Carrie Underwood opened NBC's Sunday Night Football coverage for the 2026 season with a reworked, rock-heavier version of the broadcast's theme song, "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night," ahead of the Dallas Cowboys' clash with the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. The performance is the latest chapter in her decade-plus partnership with the NFL, during which the anthem has become a fixture of the network's season openers, and it drew an enthusiastic response from fans on social media.

Underwood called the new arrangement a "rock star fever dream," saying it captured "the heart of rock & roll" in one of her favourite versions of the opening yet. Tripp Dixon, the segment's creative director and a 14-year collaborator with Underwood, said the aim was to blend "these two rock frequencies of past and present" in her performance. The premiere followed the Seattle Seahawks' 13-10 win over the New England Patriots days earlier as the new NFL season got under way.