Intriguing storylines for every NY Giants game in 2023

The NY Giants schedule is radically different from last season. There was a ton of uncertainty surrounding the Giants in 2022, which led to the league office scheduling Big Blue for just one primetime game (they played two, but the second was flexed in).

This fall and winter, NY will play five primetime games. The G-Men will also play the Eagles in Philadelphia on Christmas. It's going to be a 2023 to remember, and a lot of people think the Giants and Brian Daboll will reach double-digit wins and get back to the postseason.

We don't know about you, but we can't wait for Week 1 to get here. With that said, from start to finish this regular season, there will surely be plenty of interesting storylines for people to focus on:

Week 1 vs. Dallas for Sunday Night Football

Daniel Jones is 1-5 as a starting quarterback against the Dallas Cowboys. He is 0-4 against Dak Prescott. If Jones wants to lead the Giants to true Super Bowl contender status, he needs to start off by beating Prescott.

The Giants haven't opened the season at night in MetLife since Week 1 of the 2012 season, so you know East Rutherford will be loud. The Giants as 2.5-point home underdogs for the opener, so Brian Daboll will have his work cut out for him. The Giants have only started 1-0 twice (2016, 2022) in the last decade.

Week 2 at Arizona

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a torn ACL last December, and will likely miss this matchup. This game will be the Colt McCoy revenge game.

McCoy, now the backup for Arizona, was Jones' backup for the 2020 season, and led the Giants to a stunning win over the Russell Wilson-led Seahawks that season. McCoy will hope to stick it to his former team, though we don't think he'll be able to get that done.

Week 3 at San Fransisco for Thursday Night Football

This game will be New York's first-ever Thursday night game on Amazon Prime. With Daboll and Kyle Shanahan on the sidelines, this duel will display two of the brightest and most innovative offensive coaches in the game.

Regardless of who plays quarterback (it's uncertain if Brock Purdy will be healthy enough to play), San Fransisco has a ridiculous amount of talent on offense and defense. The Niners are arguably the most complete team in the NFL. Yet another chapter will be added to one of the NFL's most storied rivalries. This will be a b big-time early-season test for NY.

Week 4 vs. Seattle on Monday Night Football

The Giants will have 10 days off prior to their Monday Night Football showdown at MetLife with Seattle. This game will mark Big Blue's third primetime game during the first four weeks of the season. It will also be the third 2022 playoff team Big Blue plays in the season's first four weeks.

Ex-Giants quarterback Geno Smith will return to MetLife to play the Giants for the first time since Ben McAdoo started Smith over Eli Manning to ruin Manning's 210 consecutive games started streak. No one has forgotten about that.

Both teams made the playoffs in 2022 and should be contenders again in 2023. The Seahawks beat the Giants 27-13 in Week 8 of last season. Don't forget that Seattle drafted Jaxon Smith-Njigba at pick No. 20 in April's draft, a player heavily linked to New York throughout the draft process.

Week 5 at Miami

In January of 2022, both the Dolphins and Giants were looking for new coaches. The presumptive thought was that Daboll would end up in Miami, reuniting with Tua Tagovailoa, the quarterback Daboll coached when he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama. Daboll took the Giants job, Mike McDaniel took the Dolphins job, and both franchises are thrilled.

If the Giants want to beat the Dolphins in Week 5, it will take an awesome game plan. The Dolphins hired Vic Fangio, one of the greatest defensive minds in football, as defensive coordinator and traded for Jalen Ramsey. The Dolphins roster is as stacked as any in the NFL. This will be a tough test for the Giants.

Week 6 at Buffalo for Sunday Night Football

This is the fourth primetime game in the first six weeks of the Giants season. The storylines in this one are abundant. Daboll will coach against his ex-boss, Sean McDermott. Joe Schoen squares off against his mentor and close friend, Brandon Beane.

Jones faces off against Josh Allen, the quarterback many compare him to. Allen will also go up against Daboll, the coach who turned him into a superstar quarterback, which led him to join the nine-figure club. The last time the Giants played the Bills, the Bills beat the Giants 24-10, and it led to Eli Manning being benched, ushering in the Danny Dimes era in New York.

Week 7 vs Washington

The last time these two teams squared off against each other at MetLife Stadium, the game ended in a tie. That tie proved to be beneficial to the Giants, as it helped Big Blue secure their first playoff berth since 2016.

All indications are that Sam Howell will be the new Washington quarterback for this game. This will be the first time the Giants and John Mara face Washington without Dan Synder as owner. You know Mara is thrilled about that.

Remember, Jones owns the Washington franchise. Jones is 5-1-1 against the Commanders in his career. He should be ready to post a big performance in this one too.

Week 8 vs NY Jets

The New York Bowl. Aaron Rodgers vs. Danny Dimes. The last time those two faced off, Jones powered the Giants to a stunning victory against Rodgers' Packers in London. This game has a ton of meaning to New York City. Unlike the Subway Series, Knicks-Nets, or Rangers-Islanders, we only get to see this matchup once every four seasons.

For the first time since 2011 when Victor Cruz had a 99-yard receiving touchdown against Rex Ryan's New York Jets, which helped the Giants solidify playoff positioning (and eventually win the Super Bowl), the rivalry game will have a tremendous amount at stake.

Both teams figure to be factors in the 2023 playoff chase. The Jets may have the flashier players, but they are, and forever will be, little brothers to the New York Giants.

Week 9 at Las Vegas

The Darren Waller revenge game. Las Vegas shockingly traded their star tight end to the Giants in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick in mid-March. Waller played 56 games for the Raiders across five seasons, hauling in 286 passes for 3,469 yards and 17 touchdowns. Waller cemented himself as one of the top five tight ends in football during his time with the Raiders.

