EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The preseason is over for the New York Giants, which means it’s officially time to start thinking about Week 1, the Dallas Cowboys and the rest of the 2026 campaign.Of course, new coach John Harbaugh has been thinking about those things since he arrived in New York. While it remains to be seen what kind of team the Giants will ultimately become under Harbaugh, there’s one thing he’s made clear throughout the preseason: If the Giants are going to lose, it will not be because they’ve beaten themselves with silly mistakes.He will not tolerate that.“A lot of times, if somebody does make a mistake,” linebacker Micah McFadden said after Friday’s preseason finale, “they’ll get pulled from that play … like, ‘Hey, you got to lock in.'”Top Plays from Giants @ JetsHarbaugh’s intolerance for avoidable mistakes goes beyond just yanking players off the field. He’s willing to vent his frustrations publicly, too. Consider the way he’s handled the few dustups during camp; consider the way he chose to talk about running back Cam Skattebo this past week.Everyone knows Skattebo brings his big personality to the field every day, and typically, that audacious personality is welcomed by his teammates and coaches, including Harbaugh. As the second-year running back has worked his way back from the gruesome ankle injury he suffered last season, his ceaseless energy has been on full display all spring and summer. Skattebo could often be heard across the field during camp as he hyped up teammates and talked trash with the Giants defense.But in the final open practice of Giants training camp, Skattebo let his passion get the better of him — at least according to Harbaugh. After catching a pass and sliding to the ground late in the practice, Skattebo ended up in a skirmish with Giants defensive backs Jevon Holland and Greg Newsome II.It resulted in a flag for the Giants offense.After practice, Harbaugh was asked about the energy Skattebo brings to the team and whether it’s “infectious.”“Skatt’s great,” Harbaugh said. “He does bring a lot of energy. But he did get a 15-yard penalty at the end of practice. Did you notice that? That’s not infectious. Well, it is infectious, actually. Infectious in a bad way, right? Like an infectious disease type of thing. We don’t want that. We want it to be directed in a positive way.”Despite Skattebo’s admitted tendency to, as he said while referring to his ill-fated backflip at Fanatics Fest, “do some dumb things,” he hasn’t been the only subject of Harbaugh’s ire.Let’s rewind a little further back, to early August when starting quarterback Jaxson Dart flipped a ball at cornerback Newsome after throwing a touchdown pass. When asked about that incident after practice, Harbaugh didn’t talk about Dart’s competitive edge and swagger. He talked about sending a message.“I think it’s a 15-yard penalty for taunting, so we backed up the extra point and had to do it again,” a clearly irritated Harbaugh said. “Did you see that? That’s how we handled it.”Even without saying anything, the coach has been clear about the lines he’s drawing, with penalties being enforced even in practice.“I think he understands that for the game-winning extra point, we don’t want it to be a 50-yard extra point,” Harbaugh said of the Dart incident. “Do you think I need to say anything (to him) in that case? Pretty clear-cut, right?”Ahead of joint practices in Miami with the Dolphins, Harbaugh enforced game day rules regarding fights. And, of course, with high temperatures and humidity, tempers boiled over a few times. Following his involvement in a fight, right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor ended up watching the final drive of the practice from the sidelines.“Anybody that threw a punch in the scrimmages would be treated like a game,” Harbaugh said.While Eluemunor’s punch wasn’t hard, it was to the face, and as Harbaugh said, “That’ll get you in the game.”Of course, there’s no guarantee Harbaugh’s no-nonsense approach will translate seamlessly to the regular season. But it’s worth pointing out that despite the few examples we’ve highlighted, Harbaugh’s message about the Giants not beating themselves seems to have largely taken hold. After 21 grueling practices, it says something that the only intrasquad “fight” we’ve seen came on the last day (the Skattebo incident).“Penalties are like the first thing we watch together … in a team meeting after the next day of practice,” Giants guard Jon Runyan said after Friday’s preseason finale. “I mean, they’re sticklers for it.”The Giants could use a little more discipline than they’ve shown in the past. Last year, the Giants committed the third-most accepted penalties in the NFL (128), costing themselves 1,075 yards — the league average was 108 accepted penalties and 870 yards.Harbaugh’s Ravens, meanwhile, were far better than average in that department. They only committed 99 accepted penalties, costing them 746 yards.“Obviously, no coach likes penalties,” Giants guard Jon Runyan said Friday. “But this has been the biggest emphasis on no penalties I’ve ever been around.”Since arriving in New York, Harbaugh has often been described as a floor-raising head coach. While that can sometimes be a nebulous term, his fixation on cutting out mistakes — and the harmful penalties that come with them — is tangible evidence of exactly how Harbaugh is trying to raise the floor in New York.