Once again, the Dallas Cowboys arrive fresh off an eventful offseason with deep playoff aspirations. In other news, Texas is hot and Frito pie is filling.It’s an evergreen sentiment under Jerry Jones, of course, but this feels like a massive year for the glamour franchise. Dallas still hasn’t reached the NFC Championship Game since the days of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. As expected, the Cowboys’ brass has made another conspicuous push to change that.Playmaking wideout George Pickens is back on the franchise tag. Wrecking ball DT Quinnen Williams returns on a three-year extension, vindicating the team’s midseason trade last November. First-round draft pick Caleb Downs takes the field with Defensive Rookie of the Year buzz, as veteran edge rusher Von Miller makes a late-career homecoming. With Dak Prescott in the pocket and CeeDee Lamb in open space, the 2026 Cowboys figure to be one of the NFL’s most interesting outfits.It remains to be seen if all that hype will convert to January or February football. Regardless, Dallas is going to be a TV staple across the regular season, currently with six primetime games on the schedule and several others available to a nationwide audience. Brian Schottenheimer’s squad starts the season on “Sunday Night Football” against the rival New York Giants, then travels to Brazil alongside the formidable Baltimore Ravens in Week 3. The annual Thanksgiving home game brings on the hated Philadelphia Eagles. Cups runneth over.Keep up with the team on The Athletic feed, and follow Jon Machota as he traverses the Cowboys beat.All times listed below are ET.The full 2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule Wk.MatchupDateTimeNetwork1@ Giants Sunday, Sept. 13 8:20 p.m. NBC 2 Commanders Sunday, Sept. 20 4:25 p.m. Fox 3 Ravens Sunday, Sept. 27Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 4:25 p.m. CBS 4@ Texans Sunday, Oct. 4 1:00 p.m. Fox 5 Buccaneers Thursday, Oct. 8 8:15 p.m. Prime 6@ Packers Sunday, Oct. 18 8:20 p.m. NBC 7@ Eagles Monday, Oct. 26 8:15 p.m. ESPN/ABC 8 Cardinals Sunday, Nov. 1 1:00 p.m. Fox 9@ Colts Sunday, Nov. 8 1:00 p.m. Fox 10 49ers Sunday, Nov. 15 4:25 p.m. Fox 11 Titans Sunday, Nov. 22 1:00 p.m. Fox 12 Eagles Thursday, Nov. 26 4:30 p.m. Fox 13@ Seahawks Monday, Dec. 7 8:15 p.m. ESPN/ABC 14 BYE 15@ Rams Sunday, Dec. 20 4:25 p.m. CBS 16 Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 27 8:20 p.m. NBC 17 Giants Sunday, Jan. 3 1:00 p.m. Fox 18@ Commanders TBA Times in Eastern. Cable/satellite/streaming baseThe 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.Could this be the year for the Cowboys?Jon Machota and Jourdan RodrigueCBSMain window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, AFC Championship GameEach 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. The Cowboys will play in two of them — their first is the Rio de Janeiro showdown against the Ravens. 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 retirees Russell Wilson and Kyle Long 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+.FoxMain window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, NFC Championship GameLike 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 and where you can find eight Cowboys games this season, including the Thanksgiving Day clash with the Eagles.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 was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 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 RedZoneMain 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 PeacockMain window: Sunday nightPlayoffs: 2 wild-card games, 1 divisional gameThis 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 ESPNMain window: Monday nightPlayoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, Super Bowl LXIThe Disney networks combine to cover 17 “Monday Night Football” games. Ten of those are on both ABC and ESPN — including Dallas’ two MNF appearances — while 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 Cowboys hero 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 Eli and Peyton Manning 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 VideoMain window: Thursday nightPlayoffs: 1 wild-card gameMost 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 NetworkThe 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.NetflixRemember 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.We price out access to the full Cowboys schedule at $40-$125 per month for in-market fans and $115-$200 per month for out-of-market viewers. This accounts for schedule flexes and factors in costs for pay TV, NFL Sunday Ticket and the requisite subscriptions. Those who use Twitch for “Thursday Night Football” can at least get by without Prime Video.Official Cowboys single-game franchise records(Through the 2025 season)