Giants Country

NFL Approves 17-Game Schedule; Giants to Play Extra Road Game

As has long been anticipated, the NFL owners adopted a 17-game regular-season schedule. Here's who the Giants will play in the extra game and how the scheduling will work.
Patricia Traina|
NFL Approves 17-Game Schedule; Giants to Play Extra Road Game
NFL Approves 17-Game Schedule; Giants to Play Extra Road Game

The NFL's days of 8-8-0 records are officially history after the league's owners adopted a new 17-game schedule to begin this season.

The NFL will also drop one of the four preseason games, making it a three-game slate instead for coaches to evaluate their training camp talent. (The exception will be for the two teams who participate in the annual Hall of Fame game, who will get a fourth preseason game.)

The opponent for the extra game will be based on the prior year’s standings on a rotating four-year cycle (one game). These games match a first-place team from one division against a first-place team in an opposite conference division that the team is not scheduled to play that season. 

The second-place, third-place and fourth-place teams in each division are matched in the same way each year. The home conference for this game will rotate each season.

In the case of the NFC East, the four teams will play the AFC East this year. And the Giants, who finished second in the NFC East last year, will play the second-place finisher in the AFC East last year, Miami, on the road.

For the Giants, their extra game has some nice subplots to it. 

Not only will it feature a pair of former assistant coaches from Bill Belichick's staff in New England. 

Joe Judge of the Giants and Brian Flores of Miami will now try to outduel each other. And for the Giants, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will make a one-game return to Miami, where he was Flores' defensive coordinator for one season before joining Judge in New York last year.  

The full NFL schedule with dates is scheduled to drop after the draft, but the season is expected to kick off Thursday night, September 9 and end Sunday, January 9, 2022. 

The Pro Bowl is scheduled to be played February 6 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas  and Super Bowl LVI will be played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 13, 2022.

What's next for the Giants this off-season? Sign up for our FREE newsletter for all the latest, and be sure to follow and like us on Facebook.

Submit your questions for our mailbag. And don't forget to check out the daily LockedOn Giants podcast, also available for subscription wherever you find podcasts.

Published
Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

Share on XFollow Patricia_Traina
Home/News