We’re back … back in the New York groove.
After the franchise’s uncharacteristic stretch of stinking, these new-look New York Giants approach 2026 with so much to prove. John Harbaugh takes over a team with just two playoff appearances and zero division titles since the Super Bowl XLVI catharsis in February 2012.
He certainly has talent to work with, unproven as it might be. The agile and aggressive Jaxson Dart begins Year 2 as QB1. Second-year RB Cam Skattebo looks fearless — maybe to a fault. Malik Nabers, a dynamic field stretcher in his rookie season, returns after an ACL tear in 2025. The defense’s front seven is stocked with blue-chip pass rushers, including 2025 No. 3 draft pick Abdul Carter and 2026 No. 5 pick Arvell Reese.
There are some established pros in the building to complement this youth movement. Brian Burns comes off of a monster 16 1/2-sack season, while tight end Isaiah Likely joins Harbaugh from the Baltimore Ravens. And hey, Odell Beckham Jr. is here!
New York opens with back-to-back primetime spots — hosting the Dallas Cowboys for “Sunday Night Football,” then at the Los Angeles Rams for Week 2’s Monday night finale. Below, we’ve outlined how to tune in for each national broadcaster and what to know about the NFL Sunday Ticket situation. Follow along with Big Blue in The Athletic feed as well. The site has an excellent (and alliterative) beat writer duo of Charlotte Carroll and Dan Duggan.
All times listed below are ET.
The full 2026 New York Giants schedule
Wk.MatchupDateTimeNetwork1 Sunday, Sept. 13 8:20 p.m. NBC 2@ Monday, Sept. 21 8:15 p.m. ESPN/ABC 3 Sunday, Sept. 27 1:00 p.m. CBS 4 Sunday, Oct. 4 1:00 p.m. CBS 5@ Sunday, Oct. 11 1:00 p.m. Fox 6 Sunday, Oct. 18 1:00 p.m. Fox 7@ Sunday, Oct. 25 1:00 p.m. Fox 8 BYE 9@ Sunday, Nov. 8 1:00 p.m. Fox 10 Thursday, Nov. 12 8:15 p.m. Prime 11 Sunday, Nov. 22 1:00 p.m. CBS 12@ Sunday, Nov. 29 1:00 p.m. Fox 13 Sunday, Dec. 6 1:00 p.m. Fox 14@ Sunday, Dec. 13 4:25 p.m. Fox 15 Sunday, Dec. 20 1:00 p.m. CBS 16@ Monday, Dec. 28 8:15 p.m. ESPN 17@ Sunday, Jan. 3 1:00 p.m. Fox 18
TBA
Cable/satellite/streaming base
The most expansive option for live game coverage is a multichannel plan. That includes streamers like Fubo, Sling TV and YouTube TV, or more traditional providers like DirecTV, Dish and Xfinity. We lay out cord-cutting alternatives for each NFL media partner down below, but there’s a certain peace of mind to the consolidation of pay television.
How can Arvell Reese help the Giants defense?
Charlotte Carroll
CBS
Main window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)
Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, AFC Championship Game
Each week, CBS carries games across two Sunday kickoff slots: one at 1 p.m., and another at 4:05 p.m. or the national window at 4:25 p.m. There will be 10 nationwide Sunday doubleheaders this year on CBS. Broadcasts are set by region when there are multiple offerings in a spot.
It’s not a clean split, but CBS is known as the primary home of the AFC. The network’s theme music is a certified slapper.
Its main pregame show, “The NFL Today,” adds recent Giants QB Russell Wilson to its studio crew. CBS announcers include Jim Nantz and Ian Eagle, while the color commentary rotation stars JJ Watt.
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an indoor TV antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local CBS games also stream on Paramount+.
Fox
Main window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)
Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, NFC Championship Game
Like CBS, Fox splits Sunday afternoons between early 1 p.m. action and later 4:05/4:25 p.m. matchups. Its centerpiece is branded as “America’s Game of the Week.” Unlike CBS, Fox has a dancing robot named Cleatus. It’s the nominal network for the NFC as well.
Kevin Burkhardt, Joe Davis and Adam Amin are the lead play-by-play voices. Burkhardt pairs with Tom Brady, while Davis calls games alongside Greg Olsen. Amin is partnered with newcomer Drew Brees, who is fresh off his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. Some Spanish-language broadcasts are available on Fox Deportes.
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local Fox games also stream on Fox One.
NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone
Main window: Sunday afternoon (out-of-market fans)
These two are the access points for all non-national matchups that aren’t on regional CBS or Fox.
NFL Sunday Ticket has full games. It’s exclusive to YouTube and YouTube TV. Those without a YouTube TV plan can still get NFL Sunday Ticket as a primetime channel through the standard YouTube app.
RedZone is the whip-around program that jumps around the slate to cover scoring drives. This is the place for Scott Hanson, “the witching hour” and chaotic octobox split screens. It can be added to NFL Sunday Ticket, and it’s included on some high-end pay TV sports plans.
