On Sept. 7, 2008, the Ravens defeated the Bengals, 17-10, in John Harbaugh's first game as a head coach.

Eighteen years and 192 more wins later, he will begin a new era with the New York Football Giants. And, once again, he will do it at home against a division rival.

The Giants will open the 2026 campaign – the 102nd in franchise history – against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on Sunday Night Football (Sept. 13, 8:20 p.m. ET).

It is the first leg of back-to-back primetime outings to kick off the inaugural season under Harbaugh, who is 45-23 in night games. The Giants will travel to Los Angeles in Week 2 for a Monday night matchup with the Rams, fresh off playing the NFL's first ever regular-season game in Australia against the 49ers.

The Giants are currently set for two more primetime games: at home against the Commanders on Thursday Night Football in Week 10, and at Detroit on Monday Night Football in Week 16.

The Giants, who had the latest possible bye last season, will take their break in Week 8. They will return to action with a 1 p.m. road game on Nov. 8 at Philadelphia. Harbaugh will look to build on his 15-3 record in games immediately following the bye week in a building where the Giants have not won since 2013.

The Giants will finish the season with three of their last five games on the road, beginning with a trip to face the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks in Week 14. Seattle is led by head coach Mike Macdonald, a longtime assistant under Harbaugh with the Ravens. Macdonald spent nine total seasons across two stints on Baltimore's staff, serving the last two as defensive coordinator.

Without further ado, the Giants' 2026 schedule (all times are Eastern):

Pre 1: Vikings (Sat., Aug. 15, 1 p.m., WNBC 4 NY 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Pre 2: @ Dolphins (Sat., Aug. 22, 4 p.m., WNBC 4 NY)

Pre 3: @ Jets (Friday, Aug. 28, 7:30 p.m., WNBC 4 NY)

Week 1: Cowboys (Sunday Night Football, Sept. 13, 8:20 p.m., NBC, 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Week 2: @ Rams (Monday Night Football, Sept. 21, 8:15 p.m., ABC/ESPN)

Week 3: Titans (Sept. 27, 1 p.m., CBS, 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Week 4: Cardinals (Oct. 4, 1 p.m., CBS, 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Week 5: @ Commanders (Oct. 11, 1 p.m., FOX)

Week 6: Saints (Oct. 18, 1 p.m., FOX, 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Week 7: @ Texans (Oct. 25, 1 p.m., FOX)

Week 8: BYE

Week 9: @ Eagles (Nov. 8, 1 p.m., FOX)

Week 10: Commanders (Thursday Night Football, Nov. 12, 8:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video, 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Week 11: Jaguars (Nov. 22, 1 p.m., CBS, 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Week 12: @ Colts (Nov. 29, 1 p.m., FOX)

Week 13: 49ers (Dec. 6, 1 p.m., FOX, 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Week 14: @ Seahawks (Dec. 13, 4:25 p.m., FOX)

Week 15: Browns (Dec. 20, 1 p.m., CBS, 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Week 16: @ Lions (Monday Night Football, Dec. 28, 8:15 p.m., ESPN)

Week 17: @ Cowboys (Jan. 3, 1 p.m., FOX)

Week 18: Eagles (TBD, 🎫 BUY TICKETS)

Harbaugh, who has the 14th-most wins in NFL history and is seven away from 200 total, was hired in January to be the 21st head coach in Giants history. He will seek the team's first postseason appearance since 2022 and first division title since 2011, when they went on to win their fourth Super Bowl. A year later, Harbaugh hoisted the Lombardi Trophy with the Ravens.

Under the NFL's schedule rotation, the Giants face the entire NFC West and AFC South, and same-place finishers from the AFC North (Browns), NFC South (Saints), and NFC North (Lions). That is in addition to the annual home-and-home series with their three NFC East opponents.

Harbaugh owns a winning record against 11 of the 14 opponents on the schedule. As for the three exceptions, he is 4-4 against the Colts in the regular season and 1-1 in the postseason; 2-2 against the Seahawks; and 3-4 against the Titans in the regular season but 2-1 in the postseason.

John Harbaugh's record vs. 2026 opponents

• Dallas Cowboys: 4-1
• Philadelphia Eagles: 3-2
• Washington Commanders: 3-2
• Cleveland Browns: 28-8
• New Orleans Saints: 3-1
• Arizona Cardinals: 3-1
• San Francisco 49ers: 3-1 (1-0 postseason/Super Bowl XLVII)
• Jacksonville Jaguars: 5-4
• Tennessee Titans: 3-4 (2-1 postseason)
• Detroit Lions: 5-1
• Houston Texans: 9-3 (2-0 postseason)
• Indianapolis Colts: 4-4 (1-1 postseason)
• Los Angeles Rams: 4-2
• Seattle Seahawks: 2-2
• NFC: 52-25
• AFC: 128-88
• Own division: 63-45

Based on combined winning percentages from the 2025 season, the Giants have the 17^th-"toughest" schedule in the league. Their opponents had a combined winning percentage of .498 last year, just below the Commanders at .502. The Eagles have the "easiest" road in the NFC East at .481, while the Cowboys are 20th at .493.

The Bears (.550) have the toughest in the NFL, while the Browns are last at .429.

With that said, predicting one season based on the last is a fool's errand.

Since 1990 – a streak of 36 consecutive seasons (1990-2025) – at least four teams every season have qualified for the playoffs after failing to make the postseason the year before.

Meanwhile, there were seven new division winners in 2025, tied with 2011 for the most in a season since 2002. There have been at least two new division winners in every season since 2003, a streak of 23 consecutive seasons.

With the schedule set, there are just 122 days until the season begins.

The Giants, who held rookie minicamp last weekend, will ramp up spring football on Tuesday with their first of 10 organized team activities (OTAs). They will complete the offseason workout program with a three-day minicamp from June 8-10 and then break until training camp, which will be held in West Virginia this summer due to facility upgrades in East Rutherford.

This season, "flexible scheduling" for Sunday Night Football may be used up to twice between Weeks 5-10, and in the NFL's discretion during Weeks 11-17; for Monday Night Football at the NFL's discretion in Weeks 12-17; and for Thursday Night Football it may be used up to twice between Weeks 13-17. During these Flex Scheduling Windows, the games initially scheduled for Sunday Night Football (on NBC), Monday Night Football (on ESPN or ABC), and Thursday Night Football (on Amazon Prime Video) are tentatively scheduled and subject to change. Only Sunday afternoon games (or those listed as TBD) are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, Monday night, or Thursday Night, in which case the initially scheduled Thursday/Sunday/Monday night game would be moved to Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon games may also be moved between 1:00 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. or 4:25 p.m. ET. As in prior seasons, for Week 18, the final weekend of the season, the scheduling of the Saturday, Sunday afternoon, and the Sunday night games is not assigned. In Week 18, three games will be played on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. ET) with the remainder to be played on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET and 4:25 p.m. ET) and one matchup to be played on Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET). Specific dates, start times, and networks for Week 18 matchups will be determined and announced following the conclusion of Week 17. For more information about NFL Flexible Scheduling, please visit *https://www.nfl.com/schedules/flexible-scheduling-procedures*.