The entire Dallas Cowboys schedule is now out, but earlier this week one of the more “of course” realities to it dropped as the NFL slowly announced its games for 2026: Dallas will visit the New York Giants to start the season.
Football fans have grown accustomed to seasons beginning with the Cowboys and Giants squaring off against one another. This year will mark the ninth occurrence of the matchup in Week 1 over 20 years and when you consider the number of teams that each plays in a year, it is indeed
a little heavy.
This year the timing of the season opener may benefit one half of the matchup.
Malik Nabers may not be ready for Week 1
The Giants have been rather moribund for about a decade now so you are forgiven if you do not exactly fear anyone on their roster. As this has been the case they appear to be turning a corner of sorts under John Harbaugh as he certainly raises their floor.
It goes without saying that the G-Men have talent on their roster, too. They have re-tooled their defense, but offensively they have a young nucleus comprised of Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo (Forks Up), and Malik Nabers.
Nabers has the highest draft pedigree of the group as the Giants took him sixth overall back in the 2024 NFL Draft. He has only played in 19 games to this point in his career, but he has faced the Cowboys on three occasions. Nabers was a part of the offensive frenzy that New York unleashed during the first Cowboys/Giants game last season. Shout out to Russell Wilson and Matt Eberflus.
It seems that Nabers may have to wait a bit for his fourth matchup against Dallas (the Giants have lost all three games he has played in for the record) as it was reported by ESPN on Thursday that he had a full meniscus repair in addition to the recovery he has been undergoing from suffering a torn ACL, and that he had a second procedure as a result.
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers underwent a second procedure on his right knee earlier this offseason, a source confirmed to ESPN.
It was considered a “cleanup” procedure after Nabers tore his right ACL in September. The surgery was to remove scar tissue that was causing stiffness.
The Giants remain hopeful that Nabers will be ready for Week 1, a source told ESPN. The Giants open the season Sept. 13 with a “Sunday Night Football” matchup with the rival Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.
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Nabers told ESPN in February that in addition to a torn ACL he also had a full meniscus repair. That generally makes it a more laborious recovery. He also said the recovery was going “phenomenal.”
Let’s be very clear here in noting that we want Malik Nabers to be as healthy as possible as soon as possible. There are rivalries in sports, but nobody ever wishes injury upon an opponent. Nabers is a highly-talented player who makes the Giants better. The only reason this is a discussion is because the timing of the first game between Dallas and New York could mean that Nabers misses it which impacts the football.
The season opener is still four months away so a lot can change, but it goes without saying that this will be interesting to monitor in terms of how active Nabers is through training camp and things of the sort for the Giants.
