Giants 2024 NFL schedule takeaways: Easiest and toughest games

A look at the Giants’ 2024 schedule:

Three toughest games

Week 13 at Dallas

Thanksgiving Day is supposed to be a time with family and friends but for the Giants, if form holds, this year the holiday will be about getting their heads handed to them in Arlington, Texas. The Giants have lost their last seven games in AT&T Stadium — their last victory there was in the 2016 season opener, Ben McAdoo’s head-coaching debut. By the way, Dak Prescott is 12-2 all time against the Giants and the Giants have lost 13 of their last 14 games to the ’Boys. The Giants are 7-6-3 all time on Thanksgiving.

Week 3 at Cleveland

A trip to the Dawg Pound is no fun nowadays, with the resurgent and rugged Browns back in contention. They are coming off an 11-6 season and a playoff appearance and Deshaun Watson is the leader of a physical offensive group. The Giants were 2-7 away from home in 2023.

Week 18 at Philadelphia

Of all the places in the NFL the Giants despise, Lincoln Financial Field is the one that rises above all other venues. The Giants have lost their last 11 games at the Linc, making for crummy bus rides back to Jersey. Will this season-ender have any sort of playoff implications for the road team? This is the third straight year the Giants end their regular season with a game against the Birds.

Three easiest games

Week 10 vs. Panthers

The Giants rule the European continent. They are undefeated across the pond — 3-0 in regular-season games in London and 1-0 in the preseason (back in 1994) in Berlin. This game in Munich is a Panthers home game at Allianz Arena — home of the Bayern Munich soccer team — but figure there will be plenty of Giants representation in Germany for this one, as Giants fans travel well.

Week 9 vs. Commanders

Thank goodness for Washington, the franchise that often is the only team keeping the Giants out of the NFC East basement. This is the only division opponent the Giants have recently been able to handle, winning eight of the last 11 games in this series. Near midseason, perhaps rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has progressed and is adept at navigating an NFL game. We shall see.

Week 16 at Atlanta

The Falcons are coming off a 7-10 season and have a new head coach, Raheem Morris. They also have two new quarterbacks, Kirk Cousins and rookie Michael Penix Jr. This late in the season, perhaps controversy will rage on about which one should be starting, as the Falcons taking Penix in the first round of the 2024 draft after signing Cousins to a $180 million contract was certainly a head-scratcher.

Three notable games

Week 7 vs. Eagles

The return of Saquon Barkley. It was no great shock when Barkley entered free agency after repeated failed attempts to come to a contract agreement the past year and a half. Barkley flying off to the rival Eagles, though, well that was something. He gets to run behind a quality offensive line in his quest to show the Giants what they allowed to walk out the door.

Week 8 at Pittsburgh

This is the only “Monday Night Football’’ appearance for the Giants. Last season, they hosted two games on Monday night for only the second time in the 54-year history of “MNF” and they broke an eight-game losing streak on Monday night with a 24-22 victory over the Packers on Dec. 11. The Steelers have won three straight and four of the last five games against the Giants.

Week 17 vs. Colts

Are you into the Giants’ 100th Season celebration and festivities? If you are, this game has some nice historical significance. Colts 23, Giants 16 for the NFL Championship at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 28, 1958, is called “The Greatest Game Ever Played.’’ It could be (this game will either be Dec. 28 or Dec. 29) that 66 years to the day, these teams meet again in a Giants home game.

Where’s the bye?

It is another late bye for the Giants, coming in Week 11. This is a usual landing spot for a respite for teams coming off an international game. The Giants will have played for 10 consecutive weeks and will be returning from a game against the Panthers in Germany when they finally get a break. No doubt, it will be needed by then.

Overall takeaways

Is there an opportunity for a fast start? The first two games could be against teams starting rookie quarterbacks (J.J. McCarthy and Jayden Daniels). There are only three prime-time games — all coming in a five-week span — which means the league and the schedule-makers are not expecting big things from the Giants, which is understandable, considering their roster and uncertainty at quarterback. There are no back-to-back road trips after Week 3, which is a plus. Twice this season, the Giants will have a short week (playing on a Thursday night) followed by a 10-day gap before their next game.