FRISCO - The Cowboys' first snap of 2026 will come under the brightest lights the league still schedules. Dallas visits the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 13 in a Sunday Night Football opener that NBC and the NFL locked in months ago, and the buildup is already stacking storylines that reach beyond a standard Week 1 road trip.
Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and NFL+, according to NFL.com. It will be the eighth time in the past 15 seasons the NFC East rivals have opened against each other.
For a Cowboys roster remade around the defensive line and a Giants franchise installing John Harbaugh as head coach, the national window is less a soft landing than an early measuring stick.
Dart, Nabers and a new Giants staff
The matchup NFL.com highlighted when the date was announced still holds: Dak Prescott against Jaxson Dart, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens against a reshaped New York secondary, and New York's offense against Dallas' overhauled defense under coordinator Christian Parker. Harbaugh's first home regular-season game in New York adds another layer.
The Giants are 13-38 over the past three seasons, Big Blue View noted in its Week 1 notebook, and have opened 0-2 or worse in 10 of the last 13 years.
Dart told reporters the Cowboys week would be his first game action in nearly a month and pointed to New York's defense for the sharpest practice reps available. Malik Nabers' availability remains the clearest injury question on the Giants side.
Big Blue View reported Nabers stayed inside with trainers at the start of a recent practice viewing period, leaving Week 1 status unresolved as the clubs enter the final prep week.
Early betting boards listed Dallas as a short road favorite around 2.5 points with a total near 48.5, per FanDuel figures cited by Big Blue View. Those numbers will move with Nabers news and any late Cowboys injury updates from The Star.
