Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants

Week 1 · Sunday, September 13 · 8:20 PM ET

DALDallas CowboysPower Rank #16@NYGNew York GiantsPower Rank #21

Why This Game Matters

Few rivalries carry the weight of Cowboys-Giants, and Year 67 opens with both sides trying to prove 2025 was a fluke. Dallas spent the offseason stewing over a Week 18 collapse that snapped Dak Prescott's personal 14-game unbeaten streak in this series, and he gets his first shot at answering for it in the same building where it happened. John Harbaugh makes his Giants coaching debut on the league's biggest opening-week stage against the franchise's oldest tormentor — a season-opening pairing the NFL has now scheduled 13 times, with Dallas having won 11 of the previous 12.

Key Matchups

Rookie safety Caleb Downs (Cowboys, No. 11 overall) vs. rookie linebacker Arvell Reese (Giants, No. 5 overall) — Ohio State teammates a year ago, facing off in their NFL debuts on opposite sidelines.
Dallas's fully intact starting offensive line against a Giants front seven and a secondary still sorting itself out, with Paulson Adebo, Deonte Banks, Greg Newsome II and rookie Colton Hood all competing for jobs at cornerback.
Jaxson Dart, coming off the Week 18 flea-flicker heroics that beat Dallas and ended Prescott's run in this series, now facing the Cowboys as an established starter rather than a rookie surprise.
Malik Nabers's health is the swing factor for New York's passing attack — he's trending toward a Week 1 return from his torn ACL/meniscus, and paired with a returning Odell Beckham Jr., he gives Dart weapons Dallas's defense has to respect.

Injury Report

Malik Nabers · NYG WR
Recovering
Rehabbing a torn ACL and meniscus suffered in Week 4 of the 2025 season; opened camp off the PUP list and has advanced to full-speed team drills, with a possible Week 1 return targeted.
Jaxson Dart · NYG QB
Limited/Day-to-Day
Dealt with an ankle issue during camp but has continued practicing.
Abdul Carter · NYG OLB/Edge
Limited/Day-to-Day
Sprained his ankle in June and later dealt with a hand injury during camp; has continued to practice through both.

Series History

All-time: Dallas leads the all-time regular-season series 78-48-2 (the Giants hold the only playoff meeting between the two, in 2007); the rivalry dates back to a 31-31 tie on December 4, 1960.

Last meeting: The teams split their 2025 season series: Dallas won the first matchup 40-37, but New York closed the year with a 34-17 rout at MetLife Stadium on January 4, 2026 — capped by a Jaxson Dart flea-flicker touchdown to Daniel Bellinger — that snapped Dak Prescott's personal 14-game unbeaten streak against the Giants dating back to 2016.

· Dallas's 52-7 win in 1966 remains the most lopsided result in series history.
· The Giants' only playoff win in the series came as a 5-seed shocking the 13-3, top-seeded, division-sweeping Cowboys 21-17 in the 2007 divisional round — New York then rode that momentum to a Super Bowl XLII upset of the unbeaten Patriots.
· Odell Beckham Jr., now back with the Giants on a one-year deal, authored one of the most famous catches in NFL history against Dallas in 2014 — a tumbling, one-handed touchdown grab still replayed as one of the best catches ever made.

Weather

Forecast not yet available this far out — check back closer to kickoff. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ is an open-air stadium.

Records & Rankings on the Line

· Dallas sits at No. 16 in the mark-bark.com power rankings, New York at No. 21 — both clubs looking to climb out of the bottom half of a wide-open NFC East.
· This is the 13th season-opening meeting between these two franchises; Dallas has won 11 of the previous 12.
· New head coach John Harbaugh debuts after New York went 4-13 in 2025, while Brian Schottenheimer opens Year 2 in Dallas off a 7-9-1 finish — both teams need a statement to start clean.