The New York Giants will take on the Dallas Cowboys in one of the best matchups in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. Just as Dak Prescott has an important warning for the Cowboys ahead of the Giants’ showdown, cornerback Greg Newsome II put wideouts CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens on notice with a blunt comment.
“Definitely great players, but I like our chances,” Newsome said, via NFL.com, about facing Lamb and Pickens in Week 1. For Newsome, it will also be his debut in a Giants uniform, and he will have a litmus test right out of the gate, facing divisional rivals with arguably one of the best wide receiver duos in the league.
Although it will be his first game as a Giant at MetLife Stadium, Newsome has faced both Pickens and Lamb before. The former, however, rings a louder bell than the latter, as Newsome and Pickens have faced off as divisional foes before. It was everything one could expect, and more. As they meet again, Newsome embraced his Week 1 matchup against Pickens.
Newsome vs Pickens
Back in the 2024 NFL season, Newsome, then with the Cleveland Browns, and Pickens, then on the Pittsburgh Steelers, met in a Week 12 win for the Dawgs. On the final play, the two got tangled up in a heated scuffle. On a Hail Mary attempt by the Steelers, the No. 1 wideout and No. 1 cornerback forgot about the pigskin, instead holding on to each other and running out of the end zone while still throwing hands at one another.
It was hard to see because of the pouring snowstorm falling down in The Land, but the vitriol between the two was clear to see. After the incident, Pickens fired at Newsome. “I don’t even know who that is,” Pickens said when asked about facing Newsome again ahead of the Browns-Steelers rematch later in 2024. Newsome had words for Pickens, too.
“I don’t take it as disrespectful because I don’t care about the dude at all,” Newsome said back then about Pickens. “Obviously, he’s the guy that cares more so about himself, and you could see that in the penalties that he causes. But me, I’m a professional so I would never let somebody make me do something to hurt my football team.”
Who will Newsome be assigned to?
Two years have passed since the last time Newsome and Pickens met on the gridiron. But fans around the NFL can get the feeling there is no lost love between the two.
Knowing how high emotions will be running, it remains to be seen if John Harbaugh and Dennard Wilson decide to line up Newsome across from Pickens, or if they assign him to Lamb.
With the Cowboys, they boast a one-two punch at wide receiver that basically makes opponents pick their poison, and they will try to make an example out of the revamped organization in the Big Apple. Newsome has poked the bear, the ball is in the Cowboys’ court now, but the final say will be in Week 1’s Sunday Night Football game.
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