Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season is finally here, and the first "Sunday Night Football" matchup of the year is a familiar one: the Dallas Cowboys at the New York Giants. This will be the two NFC East rivals' ninth Week 1 meeting across the last 20 seasons, the most common Week 1 meeting between two teams in that span. That stretch includes seven primetime games and six Sunday night matchups.
Dallas is a perfect 8-0 all-time in Week 1 primetime games against the Giants, which includes winning the last two by a combined score of 59-3, thanks in large part to a 40-0 beatdown at MetLife Stadium in 2023. The 2026 edition of this matchup could be different, perhaps because so much has changed for both squads in terms of both coaching staffs and personnel. Before we dive into some of the key storylines, here is how you can watch the first "Sunday Night Football" matchup of 2026.
The Cowboys were the NFL's worst scoring defense in 2025, surrendering 30.1 points per game. That's why owner/general manager Jerry Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer completely overhauled their defense from the top down. Matt Eberflus was sent packing after just one season, and the Cowboys hired Christian Parker away from Vic Fangio's Philadelphia Eagles defensive staff to rebuild their unit.
Parker drastically changed how play calls are communicated on top of turning over essentially half of the defensive personnel. Nearly half, 46.2%, of the snaps taken on the Cowboys' 2025 defense are by players no longer on the team, per the Dallas Morning News. The new player acquisitions include Pro Bowl edge rusher Rashan Gary, first-round rookies Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, Super Bowl 50 MVP edge rusher Von Miller and the San Francisco 49ers' 2025 tackles leader in Dee Winters (101).
"The growth, it's like night and day. Starting in OTAs, and starting the first week of training camp, getting a chance to go against one of the best offenses in battle every single day has helped us tremendously," Cowboys Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams said. "The mindset coming from the coaches, top down to the players and to the leadership, has been drastically changed.
I just can't wait to see the process and the results from all the hard work. But, we're not done yet." The New York Giants have a Super Bowl champion head coach for the first time since Tom Coughlin's last season in 2015 after hiring longtime Baltimore Ravens boss John Harbaugh. He built the team in his image this offseason with a few players from his Ravens days -- fullback Patrick Ricard, tight end Isaiah Likely, punter Jordan Stout -- while reinforcing the front lines of both lines of scrimmage by drafting linebacker Arvell Reese (fifth overall) and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa (10th overall) in the top 10.
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