Stars Aligning For Cowboys Opener In Denver

Although the NFL has already announced a few games for the 2009 season, including Raiders at Cowboys on Thanksgiving, the full schedule won't be made public until late April. But according to multiple reports, the Cowboys could be slated to open the season against the Broncos at Invesco Field on Sept. 13.

The Broncos, who haven't hosted a game on kickoff weekend since 2004, have apparently requested to play in the Mile High City in Week One. If the NFL honors Denver's preference - and the league does try, when these requests are in reason - the opponent would have to be the Cowboys.

All Broncos home games are played at 3:15 p.m. (CT), and since CBS (which always televises games between two AFC teams) is scheduled to air the U.S. Open tennis tournament that afternoon, the network will not have an NFL game. Whenever an AFC team hosts an NFC team, the game is carried by FOX.

This is where the Cowboys come in. The AFC West is playing the NFC East in the league's rotation this season, with the Broncos set to host Dallas and New York, and travel to Washington and Philadelphia. Since the league announced early this week NFL Network will show the Broncos-Giants game on Thanksgiving night, one can surmise the Cowboys will be back in the thin air of Denver on opening day.

The Cowboys are expected to open their new stadium in Arlington with a nationally televised game the second week of the season.

-Josh Ellis