RedZone also lives on NFL+ Premium, which can be bundled with the ESPN Unlimited plan.
What you’ll need to watch: An NFL Sunday Ticket subscription through YouTube TV or the YouTube app; NFL RedZone access through select pay TV packages, ESPN Unlimited or NFL+ Premium.
NBC and Peacock
Main window: Sunday night
Playoffs: 2 wild-card games, 1 divisional game
This is the faithful home of “Sunday Night Football” each weekend. And because everything has to be confusing, the NBC lineup opens with a Wednesday night season premiere. At least SNF has a consistent 8:20 p.m. start time.
Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth are in the booth, with Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines. Carrie Underwood sings about waiting all day for Sunday night. NBC’s “Football Night in America” pregame show brings on longtime head coach Mike Tomlin. Telemundo has the telecasts in Spanish.
The network has two extra Saturday offerings for Week 17. One is exclusive to Peacock, and both matchups will be announced later in the season. The same goes for NBC’s Week 18 regular-season finale.
“Sunday Night Football” is subject to flex scheduling — games can be swapped in and out of the window twice between Weeks 5-10 and any time from Weeks 11-17. This allows executives to pick games with greater playoff implications, though it leaves the actual ticket holders in a bind.
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing, or a Peacock account with the live sports plan.
ABC and ESPN
Main window: Monday night
Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, Super Bowl LXI
The Disney networks combine to cover 17 “Monday Night Football” games. Ten of those are on both ABC and ESPN, with another seven exclusive to the latter. The oft-maligned “Monday Night Football” doubleheader is now a thing of the past.
MNF kickoffs have 8:15 p.m. starts, and their schedule flexes can happen any time in Weeks 12-17. The two Saturday ABC/ESPN matchups in Week 18 will be set as the postseason picture sharpens.
ESPN is preparing for its first Super Bowl broadcast ever on Feb. 14, 2027. It will be simulcast on ABC.
Joe Buck handles play-by-play for MNF. He’s joined by analyst Troy Aikman, plus the sideline duo of Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge. Spanish-language airings can be found on ESPN Deportes. For 12 regular-season games and the Super Bowl, ESPN2 offers an alternate “ManningCast,” in which two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning (and his brother Peyton) watch the games with famous fans. Guests have ranged from Bill Belichick to Lil Wayne.
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for ABC, or an ESPN Unlimited account.
Prime Video
Main window: Thursday night
Playoffs: 1 wild-card game
Most weeks begin with “Thursday Night Football,” which kicks off at 8:15 p.m. Those games are behind the Prime paywall, but they’re free over the air in the participants’ home markets. Flex rules around TNF are a bit less hectic, with two allotments between Weeks 13-17.
Thursdays are called by Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit, with Kaylee Hartung on sideline duty. Herbstreit loves dogs; Michaels hates vegetables. Prime has Spanish-language coverage and advanced stat broadcast options within its app. Among the pregame and postgame personalities are former All-Pros Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman and Andrew Whitworth.
What you’ll need to watch: Amazon Prime. TNF is also free on Twitch with a registered account.
NFL Network
The league-owned media outlet is now under ESPN’s purview, thanks to a blockbuster deal that gave the NFL a 10 percent ownership stake in “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.” As of July 30, NFL Network is integrated into the ESPN Unlimited plan. It can also be accessed through NFL+ or NFL+ Premium.
NFL Network has five of the international games, plus a pair of Saturday matchups in Week 16 to be revealed at least two weeks prior to Dec. 26. Those two have 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. kickoffs.
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or access to NFL+, NFL+ Premium or ESPN Unlimited.
Netflix
Remember when Netflix was shipping DVDs in red envelopes? Now, the streaming behemoth continues to expand its relationship with the NFL. It has five regular-season games in the upcoming season, including two of the three Christmas Day marquees. Like TNF on Prime, these Netflix games are over the air in their respective local markets.
As reported by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, new Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly has been tapped as Netflix’s top NFL analyst. He and Noah Eagle (son of CBS’ Ian Eagle) are on the call for the Week 1 export at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
What you’ll need to watch: A Netflix subscription.
With possible schedule flexes in play, watching all 17 regular-season Giants games will cost roughly $40-$125 per month for those in market, and $115-$200 per month for the out-of-towners. We calculated that through average pay TV and NFL Sunday Ticket prices, plus the lowest subscription options for Netflix, Peacock and Prime. The total gets a bit lower if Twitch is subbed in for “Thursday Night Football.”
Official Giants single-game franchise records
(Through the 2025 season)
Passing yards: Phil Simms, 513 in 1985
Rushing yards: Tiki Barber, 234 in 2006
Receiving yards: Del Shofner, 269 in 1962
Sacks: Osi Umenyiora, 6 in 2007
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