What happened: New York leaned on Likely throughout the 28-20 win, using him from the slot, out wide and inline as Jaxson Dart kept finding him on key downs. His two touchdown catches turned a 7-7 game into a 21-7 Giants lead, and Patrick Ricard's fumble recovery erased his lone turnover.
Why it matters: The opener gave the Giants early evidence that their three-year deal with Likely can change the shape of the passing game and keep drives alive beyond the box score. It also fit the build-up from Likely's steady progress, with his Week 1 role already stretching past a standard tight end workload.
By the numbers: Likely caught all 8 of his targets for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns, while four of those receptions moved the chains on third down. He also produced New York's longest pass play of the day on a 19-yard gain, and his late catches helped finish off the 28-20 win over Dallas.
What to watch: The next question is whether New York keeps feeding him this many high-leverage snaps once defenses start accounting for him as a primary option. Dallas already saw him line up across the formation, so the usage is now on tape for the rest of the schedule.