Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Giants are coming off a stellar 9-7-1 season under first year head coach Brian Daboll. Having made it to the NFC Divisional Round in the 2022 playoffs, the Giants will be looking for the same results and further under Daboll and quarterback Daniel Jones. There is still some uncertainty with star running back Saquon Barkley, as he was the center of the Giants’ offense in 2022. For this prediction, it’ll be assumed Barkley will be back with the Giants for the 2023 season.
The New York Giants home and away opponents are broken down to the following:
Home
Dallas Cowboys
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Commanders
Green Bay Packers
New York Jets
New England Patriots
Los Angeles Rams
Seattle Seahawks
Away
Dallas Cowboys
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Commanders
New Orleans Saints
Las Vegas Raiders
Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers
Miami Dolphins
Buffalo Bills
The New York Giants have a hefty road schedule ahead of them, as they will have to face the NFC West and AFC South this year for their yearly divisional opponents. The Giants had fairly low scoring games in their wins, with losses being potential blowouts. However, with this being the second year for Brian Daboll as a head coach, he now knows exactly what the Giants offense and defense needs to work on and how to get Daniel Jones into threat material. The Giants defense is not as big a concern to me as their offense, but both sides of the ball can be threats to a team if they are clicking on all cylinders. With such a challenging schedule, I can see the Giants in quite a bit of primetime games, especially the divisional matchups.
Unfortunately for the NFC East, I can see the Eagles sweeping the Giants even with the Eagles losing some key defensive players, as the offense will be too much for the Giants young defense. I could see the Giants and Cowboys splitting, as last year both matchups were only determined by one score. The same can be said for the Commanders, having been the one tie for the Giants. However, with the young Sam Howell now leading the way, the Giants have the edge here and could sweep the Commanders.
The AFC East will be a major test for the Giants. Depending on when each of these games are played, it will be important for the Giants to take care of the Jets and Patriots, which I can see happening even if the Jets acquire Aaron Rodgers. As for Miami and Buffalo, depending on how the cards are played, the Giants do have a small chance of beating the Dolphins, but I give the edge to Miami due to their speedy wide receiving core. As for Buffalo, the Bills are just a better team as a whole, and I can see the Bills taking care of business here.
The NFC West is such an interesting division right now that the Giants could beat three out of the four teams, depending on how well they upgrade throughout free agency and the NFL Draft. Last season, the Giants did face the Seattle Seahawks and lost, but I could see it being a totally different outcome this year. As for the Rams and Cardinals, I could see the Giants taking care of them due to their consistency of beating more mobile quarterbacks if Kyler Murray is healthy, and the fact that the Rams are just a disaster right now. Last season, the Giants beat Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Fields. All three can be considered mobile quarterbacks, and depending on if Kyler Murray is back by the time the Cardinals face off against the Giants, I still give the Giants the win here. As for the 49ers, even if Brock Purdy is out for the rest of the season, giving Trey Lance the starting job automatically, I can still see Kyle Shanahan creating the perfect scheme for Lance as he did for Purdy. The 49ers defense is just too powerful for an extremely young Giants offense.
As for the remaining opponents, the Packers, Raiders, and Saints, I could see the Giants winning two out of the three games. The Giants did beat the Packers last year with Aaron Rodgers, if it’s Jordan Love at quarterback, then I could see the Giants beating the Packers again. The Saints are still extremely young and trying to figure things out, Brian Daboll could have a field day in coaching against the Saints. As for the Raiders, this is a tricky prediction with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback. Garoppolo is a quarterback who can win and lose games, and with Davante Adams, the duo could take advantage of a young Giants defense.
The Giants have a tough schedule ahead of them, but I can see them escaping with at least 10 possible wins, leaving seven losses barring there isn’t another tie. The Giants surprised many last season and could surprise many again this season. In a weak NFC conference, I would not be surprised to see them make another postseason appearance.
