NFL Releases Opening Week Schedule

PALM BEACH, Florida (Ticker) -- The Super Bowl champion New York Giants will open the season at home against the NFC East rival Washington Redskins, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced at the league's annual spring meetings Monday.

In a tradition that began in 2004, the Super Bowl champion annually hosts the NFL Thursday night season kickoff. That honor will go to the Giants, who will meet the Redskins on Thursday, September 4. Kickoff for the Giants-Redskins game will be 7 p.m. EDT, 90 minutes earlier than the traditional season opener start time due to the Republican National Convention, which NBC News will cover following the game.

The first Sunday night game on NBC will feature a rematch of Super Bowl XLI, as the Indianapolis Colts host the Chicago Bears on September 7. The game marks the first regular-season game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

ESPN again will host a Monday night doubleheader, starting at 7 p.m. when the Green Bay Packers begin the post-Brett Favre era at home against Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC North matchup. At 10:15 p.m., the perennially woeful Oakland Raiders host the AFC West rival Denver Broncos. The rest of the schedule will be announced in April.