Locals in the NFL: Jaxson Dart, 'stepbrother' Skattebo team up to guide Giants to season-opening win

AROUND THE SHIELD — Now entering their second year in their respective NFL careers, Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo's relationship has blossomed with the New York Giants.

The friendship was on full display Sunday night — both on and off the field.

Dart, the former Roy High and Corner Canyon quarterback, threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns, and Skattebo added a game-high 81 yards and a rushing touchdown as the Giants won their season opener, 28-20 Sunday night over the Dallas Cowboys.

Together, the buddy-cop duo guided an offense that produced 394 yards on 68 plays and converted 9-of-11 first downs in the NFC East rivalry. After trailing 14-7 at halftime, Dallas (0-1) only got the ball back twice — and scored touchdowns on both of them.

But with Dart, who ran for 54 yards on 11 carries, and Skattebo, the Giants out-gained the Cowboys 165 yards to 69 on the ground and limited Dak Prescott's time of possession to 23 minutes, 20 seconds en route to the 1-0 start.

"We were confident, put in a lot of work," Dart told NBC while standing next to teammates Malik Nabes and Isaiah Likely.

"This is just the start," he added. "We've got to keep going."

Giants coach John Harbaugh said that Dart showed "a lot of poise" in the way he ran the offense to start his second season.

"I saw him operating the offense," Harbaugh said at halftime. "There's a lot of complexity at the line of scrimmage with what we're doing."

Dart and Skattebo built up a strong rapport in last year, when Dart threw for 2,272 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions and ran for 487 yards and nine scores in his first professional season.

Skattebo ran for 410 yards and five touchdowns in eight games as a rookie before suffering a brutal season-ending ankle injury. On that day, Dart dropped to his knees visibly shaken at his close friend and teammate's injury, but made sure to send him off as Skattebo was being carted away with the duo's unique headbutt-style handshake.

"I was devastated," Dart later said of that day. "That's my boy, man."

On Sunday night, the former Arizona State running back relayed his own message to his QB1: He's got his back, too — literally, when Skattebo walked into MetLife Stadium wearing the Kaysville native's jersey from his senior year of high school.

For over a year, Skattebo has heaped praises on Dart, comparing the relationship to brothers — or something of the sort.

"He's like the evil stepbrother that never answers his phone, and he obviously cares about you, cares about me a lot. But he loves football so much," Skattebo told the "Rich Eisen Show" before the season.

"There's nothing that's going to get in his way from film study or talking to coaches about something he could be doing on the field," he added. "And he's a player that inspires me every day to be better."

Here's how other former Utah high school and college football standouts fared in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL regular season, including the following highlights:

• Former Brighton High star Simi Fehoko had a tackle on special teams and blocked a punt in the Arizona Cardinals' 26-14 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
• Former Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid caught seven passes for 130 yards in Buffalo's 36-31 win over Houston, the most receiving yards by a Bills tight end since 1967.
• Former Utah State defensive back Jalen Davis had five tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass defended to help the Cincinnati Bengals to a 33-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Monday Night Football

Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs

Broncos (0-0)

• Garett Bolles, OT, Utah/Snow/Westlake High
• Jonah Elliss, LB, Utah
• Dallan Bentley, TE, Utah
• Karene Reid, LB, Utah

Chiefs (0-0)

• Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU/Orem High
• Khyiris Tonga, DT, BYU/Granger High
• Jalen Royals, WR, Utah State
• Jeffrey Bassa, LB, Kearns High (via Oregon)
• Alohi Gilman, S, Orem High (via Notre Dame)

Sunday Night Football

New York 28, Dallas 20

Giants (1-0)

• Jaxson Dart, QB, Corner Canyon/Roy High (via Ole Miss): Starting quarterback completed 23-of-29 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns with two sacks taken, and ran for 54 yards on 11 carries with one (recovered) fumble
• Jack Kelly, LB, BYU/Weber State/Kearns High: Reserve linebacker also played on special teams

Cowboys (0-1)

• No locals on the active roster

Sunday afternoon

Chicago 49, Carolina 37

Bears (1-0)

• Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah: Starting defensive back had three tackles and forced a fumble on defense
• Clark Phillips III, CB, Utah: Reserve cornerback played mostly on special teams
• Braxton Jones, OT, Southern Utah/Murray High: Started at left tackle on offense

Panthers (0-1)

• Brady Christensen, OG, BYU/Bountiful High: Placed on injured reserve (hamstring)
• Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah: Starting linebacker totaled game-high 13 tackles on defense

Cincinnati 33, Tampa Bay 27

Bengals (1-0)

• Jalen Davis, CB, Utah State: Starting nickel posted five tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass defended on defense
• Ryan Rehkow, P, BYU: Punted one time for 51 yards

Buccaneers (0-1)

• Miles Killebrew, S, Southern Utah: Reserve safety played mostly on special teams
• Keionte Scott, CB, Snow College (via Miami): Starting defensive back had four tackles on defense

Detroit 31, New Orleans 30

Lions (1-0)

