The NY Giants 2021 regular season schedule has been released, and despite an overall favorable slate of opponents, this three game stretch will be incredibly tough.
At this point we’ve seen the NY Giants’ regular season schedule enough that we have most of it memorized.
While there are no ‘easy’ games in the NFL, especially for a team like the Giants, the initial takeaway of the schedule points to a few different reasons to be excited for this fall.
For starters, the first three games of the season include teams who didn’t have a winning record in 2020. While Washington did win the division at 7-9, Atlanta and Denver were two of the league’s worst teams a season ago. This is a nice change of pace from opening with Dallas or Pittsburgh.
Bottom line, there’s a realistic shot Joe Judge and the NY Giants can start the season 3-0 or 2-1. Avoiding going 0-2 for the fifth straight season would be a welcome change and be huge in terms of momentum building for a young team like New York.
The other positive takeaway is the majority of teams the Giants will face this season are in some way facing question marks at the quarterback position. Whether it’s not having a long-term solution, no solid starter, or an unproven young QB, these quarterback inconsistencies are the quickest way for a team to play below their skill level, regardless of the talent on the field.
Denver, Washington, New Orleans, Carolina, Philadelphia, Miami, the Chargers, and Chicago are all in one way or another facing these issues at the QB position.
That is a lot of unproven, young, inexperienced, and mediocre QB talent that Patrick Graham and this defense will face in 2021. After bringing back Leonard Williams and adding EDGE Azeez Ojulari and CB Aaron Robinson in the draft, New York has a prime opportunity to build off last season’s success and field one of the best defenses in the NFL this fall.
But, it’s not all favorable matchups and underwhelming QBs on the schedule for the Giants. Plenty of challenging games and difficult opponents await Joe Judge and company in 2021 as well.
If the NY Giants have any chance at finishing above .500, winning the division, or making the playoffs, they will have to pull out a couple tough games vs some very good teams.
The stretch of @ New Orleans, @ Dallas, and vs the Rams early in the season will be a critical run that will really set the course for the remainder of the season.
After the favorable first three games mentioned earlier, these opponents immediately follow. Escaping that gauntlet with 1-2 wins should be the goal, and should have the Giants sitting around 3-3 or 4-2 at the 1/3 mark of the season.
NY Giants Toughest Three Game Stretch in 2021
With all that said, the toughest three game stretch award goes to the consecutive slate of @ Kansas City (MNF), vs Las Vegas, and @ Tampa Bay (MNF).
Yikes.
Playing Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs is difficult enough on a Sunday afternoon at home, let alone at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night Football. The reigning back-to-back AFC Champions and their 76,416 fans will welcome Big Blue with open arms in week eight. It will be a great opportunity for this team to compete vs the league’s best in one of the most hostile environments in the NFL.
After that fun trip, New York returns home and plays the Raiders on a short week. Las Vegas is one of the few teams the Giants will play in 2021 who have a legitimate starter at QB in Derrick Carr. While the NY Giants will boast a better roster than the Raiders, a short week following a game at Kansas City will make this matchup extremely tough. The Raiders were an 8-8 team in 2020 and will bring a physical style of play with them to the Meadowlands. This game will be a slugfest.
Now, the NY Giants will benefit from a bye week following the Raiders game, and they will need every day of it to prepare for the final game of this stretch – a road trip to Tampa Bay to take on Tom Brady and the defending World Champion Buccaneers. Again, as if playing the Bucs wasn’t difficult enough, this game will be a Monday Night Football matchup. Tampa Bay returns almost every one of the starters from the Super Bowl and should be favorites to win it all again in 2021. Much like the Kansas City game, this contest will be the ultimate measuring test for this team and their level of competiveness vs the league’s best.
Two conference champions, the last two Super Bowl winners, two Monday Night Football games, two road trips, and an above average Raiders squad will make for a very interesting month of November.
Escaping this stretch with at least one win is going to be crucial. An upset over Kansas City or Tampa Bay would be quite nice, with the matchup vs Las Vegas being the most likely win.
At the end of the day, to be the best you have to play the best, and eventually beat them too. This three game stretch will give the NY Giants the perfect opportunity to do both.