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Are the 2025 NY Giants Really Doomed Because of Their Schedule?

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Patricia Traina | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 10:00 AM ET

According to a growing number of skeptics, the New York Giants shouldn’t even bother playing any games this coming season because they have the toughest schedule based on the opponents' strength of schedule.

But while it’s unfortunately become a habit to automatically expect the worst from Big Blue given the last few seasons, this notion that the Giants have zero chance of winning more than the three games they won in last year’s franchise-worst season isn’t necessarily a given.

For starters, the strength of schedule percentage is based on last year, and in this case, isn’t necessarily a good indicator of how successful a team may or may not be. Teams change – they lose players and gain players.

And how many times every season do we see instances of a team that in the year prior missed the postseason come roaring up the charts the following year to get people talking about their amazing turnaround?

But if we’re going to base feelings of gloom and doom on the past, well then, here are some reasons to feel more optimistic about the Giants’ chances in games that, on first glance, they have little to no chance of winning.

Washington

The Giants open a six-game stretch of their schedule by facing four teams that were in the postseason last year, making for a challenging start.

One of those teams is Washington, which swept the Giants last year for the first time since the 2021 season.

However, those two games last year were close. In the first one, the Giants lost by three points, something that probably wouldn’t have happened had they had a healthy kicker.

And in the second meeting, the Giants lost by five points, a game in which the Giants had gone in a different direction on two two-point conversion attempts, might have ended differently.

Bottom line? Both games against Washington are winnable for the Giants.

Kansas City

There’s no question that the Chiefs will be heavily favored in their Week 3 Monday night game against the Giants.

But if you’re looking for a reason to have an ounce of optimism that the Giants might just be able to pull off an upset, consider that last season, the Chiefs’ average margin of victory was a mere 7.1 points per game in the regular season and 6 points per game in the postseason.

That doesn’t exactly scream blowout potential for Kansas City, now does it? But if you’re still not convinced, in games in which the Chiefs were sacked at least three times, their average margin of victory was 3.7 points, which is a very reasonable deficit to overcome.

That is, of course, assuming the Giants’ improved pass rush produces multiple sacks per game and the Giants' offense gets into the end zone more often rather than settling for field goals.

New Orleans

The Giants travel to New Orleans in Week 5. New Orleans has been somewhat of a house of horrors for the Giants to visit–in 15 meetings, the Giants are 5-10 in the Bayou.

But if there’s one thing the Giants know all too well, it’s that if you don’t have solid quarterback play, your chances of emerging victorious dwindle significantly. And right now, the Saints quarterback situation appears to be up in the air following the retirement of Derek Carr.

While it’s certainly possible that Saints rookie Tyler Shough becomes the next Jayden Daniels, right now it’s not a stretch to say that the game down in the Crescent City is an automatic loss for the Giants, even if their historic record suggests the odds are against them.

Denver

The Giants are likely to be underdogs in this game as well, but what may or may not be taken into consideration when the odds are ultimately finalized is the fact that the Broncos play in London the week before they host the Giants in Denver, meaning they elected to not take a bye the following week.

For some teams, keeping the momentum going works, but when you’re talking about a roughly nine-hour flight, that can take a lot out of a person, let alone a professional athlete.

New England

Gone are the days when Tom Brady and the Patriots used to have the Giants’ number in the regular season – not that it matters, since the Giants had the Patriots' number when it counted.

But we digress. Since Brady left the Patriots, the Giants are 1-0 in the regular season, that win coming in 2023. And let’s not forget that the Patriots still have a relatively young quarterback, Drake Maye, running their offense.

Maye, of course, is a player whom the Giants did a lot of work on when he was coming out in the 2024 draft and was a player they wanted.

Maye, in his first season, completed 50% of his pass attempts when under pressure, but also threw four interceptions.

With the Giants' pass rush having vastly improved, who’s to say that the Giants won’t force a few errant balls that end up swaying the score in their favor?

Chicago

Like the Patriots, the Bears also have a young quarterback entering his second season, Caleb Williams. Williams performed slightly worse under pressure, completing only 44.1% of his pass attempts and throwing four interceptions.

Of course, with Ben Johnson now the head coach in Chicago, perhaps Williams will be much better against pressure, but that won’t discourage Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen from throwing the kitchen sink at the young signal caller, whose team the Giants beat back in 2022 at MetLife Stadium.

The Giants, who have lost their last four against the Bears at Soldier Field, are due.

Final Thoughts

The Giants have vastly improved their roster’s biggest areas of weaknesses, specifically the pass rush, which while not horrible last year, was also not necessarily one that was feared; the defensive line, which struggled to stop the run, the offensive line depth (in case of injury), the quarterback room, and the defensive secondary.

While it’s understandable that there is some skepticism that this was all done on paper and that we won’t know just how much the Giants have improved until they take the field, it’s hard right now not to feel optimistic about the potential of this roster.

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