2026 NFL schedule: Cowboys at Giants is Week 1 Sunday night game
The league on Monday announced the Sept. 13 matchup of NFC East rivals at the Meadowlands. The full schedule will be released Thursday with other games revealed in the coming days.
NEW YORK — The Dallas Cowboys are set to visit the New York Giants in the first Sunday night game of the 2026 NFL season on Sept. 13.
The league on Monday announced the Week 1 matchup of NFC East rivals at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The full schedule will be released Thursday with other games revealed in the coming days.
This is the eighth time in the past 15 years the Cowboys and Giants are opening the season against each other.
» READ MORE: How tragedy, near-music stardom, and his beloved hometown helped shape new Eagle Jonathan Greenard
Dallas is always a national television draw as “America’s Team,” and New York could get more prime-time exposure with Super Bowl winner John Harbaugh coaching and Jaxson Dart established as the franchise quarterback coming off his eventful rookie year. It is set to be Harbaugh’s Giants debut.
If healthy, it would also be the first meaningful game between Dart and Dak Prescott. While each started the season finale on Jan. 4, the teams were eliminated from playoff contention by then.
This also could be the NFL debuts for a pair of former Ohio State teammates: Giants linebacker Arvell Reese, taken with the fifth pick, and Cowboys safety Caleb Downs, drafted not long after at No. 11.
Dallas at New York also means neither of those teams will be the visitor at Seattle on Wednesday night, Sept. 9, when the defending champion Seahawks unveil their Super Bowl banner and kick off the season. Chicago, Arizona, Kansas City, the Los Angeles Chargers or a title-game rematch against New England are the remaining possibilities.
Earlier this year, the scenario seemed far-fetched, especially after the Eagles used a second-round draft pick on a tight end. Zach Ertz overcoming a serious injury to make a nostalgic return? It just didn’t feel like a possibility. Then rookie Eli Stowers got hurt in the preseason, and starter Dallas Goedert went down Week 2 vs. Tennessee. All of a sudden, the Eagles had a need. Now, the 35-year old Ertz has been tapped to fill it. The Inquirer's Jeff McLane explains how an unlikely reunion between Ertz and the Eagles came together, why both sides are hoping for more than a feel-good story, and which player on the roster could be affected by this move the most. Listen here.
Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.
