John Harbaugh is the 21st head coach in Giants history, hired in January after 18 seasons in Baltimore. He arrives with the 14th-most wins of any coach in NFL history, seven short of 200, and a mandate that has gone unmet for a while: New York has not reached the postseason since 2022 and has not won the NFC East since 2011, the year it won its fourth Super Bowl.
The league gave him a showcase opening. Season 102 in franchise history begins at MetLife Stadium on Sunday Night Football against Dallas. Here’s the full slate.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Time (ET) / TV | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun, Sept. 13 | vs. Dallas Cowboys | 8:20 p.m. / NBC | — |
| 2 | Mon, Sept. 21 | at Los Angeles Rams | 8:15 p.m. / ESPN | — |
| 3 | Sun, Sept. 27 | vs. Tennessee Titans | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 4 | Sun, Oct. 4 | vs. Arizona Cardinals | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 5 | Sun, Oct. 11 | at Washington Commanders | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 6 | Sun, Oct. 18 | vs. New Orleans Saints | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 7 | Sun, Oct. 25 | at Houston Texans | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 8 | — | BYE WEEK | — | — |
| 9 | Sun, Nov. 8 | at Philadelphia Eagles | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 10 | Thu, Nov. 12 | vs. Washington Commanders | 8:15 p.m. / Prime Video | — |
| 11 | Sun, Nov. 22 | vs. Jacksonville Jaguars | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 12 | Sun, Nov. 29 | at Indianapolis Colts | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 13 | Sun, Dec. 6 | vs. San Francisco 49ers | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 14 | Sun, Dec. 13 | at Seattle Seahawks | 4:25 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 15 | Sun, Dec. 20 | vs. Cleveland Browns | 1:00 p.m. / CBS | — |
| 16 | Mon, Dec. 28 | at Detroit Lions | 8:15 p.m. / ESPN | — |
| 17 | Sun, Jan. 3 | at Dallas Cowboys | 1:00 p.m. / FOX | — |
| 18 | TBD | vs. Philadelphia Eagles | TBD | — |
Week 18 dates, times and networks are announced only after Week 17 concludes. Prime-time and late-afternoon games remain subject to the NFL’s flexible scheduling rules, so this slate can still change during the season.
Games That Will Define the Giants’ Season
| Game | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Week 1 vs. Dallas | Harbaugh’s Giants debut, at home, in prime time, against the division rival that has owned this series. Nothing about the opener is a soft landing. |
| Weeks 9-10 at PHI, vs. WAS | Straight out of the bye into Lincoln Financial Field, then a short week before Thursday night at home. Two division games in five days sets the tone for November. |
| Week 14 at Seattle | The only trip west after September, against the defending Super Bowl champions. Harbaugh is 2-2 all-time against the Seahawks, one of just three opponents on this schedule he doesn’t hold a winning record against. |
| Weeks 16-18 at DET, at DAL, vs. PHI | A Monday nighter in Detroit, then back-to-back NFC East games to close. If January means anything for New York, it gets decided in this stretch. |
How the Schedule Sets Up
The first month is unusually front-loaded with television: a Sunday night opener against Dallas, then a Monday night trip to SoFi Stadium in Week 2. After that it settles into a run of five straight one o’clock kickoffs before the Week 8 bye. Four home games in the first six weeks is a real gift for a first-year coach installing a new system, and Tennessee, Arizona and New Orleans are three of the more manageable opponents on the calendar.
The back half is where it tightens. New York comes out of the bye at Philadelphia, then turns around on three days’ rest for Thursday night against Washington. December brings San Francisco to MetLife, a 4:25 kickoff in Seattle, and a Monday night game in Detroit before the season closes with Dallas and Philadelphia. That’s four prime-time games total — a vote of confidence in the Harbaugh hire more than in last year’s roster. For the other side of the Weeks 1 and 17 bookends, see our Dallas Cowboys 2026 schedule. Full league dates are at NFL.com.
The Bottom Line
Nine home games, a favorable opening month, and a bye in Week 8 that splits the season almost perfectly. This is about as clean a runway as a new head coach gets, and Harbaugh’s history against most of this field is encouraging. The complications are the Week 9-10 short-week squeeze, the Seattle trip in December, and a finishing kick of Detroit, Dallas and Philadelphia. Start 4-2 and the SNF opener will have been the beginning of something. Start 1-5 and the schedule stops mattering.