Don't forget about the odd circumstances surrounding the Waller trade. Raiders coach Josh McDaniels told reporters about Waller's wedding to Las Vegas Ace star Kelsey Plum without Waller's permission.

Patrick Graham, the ex-Giants defensive coordinator, is now the defensive coordinator in Las Vegas too. Graham interviewed for the Giants head coaching job in 2022, and when he didn't get it, he was offered to stay on as defensive coordinator, but opted to go to Vegas. This game will mark the first time the Giants have ever played a football game in Las Vegas.

Week 10 at Dallas

The Giants have not won in Dallas since the 2016 season opener. Only one Giant remains on the roster from that team, wide receiver Sterling Shepard. The stars are always on display when these two bitter rivals step onto the field. However, this will be the first time in a while the Giants will play the Cowboys in Dallas without Ezekiel Elliott at RB for them. That could be big for Big Blue, as Zeke has tortured the Giants throughout his career.

The Giants young offensive line will have their hands full against Dallas' loaded defensive front. John Michael Schmitz and Evan Neal will have a chance in front of a national audience to show the world they have arrived.

Week 11 at Washington

The biggest win of the Giants past five seasons was Week 15 of last campaign. Big Blue defeated Washington 20-12 on Sunday Night Football, virtually solidifying their playoff berth. The Giants defense balled out in that game, especially Kayvon Thibodeaux. The young rookie had his coming out party, scoring a defensive touchdown.

We may finally get to see Chase Young square off against Andrew Thomas. Washington picked Young No. 2 overall in the 2020 draft while the Giants picked Thomas fourth. Giants fans were bummed they didn't get Young back then, but now, they are thrilled they got the surefire better player.

Week 12 vs. New England

This is a historic battle. The Giants beat Tom Brady's undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and then beat them again four years later in Super Bowl XLVI. There is a ton of overlap between these two franchises, as Bill Belichick was a defensive assistant for the Giants for 12 seasons, and won two Super Bowls.

Belichick also famously texted Brian Flores to congratulate him for getting the Giants head coaching job last offseason, when he really meant to text Daboll, the infamous wrong Brian text. That text entangled the Giants into Flores' lawsuit, and is one of the main reasons the annual Giants-Patriots preseason game was axed. The biggest storyline in this one: the return of the Judge, Joe Judge.

Week 14 vs. Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football

After a BYE in Week 13, the Giants vs. Packers for Monday Night Football in mid-December just feels right. Will Jordan Love live up to the hype and deliver for the Packers by getting them in a postseason spot?

These are two historic franchises, but also two of the youngest teams in football. The Giants went 9-7-1 last season, while the Packers went 8-9, missing the playoffs by one game. Had Green Bay beat the Giants last season in London, the Packers would have booked a trip to the postseason, while Daboll's team would have stayed home. The stakes will likely be high in this one.

Week 15: at New Orleans

The Giants will travel to New Orleans to face Derek Carr in his inaugural season in Louisiana. This game will mark the first time Carr faces his ex-teammate Waller, as both departed Las Vegas this offseason.

The Saints play in the NFC South, which is by far the worst division in football. The Saints have a very average roster, but will be in the division mix until the end. Early, the Saints are the favorites to win the NFC South.

Carr and Jones are viewed by many to be in the same quarterback tier. Jones has a chance to show to the world that notion is hilarious. This game should have major NFC playoff implications.

Week 16 at Philadelphia on Christmas Day

The third Monday game of the Giants season will take place in Philadelphia on Christmas Day. Here's a crazy stat, the New York Giants were founded in 1925 and this Week 16 showdown in Philly will mark the first time Big Blue has played on Christmas Day, 98 years into their existence.

This will mark the first installement of the Giants-Eagles rivarly in the 2023 season. This is the latest these two have ever played their first game against each other.

The Giants roster took a big step forward in 2023. They have a chance to win the NFC East, but the Eagles roster is significantly deeper. Big Blue will likely need to stun Philly on the day Santa comes if they want any chance to win their first division crown since 2011.

Week 17 vs Los Angeles

Los Angeles loves playing at MetLife Stadium. The Rams beat the Giants 38-11 in their last trip to New Jersey in 2021. The time before that, LA beat New York 51-17 in 2017. Sean McVay is 3-0 against Big Blue in his head coaching career.

The 2023 Rams team is a lot different than the previous Rams teams. Yes, LA still has Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, and Cooper Kupp, but they have entered a rebuilding period. Tons of veteran players including Bobby Wagner, Jalen Ramsey, and Allen Robinson departed the Rams this offseason.

I'll never count out McVay, but there is certainly a chance this Rams team is out of the race by the time this New Year's Eve showdown happens in East Rutherford. Could the Rams stun the league and make the playoffs? Time will only tell.

Week 18 vs. Philadelphia

The Giants will play Philly twice over the final 13 days of the season. That is terrible scheduling. Spread the rivarly out! In all likelihood, Philadelphia will have a postseason berth locked up and possibly the NFC East crown locked up by this game.

Jones is 1-1 vs. Hurts at MetLife Stadium and 2-2 vs. Philly at MetLife. Jones and Hurts both got paid a whole lot of money this offseason, but Hurts got paid significantly more. Jones will have a chance to show the World he is a similar caliber quarterback to Hurts. Can Brian Daboll beat Nick Sirianni? Daboll went 0-3 against the league's most overrated coach in 2022, but has a much better team in 2023.

READ MORE: Deonte Banks officially signs his Giants rookie contract