標籤: opponents

With the 2026 NFL schedule being released on Thursday, there is a lot of excitement to see which team the New York Giants will face in the season opener.

With John Harbaugh as head coach and the team’s additions in free agency and the draft, some think they can go from worst to first in the NFC East.

New York will be one of the most interesting teams of the season, and you can be sure the league will want them to have an entertaining matchup in Week 1 to kick off the season and the John Harbaugh era.

Here are the five most likely Week 1 opponents for the Giants.

RELATED: 2026 NFL Power Rankings: Evaluating the worst, best teams after the NFL Draft

On the road against the Dallas Cowboys

For the past two decades, New York opening the season against the Dallas Cowboys has been a common theme. Since 2007, the Cowboys have hosted the Giants in the opener six times, including three consecutive years from 2015 to 2017.

But the Giants haven’t started the season in Dallas since 2019, but now seems like the right time to resume this pattern. 2026 marks 10 years since the Giants’ last win in Dallas, which ironically was in Week 1. There’s no better way to launch the Harbaugh era than to get a chance to end this questionable losing streak and send a message that the franchise is headed in the right direction.

home against the tennessee titans

The Giants sweeping the Tennessee Titans would be an interesting way to start the season as Big Blue will welcome back their former head coach Brian Daboll, who is now the Titans’ offensive coordinator. In addition to Daboll, several former greats are now with Tennessee, including Van’Dale Robinson, Kor’Dale Flott and Daniel Bellinger.

This game will also be the first matchup between Cam Ward and Jackson Dart, the first two quarterbacks selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. These two teams started off the year against each other in Tennessee in 2022, and there’s a good chance they start the season against each other again.

home against washington commanders

This season marks the 40th anniversary of the Giants’ first Super Bowl victory. To celebrate, the NFL may have the Giants face the franchise they defeated in the NFC Championship 40 years ago to clinch their first Super Bowl berth in Washington.

Since 2008, these divisional rivals have met four times in Week 1, including last year in Washington, where the Commanders were victorious 21–6. But that was before Jackson Dart took over as the starter, and both teams have made significant roster changes since then. This matchup would see the Giants go up against Sonny Styles for the first time, who many thought they would take with the fifth overall selection, but instead they selected Arvel Reese.

On the road against the Detroit Lions

The Giants and Detroit Lions both finished last in their respective divisions in 2025, but both are among the favorites to go from worst to first in 2026. With the number of skill position players on both teams, this could turn out to be one of the most entertaining games of the opening weekend.

It will also be a big test for New York’s revamped defense and new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson to see if they can stop Jahmir Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown, as the two had 413 combined yards in the Lions’ 34-27 overtime win in Week 12 last year.

at the Seattle Seahawks for the NFL season opener

The NFL would like to pit the defending and defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks against a major opponent for the NFL season opener. Despite their losing streak over the past decade and a half, the Giants are still one of the marquee franchises in the league and are a team that many believe is on the rise now that they are led by a Super Bowl-winning coach.

It won’t be an ideal first Test for the new-look giants, but it offers a chance to pull off a big upset against the champions and build confidence for the rest of the season.

We’ll find out soon enough who Big Blue will start against in the first game of the John Harbaugh era.

RELATED: 2026 NFL QB Rankings: Where does Jackson Dart rank?

Denver Nuggets head coach David Edelman continues to defend All-Star Nikola Jokic for his actions in the fourth quarter of last Friday’s 127-121 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Edelman didn’t care for Lou Dort’s apology for drawing the flagrant-2 foul on Jokic. When Dort intentionally knocked down the MVP candidate in the backcourt by going over his injured left knee, Nikola was furious.

Edelman understands Jokic’s frustration, having to deal with the physicality of opposing teams that run the line on dirty plays is enough for any player. lose one’s temper According to the DNVR Nuggets, he said, in the heat of competition at a high level.

“It’s not biased towards my own player. Nobody in the league is being guarded like he is. Nobody. Nobody is sitting on the knees of other MVPs. Nobody is taking shots the way he’s taking them. But that’s our reality,” Edelman said. “And so, we’ve got to continue to try to win games. He’s got to play through that physicality. I’ve got to find places on the court where he can play in space – that’s on me. So, there [are] No excuse. If the whistle doesn’t blow, it won’t blow.

“The game continues. We will deal with it as long as we can. Also, I have no problem with his reaction. Like I said, reacting is part of being a human being. If this continues, we will react accordingly.”

“No one in the league is being protected like he is. No one is taking a knee to another MVP. No one is taking shots the way he’s taking them. But that’s our reality.”

Nuggets head coach David Edelman explained how to execute Nikola Jokic.

(via @DNVR_Nuggets)
pic.twitter.com/QahpHTOKrZ

– ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) 5 March 2026

After losing to the Thunder in overtime, the Nuggets suffered another loss at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves (117–108), but bounced back with a 128–125 win against the Utah Jazz.

David Edelman calls out Thunder for not reacting to Lu Dort

Nuggets head coach David Edelman was amazed by the Thunder’s response to Lou Dort’s blatant -2 foul on Nikola Jokic. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault expected the same result if the situation had been reversed, but he never condemned Dort for his actions. Lu’s teammates chalked it up to a spur-of-the-moment play.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, for Edelman, Jocic losing his temper was justified due to the severity of Dort’s foul.

“He’s a more measured guy throughout the season — I think most guys are. If they’re measured they’re more productive. But there’s a point where we play these games, and he tackles anybody on the night [would] React that way. For Dort to take that shot – and then I guess it was no big deal from his perspective, how he saw it – is ridiculous. He was malicious. It was a cheap shot.

“Lou Dort is a great player, and I haven’t seen him do that before. But at some point, you have to stand up for yourself, and so does the team. They’re a great team. That’s what that game was. But, yeah, Nikola, that’s who he is, man. You can’t have the success that he’s had and you can’t be as competitive. He’s got emotions inside of him that he keeps under control, but the guy is very capable and very willing to respond emotionally,” Edelman said. Concluded.

The Nuggets will face the Thunder on Monday at Paycom Center.