The Super Bowl was played two days ago, and the 2017 NFL regular season will not begin for another seven months or so, but football never really ends.
Victor Cruz: ‘The goal it to remain in a Giants’ uniform’
In that spirit, here are five quick, way-too-early observations about the Giants’ 2017 schedule (which won’t be revealed in full until the spring), as well as an early prediction of what games they will play in primetime this coming season:
Playoff teams: Things change drastically from year to year, but the five 2016 playoff teams on the Giants’ 2017 schedule (six games total) should be in the hunt again. The Giants will play their usual home-and-home with the Cowboys, host the Chiefs, Lions and Seahawks, and play at the Raiders. Couple those games with their other NFC East matchups and the fact the Buccaneers were 9-7 in 2016, and the Giants are facing a pretty tough slate.
Meet the new guys: The Giants will play against four new head coaches in 2017: Vance Joseph (Broncos), Anthony Lynn (Chargers), Sean McVay (Rams) and Kyle Shanahan (49ers).
Western theme: The Giants have some long road trips ahead of them in the fall. They are playing all the AFC and NFC West clubs this season, which means games in Denver, Glendale, Ariz., Oakland and Santa Clara, Calif. The Giants could ask the NFL to schedule them with back-to-back road games out west in order to stay out for an extended period and reduce travel. And sorry, but Las Vegas can’t happen.
What should Giants do with DRC?
But no L.A.: The Chargers and Rams will both be coming to East Rutherford, which means the Giants’ next trip to Los Angeles may not come until 2021. The Giants are scheduled to play road games at a to-be-determined NFC West opponent in 2018 and 2020, so a Hollywood trip could come sooner.
Return dates: NFC East rivals aside, the Giants will face two other teams in 2017 they played in 2016 – the Lions and Rams. Both teams will come to MetLife Stadium. The Giants beat both clubs in 2016.
Yes, here are primetime game predictions in January: The Giants will host the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football and Eagles on Monday Night Football, play at the Redskins on Thursday Night Football, play at the Raiders on Sunday Night Football and host the Rams on Monday Night Football.
GIANTS 2017 SCHEDULE:
HOME: Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Chargers, Chiefs, Lions, Rams, Seahawks
AWAY: Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Broncos, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Raiders, 49ers
James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
