Cowboys have dominant history over Giants in season openers

TL;DR

The Dallas Cowboys will face the New York Giants in their season opener for the ninth time in 20 years. Historically, the Cowboys have dominated these matchups, winning six of the last eight encounters.

Key points

Cowboys and Giants meet in Week 1 for the ninth time in 20 years
Cowboys have won six of the last eight matchups
Last season opener was in 2023, Cowboys won 40-0

Dallas CowboysNew York GiantsDak Prescott

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 04: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys and Jaxson Dart #6 of the New York Giants meet after the Giants beat the Cowboys 34-17 at MetLife Stadium on January 04, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Dallas Cowboys are set to visit the New York Giants in Week 1 of this season. In similar news, water is wet. If you have been paying attention for the last 5, 10, 30, or 5,000 minutes or so, you know that the Cowboys and Giants square off to begin NFL seasons more often than not. This isn’t *literally* true, but it certainly feels that way based on the last 20 years. Consider that 2026 will mark the ninth time in 20 years that Dallas and New York will do battle to begin a season. The previous eight affairs have been fairly one-sided to say the last.

2023 (Away): Win, 40-0
2019 (Home): Win, 35-17
2017 (Home): Win, 19-3
2016 (Home): Loss, 20-19
2015 (Home): Win, 27-26
2013 (Home): Win, 36-31
2012 (Away): Win, 24-17
2007 (Home): Win, 45-35 The Cowboys absolutely obliterated the Giants the last time they faced off in Week 1 back in 2023, a game that was also at MetLife Stadium where this one will take place. While these two teams have faced off in Week 1 a number of times, those games have generally taken place at AT&T Stadium. This will only be the third instance to take place at MetLife. Whether the games have taken place in Week 1 or otherwise, the Cowboys have dominated the Giants in general in the Dak Prescott era. Since Prescott took over as starter he has only lost to the Giants on three occasions, both games his rookie season and Week 18 last year when both squads were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. He has missed some games to be clear, but the Cowboys were still mostly successful in them. If things go chalk in that sense the Cowboys will have a strong chance to start the season off 1-0 overall, but crucially 1-0 within the NFC East and even more so with a road divisional win in hand. Assuming all goes well, of course.

Q&A

What is the Cowboys' record against the Giants in season openers?

The Cowboys have won six of the last eight season openers against the Giants.

When was the last time the Cowboys faced the Giants in a season opener?

The last season opener between the Cowboys and Giants was in 2023, where the Cowboys won 40-0.

How many times have the Cowboys and Giants played in Week 1 over the last 20 years?

The Cowboys and Giants have faced each other in Week 1 nine times over the last 20 years.