NFL schedule: Breaking down NY Giants’ path to return to playoffs
With the release of the NY Giants regular season schedule now official, let’s take a look at the series history and storylines of each 2021 opponent.
The NFL released the 2021 regular season schedules for all 32 teams on Wednesday night, and we finally got to see who the NY Giants will play and when they’ll play them.
Ultimately, the schedule is relatively favorable for NY Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and company heading into year two of the Joe Judge era.
Outside of the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, most of the schedule includes winnable games vs young teams facing question marks at key positions.
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This season’s slate for the Giants will include three primetime games.
Thursday Night vs Washington in week two, Monday Night vs Kansas City in week eight, and Monday Night again vs Tampa Bay in week eleven. Per usual, the late-season stretch will feature three division games in four weeks that will ultimately determine the division champion.
In what will be the largest season in NFL history with the added 17th game for each team, the matchups this fall for the NY Giants will feature some familiar foes and teams who we haven’t seen in a few years.
Let’s take a look at the New York Giants series history and storylines of the 2021 regular season opponents, starting with the division rivals.
NFC East
Washington Football Team
All-Time Record: New York Giants lead series 105-69-4
Last Meeting: 11/8/20 – NY Giants 23, Washington 20.
2021 Meetings: Week 2 (Away, Thursday Night), Week 18 (Home)
The NY Giants have won five straight vs Washington, with the last three meetings being decided by less than 6 points. There are multiple storylines involved in this matchup going into 2021.
Washington boasts arguably the best defense in the NFL lead by the best defensive line in football. After the additions of Curtis Samuel in free agency and Dyami Brown in the NFL Draft, the offense suddenly has weapons when paired with rising star Terry McLaurin.
The biggest question mark lies at quarterback with Ryan Fitzpatrick. If he can unleash some “Fitzmagic” then this team is going to be hard to beat. These two games will be some of the most competitive games in the division this season.
Dallas Cowboys
All-Time Record: Dallas Cowboys lead the series 69-47-2
Last Meeting: 1/3/21 – NY Giants 23, Cowboys 19
2021 Meetings: Week 5 (Away), Week 15 (Home)
The NY Giants’ win over Dallas in Week 17 last year broke a seven-game losing streak to the Cowboys dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
It’s no secret that Dallas has had New York’s number for a while, with the last double-digit win over the division rival coming in 2012. Dak Prescott will make his return to arguably one of the better supporting casts in the NFL.
Ezekiel Elliot, paired with CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, and Michael Gallup will cause a lot of problems. Dallas’ biggest question marks arises on the offensive line and with their defense, who was one of the worst in the league last season. This matchup will provide challenges for New York’s strong defense, but should be a great opportunity for Danny Dimes and his new weapons to shine.
Philadelphia Eagles
All-Time Record: Philadelphia Eagles lead series 88-86-2
Last Meeting: 11/15/20 – NY Giants 27, Eagles 17
2021 Meetings: Week 12 (Home), Week 16 (Away)
Not much needs to be said about the Eagles to begin with, but after the embarrassment of their 2020 Week 17 matchup vs Washington and trade-up in the NFL Draft to steal wideout DeVonta Smith, there’s certainly an added element to this rivalry in 2021.
Like Dallas, New York snapped an 8-game losing streak to the Eagles in 2020 and have not faired well overall against Philly in over a decade. Since 2008, New York is 6-21 vs Philadelphia and the losses have ranged from embarrassing blowouts to heart-crushing defeats (looking at you, Evan Engram).
This was a game every Giant fan wanted to see week one, but playing twice in five weeks late in the season will have to do. With the Eagles piecing together a subpar roster built around a question mark at QB, 2021 is the perfect time to get two games back on these division rivals.