Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) looks on prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
While the Dallas Cowboys have high hopes for rookie safety Caleb Downs, the New York Giants have their own “pie in the sky” for Malik Nabers. These teams will meet in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, and here are bold predictions for the NFC East rivals.
There’s Super Bowl talk coming out of the Cowboys camp in Year 2 of head coach Brian Schottenheimer. Meanwhile, the Giants are hoping new head coach John Harbaugh can change the losing culture.
But what happens in Week 1?
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will throw for 350-plus yards and three TDs
Don’t worry, Giants fans. Prescott will do this to many teams this season. It’s just too difficult for any secondary to cover both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens down after down for four quarters. Prescott will get them the football. And they will find the end zone.
Plus, the Cowboys have other threats in Ryan Flournoy and Jake Ferguson. It’s basically a pick-your-buffet feast for Prescott.
Prescott rolls into the season with plenty of reasons to believe this will be the year, according to hitc.com.
“All responsibility for the last 11 years… Not every year is the same,” Prescott said. “But I am super confident in what our front office has done, what the team has done, the players, everyone. every year I think we gonna win that game.
“Every year, if you think you're not gonna win that game, you probably shouldn’t be playing football. But I don’t know if I have ever felt more confident with the group of guys around me.”
Prescott also has a reliable ground weapon in Javonte Williams. Game flow and penalties could affect his passing touchdown total. If a defender tackles Lamb or Pickens in the end zone instead of letting them catch the ball, Williams might vulture a 1-yard scoring run.
But Prescott will hit the high notes in passing yardage.
Cowboys WRs CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens will both go over 100 yards
The games count now. So do the statistics. And Lamb and Pickens are going to get their numbers. However, the Giants apparently aren’t afraid, according to The New York Daily News via NFL.com.
“Definitely great players, but I like our chances,” cornerback Greg Newsome II said. “(Pickens is great at the catch point. That’s something he’s been great at since he got in the league is just being able to make the tough catches. You’ve got number 88, CeeDee. He can line up anywhere, do a lot of great things.”
Still, Lamb said he’s ready for the 2026 season, according to dallascowboys.com.
“It's real now,” Lamb said. “Everything that we've been preparing up to this point to get here, it's very exciting. I feel like everybody in the locker room is excited, as so myself. We've got to continue to put these things together, and then we finally get the opportunity to go out there and show the world what we can do together.
“We can be real, real vicious together,” Lamb said. “And I know that, he knows that. Every day we strive to do it. We've had a lot of success together, but I know there's much more out there for us.”
Cowboys safety Caleb Downs will get an interception and a forced fumble
Cowboys fans are already all over themselves about the way Downs has looked in camp. Now they will get to see him break loose with a big opening-day effort.
The Cowboys are putting a lot on Downs’ plate, according to The Athletic.
“After being touted as a top-five pick for most of the draft process, a lack of measurables and flash plays on film dropped Downs to No. 11,” Ted Nguyen wrote. “Downs got a complicated Ohio State defense on the right page, made checks and took away passing lanes by consistently being in the right place. Parker has moved Downs all around the defense and will ask him to do things he didn’t do in college. Downs’ leadership role will be valuable, but the Cowboys need him to make his share of flash plays as well.”
Flash plays? Here they come. In Week 1, no less!
Lamb said Downs is ready to adapt to the NFL game, according to The Dallas Morning News.
“I will say, though, honestly, his ability to adjust is very mature,” Lamb said. “Again, he understands where his help is. In minicamp, that was his first time in the defense. He wasn’t really understanding what was going on, but now he plays to his help, he plays to his strength and shows. The guy’s phenomenal. He’s a great football player. Can’t wait to see what he is doing Sundays.”
Giants QB Jaxson Dart will have two TDs, two turnovers
It’s going to be an up-and-down game for the Giants’ young quarterback. Head coach John Harbaugh will try to keep him out of harm’s way, but Dart will take chances. Some may work. Some won’t.
However, Dart enters the game with confidence, according to Sports Illustrated.
“Every day I'm going against (Defensive Coordinator) Dennard's (Wilson) defense, the great players that we have, the scheme that's in place, and those are some of the best reps that I'm going to get going into Week 1,” Dart said. “I’ve been very grateful for those because I would say early on in camp there were a lot of things that maybe caught me by surprise, and against a defense that I haven't really had a ton of experience playing against.
“But I think it's just made myself and this team a lot better, and I don't take those reps for granted. So, I feel like those are the best reps I could get every day.”