NFL schedule: Cowboys open at Giants, host Eagles on Thanksgiving
John Harbaugh will make his New York Giants debut in primetime against one of their biggest rivals.
The NFL announced Monday that the Giants will host the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 13 in the first "Sunday Night Football" game of the 2026 season on NBC.
It will mark the eighth time since 2012 that the NFC East rivals will square off in their season opener. The Cowboys won six of their past seven Week 1 games against the Giants.
The league later announced that the Cowboys will host the Philadelphia Eagles, another NFC East rival, on Thanksgiving Day at 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
This will be the first time the teams have played on Thanksgiving since 2014. The Cowboys also hosted the Eagles on Thanksgiving in 1989. Philadelphia won both those games, 33-10 and 27-0, respectively.
The Giants hope to reverse the trend of losing openers to Dallas under Harbaugh, who was hired by New York in January after spending the previous 18 seasons as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
Harbaugh inherits a Giants team that has finished last in the NFC East in back-to-back seasons and has only one postseason appearance since 2016.
The Giants also have struggled recently against the Cowboys, going 1-9 against Dallas over the past five seasons.
Dallas is always a national television draw as "America's Team," and New York could get more primetime exposure with Harbaugh coaching and Jaxson Dart established as the franchise quarterback coming off his eventful rookie year.
If healthy, it would also be the first meaningful game between Dart and Dak Prescott. Though each started the season finale Jan. 4, both 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 has won its past four Thanksgiving games, including a 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last year.
The late afternoon Thanksgiving game is traditionally the most viewed of the regular season. Last year's game averaged 57.23 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched regular-season game in league history.
This will be the second straight season Philadelphia will have the spotlight on Thanksgiving week. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles hosted last year's Black Friday game and lost to the Chicago Bears 24-15.
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. The full schedule will be released Thursday, with other games revealed in the coming days.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.br/]
