Five Thoughts About the Giants' 2020 Schedule
The release of the 2020 NFL schedule could very well be the last significant football news we have for a while, pending what health and NFL league officials decide to do as the world continues to do battle with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hope is that the full 16-game schedules will be played starting on time and, preferably in front of fans, though the NFL schedule makers did leave some wiggle room if games need to be canceled or postponed.
Let's look at the Giants' schedule and how it's set up, as there are several interesting Easter eggs in the slate.
They Could Open Against Dallas Afterall
According to multiple reports, if health and safety conditions haven't improved enough to where the season can't start on time, the belief is that the league will lop off the first four games of the season and look to reschedule them at a later date.
If that were to happen, the Giants, who in the full-game regular-season schedule wouldn't see any division action until Week 5, would then open--you guessed it--on the road against the Cowboys, as has become a tradition over the last five seasons, a stretch in which, by the way, the Giants are 1-4.
Odell's Return Lacks Luster
A year ago when receiver Odell Beckham Jr and his new Browns teammates--a team many penciled in as a playoff contender--made his triumphant return to MetLife Stadium, it was not against the Giants, but the Jets and it was a prime-time game.
We all know what happened. The Browns weren't that much better than the Giants, and well, this year, no one is mentioning the Browns and playoffs in the same sentence.
That brings us to the scheduled matchup with the Giants, which many thought might end up being a primetime game.
Not only is that not the case--a clear indication that the storyline has seen better days--but the game has been scheduled for late in the season where it remains to be seen if either team (or both) will be fighting for a postseason berth.
Eli Manning's Night
It remains to be seen if fans will be allowed in the game, but here's a big reason to hope for that: Eli Manning.
With Giants CEO John Mara having declared that Manning's No. 10 jersey will be retired, what better night to hold the ceremony and induct the Giants legendary quarterback into the team's Ring of Honor than on the Week 8 Monday night game against the Bucs?
Giants fans by now know what I'm getting at. Not only is the primetime game the perfect setting for a ceremony that could be broadcast live nationally, but the added symbolism attached--the fact that Tom Brady, the quarterback whom Manning and his offense outscored in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI--would be int eh house as well.
Easy Schedule? What Easy Schedule?
If there is one "statistic" that churns my stomach, it's the "strength of schedule" argument that someone developed.
Why? First, what a team did the year before doesn't matter, and if you need proof of that, look no further than the 49ers, who in 2019 went from worst to first.
The Giants are ranked as having the 26th hardest schedule but take a closer look at the slate posted above, and the schedule isn't as "easy" as it looks.
For starters, the Giants have three stretches in which they will have a short work week, starting with Week 1, when they host the Steelers on Monday night and then have to turn things around quickly before heading out to Chicago for a Week 2 road game.
Then there is the Week 6 game where the Giants, after playing Washington at home, have a trip down the turnpike for a Thursday night game at what has become a house of horrors for them, Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the Eagles.
Since 2012, the Giants have won only three out of the 16 games played against the Eagles and have not won a game on the Eagles' home turf since October 27, 2013.
The last of the short work weeks comes after the Week 8 Monday night home game against Tampa Bay and Tom Brady. The Giants will then hit the road, albeit down I-95, to face Washington.
The Critical Stretch
If you need to circle the critical games on your calendar, make it Weeks 5-10, as in five of those games, the Giants will face their division rivals, including two dates with the Eagles, who, along with the Cowboys, have alternated winning the division the last seven seasons.
The easiest way for the Giants to get into the postseason is to take control of their destiny, and that starts with winning those division games. Unfortunately, the Giants have struggled to do that.
Since 2013, when they finished 3-3 in the division, the Giants have only had one winning record against the NFC East teams, that being a 4-2 mark in 2016, which was their last playoff berth.
Outside of 2013 and 2016, the Giants have an 8-22 record against division opponents, a trend that has to change if this team is serious about moving forward.
