5 no-excuse games for the NY Giants this season

There’s no excuse for Daniel Jones and the Giants if they lose these games in 2024

After a frustrating 2023 campaign and deciding to move on from star running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney, the NY Giants will rebuild in 2024. Big Blue’s schedule was just released, and New York supporters are already starting to predict how the Giants will perform next year.

The Giants’ 100th-year celebration kicks off at home against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. We can expect the season opener to be an exciting matchup, as Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will have the opportunity to make his professional debut. The G-Men showed interest in him, but passed on him in the NFL Draft.

The Giants’ schedule includes two Thursday games against the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys, including one on Thanksgiving. Saquon’s return to MetLife Stadium is Week 7, and a game against the Carolina Panthers in Germany is being hyped up. The Giants will host a few AFC opponents at MetLife Stadium this season, such as the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, and Indianapolis Colts.

Although the Giants’ schedule may be challenging, we expect this season to be better than last year’s 6-11 campaign. Here are five no-excuse games for Daniel Jones and the New York Giants in 2024.

5. Week 1 vs Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings may have one of the best offenses with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, and Aaron Jones. Still, there is some uncertainty at the quarterback position, and they did lose talent on the defensive side of the ball.

The Vikings were significantly impacted by free agency on both ends of the ball this offseason. The franchise’s quarterback, Kirk Cousins, left Minnesota to join the Atlanta Falcons, which forced the team to trade up to draft McCarthy and sign veteran Sam Darnold. The Vikings could also not retain several defensive players in free agency, such as Danielle Hunter, Marcus Davenport, Dean Lowry, and Marcus Davenport.

Whether Darnold or McCarthy starts under center come Week 1, the Giants’ defense should exceed expectations with their improved pass-rushing duo of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. The challenge will be the Giants’ secondary stopping the Vikings’ weapons on offense. As for Minnesota’s defense, Danny Dimes and the offense should take advantage of the Vikings’ depleted defensive line.

4. Week 14 vs New Orleans Saints

The Giants should win at home on Week 14 against the New Orleans Saints. Big Blue’s defense should match up well with Derek Carr. The veteran is not the quarterback he used to be. With Alvin Kamara’s injury history, we’ll see which version of the Pro Bowl running back we get on Dec. 8.

The most significant threat for the Giants’ defense is wideout Chris Olave, the Saints’ best target and the only true weapon on offense. We can expect Deonte Banks to match up with the Saints’ receiver, and if he can lock him down, then this one will be all Big Blue.

As for New Orleans’ defense, the Giants should be aware of the defensive line, which includes Cameron Jordan and newly acquired Chase Young, and the secondary, which has Tyrann Mathieu and Marshon Lattimore. Still, with the improved Giants offense this offseason and the additions of Devin Singletary and Malik Nabers, there’s no excuse for Jones.

3. Weeks 2 and 9 vs Washington Commanders

Winning against Washington is so nice, so why not beat them twice in 2024? The Giants beat the Commanders twice last year, but this time around, it will look a lot different. With former LSU quarterback and top wide receiver standing on opposite sidelines. The No. 6 pick, Nabers, will be representing Big Blue, but his former college quarterback Jayden Daniels will take over at the helm for Washington.

While the Commanders’ offense did improve with the addition of the Heisman Trophy winner under center, there is still a lot of unknowns. The Giants fans always travel well in Washington and Big Blue should be well represented on both Week 2 at FedEx Field and Week 9 at MetLife Stadium.

With the support of the New York fans behind Jones and the Giants, they should find a way against the Commanders defense. I expect the combination of Burns, Thibodeaux, and Dexter Lawrence to give Daniels his welcome to the NFL moment and the Giants will come out on top Week 2 and again in Week 9.

2. Week 8 at Pittsburgh Steelers (Monday Night Football)

The one primetime game New York supporters should be most confident in is Monday Night Football come Week 8 when the Giants play at Pittsburgh. The Steelers have had a busy offseason, bringing in quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and deciding to move on from Kenny Pickett after just two seasons with the team.

For now, we can expect Russell Wilson to earn most of the starts, but if he’s anything like he was when he was a member of the Denver Broncos, then Giants fans should look forward to MNF on Oct. 28. Even if Wilson does start against the Giants, who will he be throwing the ball to? Pittsburgh’s best target is George Pickens or tight end Pat Freiermuth, who is coming off an injury-ridden season.

The Steelers’ defense will be something to watch out for, headlined by their linebacker core consisting of T.J. Watt, Patrick Queen, and Alex Highsmith. While Pittsburgh’s defense may appear scary, if the Giants’ offensive line shows up to play in primetime, there’s no excuse why the Giants lose this game with their improved offense and stellar defense as well. I expect this to be a low-scoring and close game, but ultimately, mistakes by Wilson cause the Giants to pull this one out in primetime.

1. Week 10 at Carolina Panthers in Germany

The biggest must-win game for the New York Giants? That’d be Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 10 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The Giants will face off against last year’s worst team in the league in their fourth international game in the franchise’s history. The Giants and Vikings are the only two teams in the NFL to be undefeated in Europe. The 49ers and Chiefs are also unbeaten in international games, but they each have a win in Mexico City.