NFL schedule 2026: John Harbaugh’s first Giants opponent revealed

John Harbaugh’s first game as the Giants’ coach should be a fascinating one.

Harbaugh and the Giants will open the 2026 season with a Sunday night nationally televised game on NBC — Sept. 13 against the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. The game will kick off at 8:20, of course.

The full NFL regular season schedule will be released Thursday night.

But as usual, matchups will trickle out — via reports or official releases — in the days leading up to that.

And sure enough, the Giants on Monday announced their Week 1 game.

The Giants and every other NFL team have known their home-and-road opponents since last season ended. This week is just about learning the order of those games — and when they will happen.

Other than the Cowboys, Commanders and Eagles, the Giants will face these teams at home in 2026: Cardinals, Browns, Jaguars, Saints, 49ers and Titans.

And other than those three NFC East opponents, the Giants will travel to play these teams: Lions, Texans, Colts, Rams and Seahawks.

In 2025, the Giants opened the season with a 21-6 loss at Washington. In 2024, they began with a 28-6 home loss to the Vikings. In 2023, the Giants got smoked 40-0 by the Cowboys at home in Week 1.

So Harbaugh will be trying to reverse the Giants’ recent terrible Week 1 fortunes when he squares off against Dak Prescott and Co. in this year’s lid-lifter — in front of what should be a raucous crowd in East Rutherford.

The Giants’ most recent Week 1 victory came in 2022, when they beat the Titans 21-20 in Nashville — coach Brian Daboll’s debut.

Will Daboll’s replacement, Harbaugh, also get a win in his Giants debut?

Cowboys-Giants in Week 1 this year marks the eighth time in a 15-season stretch that the teams have opened the season against each other.

The Giants closed their miserable 4-13 season in 2025 with a Week 18 home win over Dallas. Before that, the Giants had lost nine straight games (and 16 of their previous of 17) to the Cowboys.