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Dart leads Giants to NFL win after Bears thump Panthers
AP • September 14th, 2026 5:00 pm
Jaxson Dart (centre) has led the New York Giants to an NFL win over Dallas to start their season | Photo: AP
Young quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Caleb Williams have impressed on the first Sunday (Monday NZT) of the NFL season, leading their sides to comfortable wins.
Dart connected with Isaiah Likely for two touchdowns and Devin Singletary on another, Cam Skattebo ran for one in his first game back from injury and the New York Giants opened their season by beating the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 on Sunday Night Football.
In John Harbaugh's debut as head coach of the Giants, Dart made one smart throw after another, mixing in a series of well-timed runs to keep the defence off balance.
New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo (44) and Jaxson Dart (6) have fans excited about 2026 | Photo: AP
He finished 23 of 29 for 230 yards passing, plus 54 rushing, including a couple of slides and a dive to avoid the unnecessary hits that punctuated his rookie year.
Likely made eight catches on eight targets for 78 yards in his New York debut after following Harbaugh from Baltimore, extending the training camp trend when he was consistently Dart's top option.
No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers, playing for the first time since going down with a torn ACL in his right knee 350 days ago, had six catches for 69 yards.
It means both New York teams have started the season with a win, after the Jets had earlier beaten the Titans 23-10 in Tennessee.
Also earlier on Monday, Chicago quarterback Williams produced a starring performance to lead the Bears to a 59-37 win over Carolina in the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams continues to impress | Photo: AP
The No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft looked like a league MVP candidate, throwing for 269 yards and two touchdowns and running for 65 yards and two more scores as the Bears trounced the Panthers
"I could kind of tell (Saturday) night when we did our quarterback meeting one last time that he was just on top of it," Chiacgo head coach Ben Johnson said.
"Everything he was rattling out, like where my eyes need to be and what I'm thinking. ... So I went to bed and just slept really well."
Johnson's prolific Bears broke a franchise record for points in an opener, a mark that had stood since 1948, when Chicago hung 45 points on Green Bay at Wrigley Field.
New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson pulled in some crucial catches down the stretch | Photo: AP
The 59 points were the most allowed by the Panthers since they began play as an expansion team in 1995.
Elsewhere in the NFL, Tyler Shough threw an incomplete pass in the end zone on a 2-point conversion attempt, allowing the Detroit Lions to escape with a 31-30 win in overtime over the New Orleans Saints.
Saints head coach Kellen Moore chose to go for the win instead of tying the game with 1:34 left in overtime after his team came back from a three-touchdown deficit in the third quarter and allowed a touchdown on the opening possession of the extra period.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen had to work through constant pressure from the great Houston defence | Photo: AP
In Houston, Josh Allen didn't wait for the question he knew was coming after finally leading the Buffalo Bills to a road win over the Houston Texans in a season-opening thriller.
"We do like Reliant Stadium," he said with a big smile. "Woo."
Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining to lift the Bills to a 36-31 victory in a back-and-forth game.
