NFL 2026 Week 1: Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants Confirmed for Sunday Night Football
- The National Football League has scheduled the Dallas Cowboys to face the New York Giants in the opening game of the 2026 season on September 13.
- This NFC East divisional rivalry serves as the premiere for the 2026 season's Sunday Night Football slate.
- The frequency of this Week 1 matchup was particularly high between 2012 and 2019, during which the Giants and Cowboys opened their campaigns against one another six times.
The National Football League has scheduled the Dallas Cowboys to face the New York Giants in the opening game of the 2026 season on September 13. The matchup will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as part of the Sunday Night Football primetime broadcast.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on NBC. Streaming options for the event include Peacock and NFL+.
This NFC East divisional rivalry serves as the premiere for the 2026 season’s Sunday Night Football slate. The pairing of the Cowboys and Giants in the season opener is a recurring theme for the league; this will mark the eighth time in the last 15 seasons that these two teams have faced each other in Week 1.
Historical Context of the Rivalry
The frequency of this Week 1 matchup was particularly high between 2012 and 2019, during which the Giants and Cowboys opened their campaigns against one another six times. Those openers occurred in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019.
The September 13 game will be the first time since 2023 that the two division rivals have met in the first week of the season.
Recent Performance and Matchups
The Giants and Cowboys split their two meetings during the previous season. In their Week 2 contest at AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys secured a 40-37 victory in overtime.
The teams met again in the final game of the season at MetLife Stadium, where the New York Giants won 34-17. In that victory, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart recorded 262 total yards, consisting of 230 passing yards and 32 rushing yards, while throwing two passing touchdowns.
Key Personnel and Strategic Shifts
The September 13 game marks the first home game for New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh. Harbaugh enters the matchup with a 4-1 career record against the Dallas Cowboys.
The game will feature several high-profile individual matchups, including Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart against Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. The Dallas offense, led by CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, will face a revamped Giants secondary.
On the defensive side, the Giants’ offense will encounter a Dallas Cowboys defense that has been overhauled under new coordinator Christian Parker. This game will provide the first comprehensive look at Parker’s defensive system in a regular-season environment.
Schedule Release Timeline
While the Week 1 opener has been confirmed, the remainder of the 2026 NFL schedule is set to be released on May 14, 2026. The full schedule will be available on the Giants’ official website, mobile application, and social media channels starting at 7:30 p.m. ET, according to Giants.com, while NFL.com indicates the release will take place at 8 p.m. ET.