Giants vs. Vikings Live Blog: Tracking Harbaugh's Preseason Debut

Follow live updates, quotes, and takeaways as John Harbaugh's Giants era officially kicks off against Minnesota at MetLife Stadium.

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh makes his head coaching debut with Big Blue today. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The start of the John Harbaugh era for the New York Giants has been a long time coming. Although it’s only preseason, those who choose to tune into today’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium are in for a treat.

There is the football aspect of it: the Giants had just two days off all summer, and seven of their 14 practices ran the maximum of 2.5 hours, with the majority of those sessions in full pads.

Then there is the attention to detail, which has included covering pregame introductions and warmups so that everything on gameday runs like a well-oiled machine.

As for the game itself, Harbaugh, who racked up a 48-16 preseason record in 18 years as the Baltimore Ravens head coach, didn’t come right out and say as much, but he wants to win every game his team is on the field for.

This doesn’t mean the Giants will offer an early look at any potential game-plan elements. This is still preseason, a time to evaluate players and figure out what the 53-man roster that will take the field for the September 13 regular-season opener against the Cowboys will look like.

But it does mean that Harbaugh opted to keep close to the vest which players he intends to sit and which will get game snaps.

What matters is that his players and coaches approach every game the right way and with the right amount of effort, something that can’t be attained if they view the final score as meaningless and hence take their collective feet off the gas pedal.

Will any of the starters play, and if so, how much? Which guys will be held out due to injury and/or workload management? Who gets first team reps? The answers to all of these questions will be unveiled as the game goes on, so be sure to bookmark this page as we bring you the preseason debut of “Har-ball,” New York Giants style.

There will be takeaways before, during, and after the game, including postgame quotes and notes, all of which you'll be able to track on our live blog below.

The blog will remain active until approximately 7 p.m. ET and will update automatically. Also, don’t forget to check out our postgame coverage right here on New York Giants On SI.

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