NFL Week 1 Sunday Watch Guide: Lions’ Home Opener, NFC East Doubleheader, and Cowboys-Giants Under the Lights

Football is finally back, and Sunday, September 13 hands us a full 13-game buffet to close out the opening weekend of the 2026 season. There’s a home opener with real playoff buzz in Detroit, an NFC East doubleheader that could set the tone for the division, and a Sunday night party in East Rutherford that’s been circled on calendars since the schedule dropped. Grab the remote, because you’re going to need to juggle a few screens this week — here’s what to watch and why each of these games deserves your attention.

Saints Crash the Lions’ Home Opener Party

Ford Field will be rocking at 1 p.m. for Detroit’s season opener, and the Lions are set up to make it a celebration. Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown headline one of the more explosive offenses in football, and with David Montgomery gone, Gibbs is in line for an even bigger workload right out of the gate. The betting market clearly expects Detroit to handle business at home — the Lions are favored by a touchdown, with the total sitting around 48.5.

Don’t sleep on the visitors, though. New Orleans is turning the page with Tyler Shough entering his first full season as the starter, and the Saints will lean hard on Chris Olave, who’s developed real chemistry with Shough down the stretch last year. The matchup to watch inside the matchup: Olave against Detroit corner D.J. Reed. New Orleans is banged up — Alvin Kamara and rookie Jordyn Tyson are both out — which puts even more weight on Shough’s arm from the jump. Aidan Hutchinson, fresh off a 14.5-sack season, should make life difficult for a Saints line trying to protect a young quarterback in a loud building.

NFC East Doubleheader: Eagles-Commanders and Cowboys-Giants

This might be the single best division slate of Week 1. It starts at 4:25 p.m. when the defending NFC East champion Eagles host Jayden Daniels and the Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia enters with a genuinely new offensive identity — new coordinator Sean Mannion is installing a more under-center, wide-zone scheme built around Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, who has historically torched Washington. Daniels, for his part, looked like a star as a rookie and now has Stefon Diggs added to a receiving room with Terry McLaurin, though Washington’s offensive line took a hit losing left tackle Laremy Tunsil. If the Commanders can’t protect Daniels, his legs will have to bail them out against a stout Eagles front.

Then the night belongs to the league’s most reliable Week 1 rivalry: Cowboys at Giants, 8:20 p.m. on NBC. Dallas has opened against New York in Week 1 for years, but this one carries extra juice because the Giants beat the Cowboys in a January upset and now hand the keys to John Harbaugh’s new-look team, with second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart taking over behind new coordinator Matt Nagy. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb give Dallas the more proven firepower, and Micah Parsons and company will look to make Dart’s life miserable, but Malik Nabers is a matchup problem for anyone. Expect a rowdy MetLife Stadium and a genuinely tight finish.

Vikings Host Packers in an NFC North Statement Game

The nightcap window also features a real litmus test up north: Packers at Vikings, 4:25 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium, closing out an NFC North that both teams believe they can win. Green Bay is without starting running back Josh Jacobs for the opener, putting extra weight on Jordan Love to carry the offense against a Vikings defense coordinated by Brian Flores — arguably the most disguised, most aggressive pressure scheme in the league. Minnesota enters healthy across the roster, which is its own quiet advantage in a Week 1 environment where injuries elsewhere are already piling up. If Love can diagnose Flores’ blitz packages quickly, Green Bay has more than enough weapons to keep pace; if not, it could be a long afternoon in Minneapolis.

This Week’s Best Bets

Across the marquee matchups, here’s where the value looks best heading into Sunday:

• Saints @ Lions: Detroit -7, laying the points at home in the opener
• Commanders @ Eagles: Philadelphia -5.5 to -6, banking on the deeper roster and home crowd
• Cowboys @ Giants: Dallas -2.5 to -3, taking the more proven quarterback in a tight divisional road spot

Whichever screen you land on first, Sunday’s slate is stacked top to bottom — set the DVR, because there’s no way to catch it all live.