Giants beat Cowboys 34-17 for owner John Mara amid ongoing cancer fight

New York Giants owner John Mara, who has been battling an undisclosed form of cancer for three months, was honored with a game ball after one of the team’s biggest wins of a painful season. 

The Giants got their first win against the archrival Dallas Cowboys since 2020. With a 34-17 thumping, the Giants finished one game better than their 2024 record. It’s also their first season since 2020 with wins against the Eagles and Cowboys.

Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger, who had a 29-yard touchdown reception, told reporters after the game how the game ball impacted Mara’s mood. 

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“[Mara] mentioned he’s jogging to his treatments now because of this,” Bellinger said. “He’s got to be the toughest guy in the locker room, regardless of what everybody else is going through. He’s resilient as a guy, and we respect him as our leader, our owner.”

Beating Dallas and other results around the NFL took the Giants (4-13) out of the running for a top-two draft pick. 

But Mara has repeatedly made it a policy that he demands wins over draft positioning as an NFL owner.

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Giants captain Andrew Thomas told The New York Post, “It’s a great feeling” of winning the game for Mara. 

“You can tell he cares about this place; there’s a lot of legacy with his family, it means a lot to him, and it’s not just his words, it’s his actions,” Thomas said. “He’s there; a lot of owners don’t commit that much. We definitely appreciate that. We want to win every game we play, and more importantly, we want to do it more consistently. That’s our goal, and I’m sure that would make Mr. Mara happy. We know he’s going through a tough situation, so we’re praying for him and hoping he can get healthy and come back out there with us.” 

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Mara and the Giants will now look ahead to finding a new head coach and making moves in the 2026 offseason. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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