Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones pose with first-round draft pick Morris Claiborne (Associated Press)

The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants will host the Dallas Cowboys in the 2012 NFL season opener Sept. 5.

The divisional rivalry is the first NFL game scheduled on a Wednesday since 1948 when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Detroit Lions.

The Cowboys’ Wednesday night away game is followed by a favorably rare two-game stretch: a trip to Seattle to play the Seahawks who finished last season 7-9, and a home opener against the Buccaneers who lost their final 10 games of last season to finish 4-12.

Dallas, no stranger to primetime games, hosts the Chicago Bears to end the first quarter of their season in a Monday night game on Oct. 1.

The Cowboys’ early bye in week five translates into a final 12 games with no break.

Dallas fans will only see their hometown team play in Jerry Jones’ Cowboys Stadium once from week five to week 10.

The first game of this stretch is in week six with a tough game against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens made it to the AFC championship game this previous season.

Dallas then has a short trip from Baltimore to Charlotte, N.C., to play the famous Cam Newton and his Panthers.

Newton will be the first quarterback the Cowboys will face in the 2012 sesason, baring injury, who possesses talent similar to Mike Vick and Robert Griffin III.

The Cowboys return home in week eight to play the Giants for a second time.

By this point in the season the Cowboys should have solidified their defense.

During this previous year, the defense allowed an unimpressive five fourth-quarter comebacks this previous year.

After adding young cornerbacks Brandon Carr, through free agency, and Morris Claiborne, through the draft, the Cowboys secondary will have no excuses when they get into divisional play which will ultimately decide who wins the division.

Of the Cowboys final eight games, four are split among the division rivals Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins.

Dallas will have had experience with an athletic quarterback in playing Newton, but game planning for the athletic quarterbacks in Philly and D.C. could make or break the Cowboys’ season.

The Cowboys concludes its season with five home games in six appearances before playing the Redskins in its regular season finale.

The Cowboys hope to make up ground or solidify themselves within the division towards the end of their schedule, which has not happened over the last few years in the competitive NFC East.

Despite obstacles presented by the schedule, success for the Cowboys will be defined by their performance within their division in the 2012 NFL season.