* Home Games in BOLD

** Game times and television broadcasts are subject to change under the league’s “Flex Scheduling” policy.

The NFL announced the 2009 schedule and at least five national primetime television appearances highlight the Dallas Cowboys upcoming season, including two national primetime telecasts from the Dallas Cowboys new stadium in Arlington. The Cowboys schedule currently features six games that are going to be broadcast nationally.

The Cowboys will open their new stadium in Arlington under the glare of the national spotlight as each of the team’s first two regular season home games has the stage. Dallas’ first national primetime kickoff comes in a Week 2 matchup against the New York Giants to formally open the Cowboys new stadium in Arlington. Dallas then hosts the Carolina Panthers the next week on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. “We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to introduce the stadium to national and international audiences in our first two regular season home games,” said Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. “Including the preseason opener (Tennessee on FOX, August 21), three of our first four games in the new stadium will be national broadcasts. I know the networks are eager to show the world our new venue, and we can’t wait to open the doors,” Jones added.

In addition to the first two games at the new stadium and the club’s annual Thanksgiving Day national appearance against Oakland on CBS this year, the Cowboys will make three additional national appearances with two on NBC’s Sunday Night Football and one on the NFL Network. The Cowboys will be making their 71st appearance on Monday Night Football during the 2009 season (second most in NFL history behind Miami’s 73). No NFL team has won more MNF games than the 41 that have been won by the Cowboys. The Cowboys also play back-to-back, nationally televised night games on two occasions this year.

The 2009 regular season opens for Dallas on September 13 when the Cowboys visit Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers. This season marks the second consecutive and sixth time overall that Dallas has opened on the road since 2000. It is also the second time in that span that the Cowboys will open the season against the Bucs.

The first of Dallas’ prime time games comes on Sunday, September 20 on NBC when the Cowboys host the New York Giants for the first regular season game at the new stadium. “It’s appropriate to have a traditional NFC East rival on hand to open the new stadium on the 20th,” Jones said. “The Cowboys played the first game in Giants Stadium (a 24-14 Dallas win on 10/10/76), so it’s only fair that we return the favor.” Dallas will then host Carolina for a Monday night ESPN game on September 28.

To open the month of October, the Cowboys will travel two straight weeks to take on AFC teams, first heading to Denver on Sunday, October 4, then to Kansas City on Sunday, October 11. Week 6 will be the bye week for Dallas, before hosting Atlanta (October 25) and Seattle (November 1). Dallas will then head up to face division rival Philadelphia on Sunday, November 8 in a primetime kickoff on NBC. The club then travels the next week to take on the Green Bay Packers on November 15 – the second consecutive season Dallas will travel to Lambeau Field.

To close out the month of November, Dallas will host the Washington Redskins (November 22), followed by the Thanksgiving Day game against Oakland. Oakland has won each of its three previous trips to Dallas and this will mark the first time Oakland has travelled to play the Cowboys since 1998.

December opens with a divisional road game which has the Cowboys travelling to play the Giants on December 6, before returning home to host the San Diego Chargers (December 13).  The Cowboys will then travel for two consecutive primetime games, the first on Saturday night in New Orleans on the NFL Network (December 19) then to Washington for a Sunday night NBC matchup on December 27. The Cowboys will then close out the season on January 3, hosting the Philadelphia Eagles to mark the second consecutive finale against Philadelphia and third consecutive against an NFC East team – at Washington in 2007.

“At this time of the year, everybody’s schedule is tough, because things change so much from season to season,” said head coach Wade Phillips. “You can’t look at it like there are any soft spots out there. We’ve got seven games against teams that made the playoffs last year and we’ve got our work cut out for us.”