• Penei Sewell, OT, Desert Hills High (via Oregon): Started at left tackle
• Sione Vaki, RB, Utah: Reserve running back had two carries for seven yards, caught one pass for 11 yards, and played on special teams

Saints (0-1)

• Zach Wilson, QB, BYU/Corner Canyon High: Inactive for Week 1
• Julian Blackmon, S, Utah/Layton High: Starting safety made six tackles on defense
• Devaughn Vele, WR, Utah: Starting receiver caught seven passes for 69 yards including 1-yard touchdown on offense
• Kaden Elliss, LB, Judge Memorial (via Idaho): Starting linebacker totaled nine tackles, three quarterback hits and a pass defended on defense

Buffalo 36, Houston 31

Bills (1-0)

• Cole Bishop, S, Utah: Starting safety had seven tackles on defense
• Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah: Starting tight end caught five passes for 130 yards on offense
• Jackson Hawes, TE, Highland HIgh (via Georgia Tech): Started at tight end

Texans (0-1)

• Dalton Schultz, TE, Bingham High (via Stanford): Starting tight end caught four passes for 35 yards

Baltimore 41, Indianapolis 23

Ravens (1-0)

• Tyler Huntley, QB, Utah: Active, but did not play

Colts (0-1)

• No locals on the active roster

Jacksonville 34, Cleveland 10

Jaguars (1-0)

• No locals on the active roster

Browns (0-1)

• Winston Reid, LB, Weber State/Copper Hills High: Reserve linebacker also played on special teams
• Spencer Fano, OT, Utah/Timpview High: Started at left tackle
• Carsen Ryan, TE, BYU/Utah/American Fork High: Reserve tackle made one tackle on special teams

Pittsburgh 20, Atlanta 13

Steelers (1-0)

• Jaylen Warren, RB, Utah State/Snow/East High (via Oklahoma State): Starting running back had 10 carries for 46 yards, caught five passes for 27 yards, and lost a fumble on offense

Falcons (0-1)

• No locals on the active roster

New York 23, Tennessee 10

Jets (1-0)

• Tim Patrick, WR, Utah: Placed on injured reserve

Titans (0-1)

• Cody Barton, LB, Utah/Brighton High: Starting linebacker had three tackles in 65 snaps on defense
• Terrell Burgess, S, Utah: Reserve safety played 25 snaps on special teams

Arizona 26, Los Angeles 14

Cardinals (1-0)

• Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU: Starting running back had game-high 17 carries for 61 yards, caught two passes for nine yards on offense
• Simi Fehoko, WR, Brighton High (via Stanford): Reserve receiver had one tackle and a blocked punt on special teams

Chargers (0-1)

• No locals on the active roster

Las Vegas 27, Miami 13

Raiders (1-0)

• Matt Gay, K, Utah/UVU/Orem High: Booted field goals of 47 and 30 yards with three PATs and kickoff duties on special teams
• Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State: Starting cornerback had three tackles on defense
• Jackson Powers-Johnson, OL, Corner Canyon High (via Oregon): Started at right guard and shared a tackle on an interception return

Dolphins (0-1)

• Zayne Anderson, S, BYU/Stansbury High: Starting safety had five tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass defended on defense

Minnesota 39, Green Bay 22

Vikings (1-0)

• Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU: Starting linebacker made one tackle on defense
• Zemaiah Vaughn, CB, Utah: Inactive for Week 1

Packers (0-1)

• Jordan Love, QB, Utah State: Starting quarterback completed 21-of-42 passes for 387 yards, two touchdowns and an interception with four sacks taken and a fumble lost on offense; made a tackle on an interception return
• Chris Brooks, RB, BYU: Starting running back ran for 29 yards on seven carries

Philadelphia 24, Washington 22

Eagles (1-0)

• Britain Covey, WR/RS, Utah/Timpview High: Reserve receiver returned four punts for 37 yards with one fair catch on special teams

Commanders (0-1)

• Tanoa Togiai, OG, Utah: Inactive for Week 1

Thursday night

San Francisco 27, Los Angeles 7

49ers (1-0)

• Fred Warner, LB, BYU: Starting linebacker had game-high 11 tackles, a pass defended and a forced fumble in 53 defensive snaps

Rams (0-1)

• Puka Nacua, WR, BYU/Orem High: Starting wide receiver caught team-high five passes for 74 yards in 43 offensive snaps, and made a tackle; and made a tackle on an interception return

Wednesday night

Seattle 13, New England 10

Seahawks (1-0)

• Rashid Shaheed, WR/RS, Weber State: Reserve receiver caught one pass for four yards in 33 snaps on offense on offense; returned one punt for 9 yards with three fair catches, and three kicks for 80 yards in eight snaps on special teams
• Connor O'Toole, LB, Utah: Reserve linebacker made one tackle in 19 snaps on special teams

Patriots (0-1)

• Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah: Reserve tackle played two snaps on special teams
• Christian Elliss, LB, Judge Memorial (via Idaho): Starting linebacker made four tackles in 49 snaps on defense
• Cameron Latu, TE, Olympus High (via Alabama): Reserve tight end played 14 snaps on special teams

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