New York Giants vs. NFC West | The Best Division in Football?

The Giants are set to play all four NFC West teams, and Sports Illustrated's Gary Gramling and Cardinals Maven Howard Balzer don't think there are any easy outs in the division this year.

In The MMQB's recent 2020 division preview series, Gramling and Balzer expect all four NFC West teams to contend for the playoffs in some capacity in 2020. Under the new seven-team playoff format, that could very quickly end up being the case.

If the Giants can sneak their way into the expanded NFC playoff conversation this year, their record against a stacked NFC West could make the difference between getting in or falling just short.

How do the Giants stack up against the so-called best division in the NFL?

San Francisco 49ers

The defending NFC Champion 49ers are bound to go into MetLife Stadium as favorites over the Giants in Week 3.

For first-year head coach Joe Judge and his young team, San Francisco will serve as a challenging opponent and an example for where the Giants are hoping to go as a franchise.

After four straight losing seasons in 2015-18, the 49ers soared from the NFC cellar to a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl run under head coach Kyle Shanahan in 2019.

Despite being on opposite sides of the spectrum expectation-wise in 2020, the Giants and the 49ers can always expect to play each other close.

In 41 combined meetings (regular- and postseason), the Giants lead 21-20, and the scoring in those 41 games is separated by five points (Giants 843, 49ers 838).

The Giants and 49ers have split their last four games dating back to 2014; however, this game will be the start of a new era as it will mark the first matchup between quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Jimmy Garoppolo.

In 2020, Jones may be benefiting from a lot of the same mentorship that helped mold Garoppolo into a Super Bowl quarterback early in his career.

Giants quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski was an offensive assistant and the Patriots assistant quarterbacks coach during Garoppolo's years in New England from 2014-17and was responsible for grooming Garoppolo as the Patriots' backup quarterback.

“I can’t even tell you how many conversations I had with Jerry just man-to-man, helping me out and getting me acclimated to the NFL life,” Garoppolo once told WEEI.com. “I really thank him for that. I probably wouldn’t be where I am at without him.”

Jones will have the chance to put Schuplinski’ s mentorship to use against Garoppolo in a matchup that can prove to be a serious tone-setter early in the Giants' season given the opponent's status.

Los Angeles Rams

The Giants are set to face the last two NFC Champions in a two-week span. They will have to travel to the newly-opened So-Fi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, in Week 4, fresh off their home contest against the 49ers.

The last meeting between the two teams was a true low-point for the Giants. A 51-17 Rams victory in MetLife Stadium in 2017 dropped the Giants to 1-7 and signaled the impending end of the Ben McAdoo era in New York.

Three years later, Judge will be looking to bury that memory for Giants fans in a battle of young head coaches.

This game will pit the NFC's two biggest market franchises and two youngest head coaches, Judge of the Giants (38) and Sean McVay of the Rams (34) in an early-season matchup.

The Rams have been the better team for the last three seasons, but dependence on aging veterans and the loss of running back Todd Gurley could bring them closer in proximity to the young Giants roster looking to forge anew under Judge.

ESPN ranked the Giants second in the NFL in roster talent under the age of 25 in their latest rankings earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the Rams haven't made a first-round draft pick since selecting quarterback Jared Goff in 2016 instead of acquiring veterans through trades and free agency.

While those veterans may still prove to be effective, it's not impossible to think that the Rams' recent win-now agenda may start to catch up to them sooner rather than later, and it could come as soon as Week 4 if the Giants young team can hit its stride early.

Seattle Seahawks

In December, CenturyLink Field has proven to be a test of mental fortitude for all visiting teams ever since Seahawks head coach, Pete Carroll, took over.

Jones thrived on the road as a rookie, averaging 271.5 passing yards, 3.3 touchdowns, and just 0.5 interceptions in his six road starts. However, CenturyLink Field will be a different beast from the venues Jones thrived in last year.

Jones built up most of his road resume in Tampa Bay, Detroit, Chicago, Washington, and as the visitor at MetLife Stadium against the Jets. Jones' one bad game on the road came in New England on a short week, which proved to be the one genuinely hostile environment Jones played at last season.

CenturyLink Field has the potential to be just as hostile as Gillette Stadium, and the possibility of December conditions will only heighten the test Jones and the offense.

The Giants' defense will be tested by an offense that has lived by its rushing attack in recent years. Seattle has finished in the top 10 in rushing yards each of the last two seasons.

Quarterback Russell Wilson, as a shifty and unpredictable dual-threat, can contribute to both the Seahawks running and passing game and keep any defense off balance.

The Giants have the beef up front from a pure size perspective with the presences of defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Leonard Williams. The trio combined for 82 run defense stops of zero or negative yards last season, as the Giants’ run defense began to trend upwards after Williams was acquired via trade.

The Giants may even have a secret weapon on defense with veteran edge rusher Kyler Fackrell. As a Packer, Fackrell dominated Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown during a Week 10 game in Seattle in 2018.

That was Fackrell's first start of the season and ended up being a career day as he racked up three sacks and six total tackles, as he spent much of the day rushing against Brown.

Arizona Cardinals

Jones will get a rematch with Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray at home in Week 14, in a duel between the first two quarterbacks in the 2019 draft.

Murray got the better of Jones in their first matchup last season, as the number-one overall pick led the Cardinals to a 27-21 victory, defeating Jones for Rookie of the Year honors.

That doesn't even mean that Murray had the better day passing the ball, but the way the Cardinals matched up with the Giants on offense and defense just netted Murray the greater opportunity to thrive.

Jones passed for more yards and touchdowns in that game but was sacked eight times.

Meanwhile, the Giants defense had zero answers for containing Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s offense, which recorded 156 yards on the ground, the most rushing yards allowed by the Giants defense last year.

The Giants' defense only allowed 89 net passing yards to Murray, who didn’t throw any touchdowns in that game, and he didn't have to with the success Arizona had running the ball.

Now that Cardinals went out and improved on both sides of the ball. They acquired receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Texans in exchange for running back David Johnson. Hopkins will pair with the legendary Larry Fitzgerald to increase Murray’s passing options.

The Giants have made upgrades to their offense, probably the most critical offensive tackle Andrew Thomas. He will assume the team's left tackle spot this year and hope to keep Jones upright more than he was in the last matchup against Arizona.

Last year's meeting was also Barkley's first game back from an ankle injury. While he later admitted that he wasn't fully healed at that point, Barkley still managed to rack up 72 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown, but not enough to balance the offense.

The Giants ran 47 pass plays to just 18 run plays, and Jones paid the price against a Cardinals defense that was allowed to pin its ears back.

If the Giants can strike a better balance on offense in Week 14 this year, Jones should have a very different game than he had against the Cardinals last season.