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          NFL Nation

          New York Giants open in Dallas, face easy early schedule

          Eli Manning and the Giants are scheduled to have only three prime-time matchups during the 2019 regular season. Tom Pennington/Getty Images
          • Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff WriterApr 18, 2019, 12:07 AM
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              Jordan Raanan is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Raanan covers the New York Giants. You can follow him via Twitter @JordanRaanan.
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          The NFL has released its 2019 regular-season schedule. Here's a look at what's in store for the New York Giants.

          Game-by-game prediction

          Giants reporter Jordan Raanan is predicting a 6-10 finish:

          Sept. 8: at Dallas, Loss

          Sept. 15: vs. Buffalo, Win

          Sept. 22: at Tampa Bay, Loss

          Sept. 29: vs. Washington, Win

          Oct. 6: vs. Minnesota, Loss

          Oct. 10: at New England, Loss

          Oct. 20: vs. Arizona, Win

          Oct. 27: at Detroit, Loss

          Nov. 4: vs. Dallas, Win

          Nov. 10: at N.Y. Jets, Loss

          Nov. 24: at Chicago, Loss

          Dec. 1: vs. Green Bay, Loss

          Dec. 9: at Philadelphia, Loss

          Dec. 15: vs. Miami, Win

          Dec. 22: at Washington, Loss

          Dec. 29: vs. Philadelphia, Win

          Strength of schedule: T-27th, .473

          Breakdown

          The Giants start in Dallas for the fifth time in seven years. It almost seems like a tradition. A win there could be massive given a fairly manageable early season schedule. The low expectations for this season also limited the Giants to three prime-time matchups -- two Monday nights and a Thursday-nighter against the New England Patriots. That could be the last time the Patriots and Giants meet with Tom Brady and Eli Manning at quarterback. Those two have been involved in some legendary matchups over the years.

          Opening stretch

          Last fall, the first half of the Giants' season was billed as a gauntlet, and they opened 1-7. This year the early part of their schedule is much more favorable. Only one of their first five opponents (Dallas) made the playoffs last season. Only three teams on their entire schedule (New England, Dallas and Philadelphia) won a playoff game last season. The Giants have an opportunity to hang around this season if they can muster a faster start. It's possible with this early schedule.

          Close to home

          This is a good travel year. No long trips for the Giants. They have only two games (Dallas and Chicago) outside the Eastern time zone. No excuses with having to travel across the country or even the world. The Giants also don't have to get on a plane in consecutive weeks at any point during the regular season. The only time they have back-to-back road games, they have a bye between them. Plus, one of those games is on the "road" against the Jets. This is about as easy a travel season as it can get for the Giants playing the AFC East and NFC North.