The NFL schedule release is trickling out as the week goes on, leading to Thursday evening’s full release. The first game to be announced by the league this week includes the Dallas Cowboys, as they will travel to MetLife Stadium on Sept. 13 to take on the New York Giants in the first Sunday Night Football game of the season.
The game will be the fourth consecutive year that the Cowboys open the season on the road after playing the Giants in 2023, the Browns in 2024 and the Eagles in 2025.
This season posed a particular challenge to bringing Dallas back to AT&T Stadium for Week 1, as the venue is hosting an Usher and Chris Brown concert on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The Cowboys could have played at home on Monday, but it would have been a challenge to play Week 2 on a short week before going to Brazil in Week 3.
The 2026 opener will serve as the 13th time the Cowboys have opened the season against the Giants, with Dallas owning an 11-1 record all-time against its divisional foes in season openers. The two teams have opened against each other eight of the past 15 seasons, dating back to the season opener in 2012.
It will be the first time that the Cowboys will get a look at the Giants with their new head coach, John Harbaugh. After Brian Daboll was fired during the season last year, New York hired one of the hottest names in the open market in January. Last season, the Cowboys and Giants split their two matchups with Dallas winning 40-37 in overtime in Week 2 and the Giants winning the season finale 34-17.
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.
