Harbaugh’s Prime Time Mission: Ending the Giants' Opening Day Drought

The John Harbaugh era begins under the Sunday Night lights against Dallas, as Big Blue looks to leverage their new coach's 12-6 Week 1 record to snap a decade of Cowboys dominance.

May 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a press conference at rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

There's not likely to be anything that captures the New York Giants' attention more than opening the season against the Dallas Cowboys.

Lo and behold, they will do so again this year. NBC will have this NFC East rivalry game on Sept. 13 as part of its Sunday Night Football package.

No matter the records of the two teams, at least one of their annual battles usually winds up as part of a national telecast, either in prime time or the late Sunday afternoon window, because of the matchup's high television ratings, thanks to the Giants residing in the nation's No. 1 media market and the Cowboys having been nicknamed "America's Team" since 1978.

This game will mark the eighth time in the last 15 seasons they've battled in Week 1, though it's only the first since 2023.

In fact, they met six times over an eight-year stretch: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019. Since that span, the Cowboys are 6-1 in the series and won both games (2012, '23) at MetLife Stadium.

Perhaps the Giants will be able to reverse this trend under first-year head coach John Harbaugh, who not only went to the playoffs 12 times in 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, but also owns a 12-6 career record on opening day.

He's not only bringing a strong Week 1 record with him to New York, but he's also shown a propensity to have his team especially geared up to open against a rival. His Ravens went 5-1 against the AFC North with their only loss coming to Cincinnati, 23-16, when the Bengals scored a touchdown with less than five minutes left in 2014.

Harbaugh won his first five openers with Baltimore, where he had quarterback Joe Flacco, and the coach built a reputation as someone who tirelessly prepared his teams throughout the year.

"I think we have a good offseason [program], we have good training camp practices, we get a lot of reps in, and we work hard," Flacco told Ravens.com at the time.

"I think guys show up Week 1 excited and chomping at the bit, getting ready to go. I think we come out and play well because of it."

Former Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas joins Big Blue Breakdown Live! host Paul Dottino to discuss the dynamics of beginning the season with this rivalry, as well as how the team moves forward following the rookie minicamp tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

Listeners will also be able to participate via chat and audio/video calls via this link.

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