PFF Left Isaiah Likely Off Its Week 1 Team

The New York Giants' thrilling Week 1 victory over the Dallas Cowboys didn't come from just one player, but if one name deserved his share of the praise, it was newcomer tight end Isaiah Likely.

Likely, the team’s first big offseason catch after hiring head coach John Harbaugh, was brought in as another reliable, impactful target for second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart.

He sure was that in Big Blue's primetime win, catching a team-leading eight pass targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns that helped the Giants expand their lead going into the second half that their NFC East rivals were unable to overcome.

After that kind of impact in a single game, Likely has been hearing applause from Giants fans excited about the explosive contributor he could be to their offense.

Pro Football Focus, however, threw cold water on the celebratory vibes around the Giants' new weapon, leaving him out of its inaugural NFL Team of the Week and siding with Buffalo's Dalton Kincaid at tight end.

A Total Snub Against Isaiah Likely

New York Giants Isaiah Likely's Week 1 performance was arguably the best overall in his position group — Sep 13, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants tight end Isaiah Likely (9) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was surprising not to see any Giants players on the analytics outlet's list, and certainly, Likely had a strong enough case to make the cut.

PFF's choice, Kincaid, no doubt had an impressive day for the Bills, hauling in five of his six targets for a whopping 130 yards and an average of 26.0 yards per catch that powered Buffalo to a down-to-the-wire road win over the Houston Texans.

While Kincaid led in yardage, Likely beat him in nearly every other key statistic. The 26-year-old was the only member of his position group with at least eight targets and didn't drop a single pass; he converted two into 12 points on the scoreboard.

The first couldn't have come at a better time for the Giants in the second quarter. After their second drive of the period stalled on a Tyrone Tracy fumble, the Cowboys went on the march, looking to take the lead for the first time with a second touchdown of their own.

Instead, Dallas returned the favor with a Dak Prescott deep ball that safety Jevon Holland intercepted at the Giants' 45, killing their momentum.

The Giants followed that mistake with a six-play, 55-yard drive in the final 49 seconds of the half, Likely catching a 15-yard pass from Dart to put New York ahead 14-7 at the break.

The Giants continued their pure dominance over the clock with another 12-play, 74-yard drive that spanned just over eight minutes of game time and marked the team's second-longest possession. Likely would again have the most important catch, a two-yarder for the score that extended the lead to 21-7.

Along with those feats, Likely was one of only two tight ends to score two touchdowns and the sole player to bring down all his contested catches, going 2-2 in that category. He repeatedly showed up in big ways and at critical moments, which seemed to go under the radar in PFF's consideration.

Especially when you consider the Cowboys' defense did a good job curbing the impact of the Giants' other weapons, including Malik Nabers, who was making his first appearance since tearing his ACL in Week 4 last season and finished below Likely with six catches for 69 yards.

It's not often a player comes to the Big Apple and delivers such an outstanding effort toward a win in their first game under the New York spotlight.

Likely was one of the rare and welcome outliers for the Giants and their fans, and his debut was wrongly disregarded by the football minds.

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