New York Giants Schedule Release: 5 Most Important Games

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Take a look at the five games we think are most important for the New York Giants for the 2015 season.

Oct 10, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; A detailed view of New York Giants helmet before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL officially released their schedule for the 2015 season Tuesday night, which means that the season is quickly approaching. For the New York Giants, it is the first chance to see where they will be playing throughout the season and when in what is a make or break season for Big Blue.

For the third year in a row, and fourth time in the last five seasons, the Giants will be opening the season up on the road. This will also be the third time in the last four years that their opening season game will be against their NFC East division rival Dallas Cowboys.

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Another thing that stands out is the fact that the Giants avoid any long road trips or tough travel schedules. They have consecutive road games only once, visiting the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in back-to-back weeks in Week 8 and 9. They do not have any west coast trips this season, which is always a positive. The furthest distance they will actually be traveling is to Dallas, where they will be the first week of the season, and a trip they make every season.

The Giants also received some relief from potentially horrendous weather. The Giants will visit the Buffalo Bills in early October, avoiding the Queen City before the temperature drops too much. They also make two trips to Florida, one to Tampa Bay Week 9 on November 8th, and again to Miami to take on the Dolphins Week 14 on December 14th. For a northeastern team, leaving during the cold months of the year for warm weather is a welcomed thing.

But, everything is not perfect in terms of travel and location during the season, as the Giants will be playing against the Minnesota Vikings in their outdoor stadium Week 16 on December 27th. Playing outdoors in Minnesota that late into the season, we could have flashbacks to Tom Coughlin at Lambeau Field in the 2008 NFC Championship game.

The Giants have a very fair, even favorable schedule depending on who you ask. Whenever you don’t have to travel multiple time zones in a season, and can visit Florida not once, but twice past the midway point of the season, things are working in your favor. The strength of schedule for the Giants, according to team’s finishes in 2014, is 20th, as their opponents finished with a combined winning percentage of .479 last season.

That all stacks up as positives for the Giants in what could be an end of an era if the Giants miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. To make the playoffs, the Giants will have to win some big games throughout 2015, something they haven’t done in the past couple of season. With that, let’s take a look at five of the most important games for the Giants in 2015 that could shape their season.

All game times are listed as Eastern time, and * = Subject to change

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