halftime lead, though he led a 17-0 second-half blitz before the Rebels took the lead back in the fourth quarter and the Tigers’ final drive ended when Leavitt was intercepted on a fourth-and-goal pass in the end zone in the final minute.

LSU shouldn’t fall more than a spot or two in the AP poll and it still controls its CFP hopes – if it can successfully navigate a remaining schedule that includes four teams that were ranked going into Saturday and games against Kentucky and Mississippi State that seem trickier than they did when the schedule was released.

That’s a lot of football that shouldn’t feature Kiffin complications – with the exception of the visit to Tennessee, where folks were no happier about Kiffin leaving after one season to coach USC than the folks in Oxford were about the coach leaving last December after six seasons.

But there is always time for new Kiffin stuff to develop along the way.

Manchester City fans on social media have called out Ruben Dias despite their 5-3 win over Sunderland on Sunday, September 20. The defender nearly scored an own goal and looked shaky in defence against Sunderland.

Enzo Fernandez gave the hosts an early lead after scoring a brilliant free kick from a difficult angle in the ninth minute. Three minutes later, Brian Brobbey finished from close range to level the scores.

Rayan Cherki produced a decent finish from inside the box to give Manchester City the lead in the 29th minute. Four minutes later, Brobbey scored to make the score 2-2.

In the 43rd minute, Antoine Semenyo rifled the ball into the back of the net to make the score 3-2, and Semenyo also extended the hosts’ lead before the hour mark. Brobbey went on to reduce Sunderland’s deficit, but another from Haaland sealed a 5-3 win for the hosts. Meanwhile, Dias’s performance was a subject of discussion after registering an abysmal shift in defense.

The defender failed to make a defensive interception, won three out of seven ground duels, and lost the ball four times (via Sofascore). Fans took to X to complain about Dias’s performance against Sunderland after the game, with one tweeting:

“Ruben Dias. Thank you. But it’s time to become an assistant coach.”

Other fans posted:

“It’s better to have three points more than less” – Enzo Maresca on Manchester City’s lead in the Premier League standings

Enzo Maresca revealed that it is better to be three points ahead of rival Premier League teams than to be three points behind in the title race. The Citizens manager added that it is too early to talk about the title race.

Maresca responded to a question regarding his side overtaking Arsenal in the Premier League standings following their 5-3 win over Sunderland. He said (via City Xtra on X):

“It’s better to have three points more than less – no doubt. But at the same time, we know that it’s quite early…”

Manchester City have registered a perfect start to their Premier League campaign after winning their first five games. The Citizens (15) are also three points ahead of second-placed Arsenal (12) in the standings.