Super Bowl champions New York Giants will open the new season at home against NFC East rivals Washington Redskins, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced at the league's annual spring meetings on Monday.

In a tradition that began in 2004, the Super Bowl champions annually host the NFL Thursday night season kick-off.

That honour will go to the Giants, who will meet the Redskins on Thursday, September 4.

Kick-off for the Giants-Redskins game will be 7pm 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 7pm EDT 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.

And at 10.15pm, the Oakland Raiders host AFC West rivals Denver Broncos.

The rest of the schedule will be announced in April.