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          NFL Nation

          New York Giants' schedule opens in Dallas, ends in Philadelphia and Washington

          Ben McAdoo is making the transition from coordinator to head coach for the Giants. Rich Schultz/Getty Images
          • Dan Graziano, senior NFL national reporterApr 15, 2016, 12:00 AM
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              Dan Graziano is a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, covering the entire league and breaking news. Dan also contributes to Get Up, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, Sunday NFL Countdown and Fantasy Football Now. He is a New Jersey native who joined ESPN in 2011, and he is also the author of two published novels. You can follow Dan on Twitter via @DanGrazianoESPN.
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          Breakdown: The New York Giants open in Dallas for the third time in the past four years and against the Cowboys for the fourth time in the past five. Hey, it's still a marquee matchup in the eyes of the networks, and it's a good rivalry even if the Giants have been getting the short end of it of late. The bigger issue for the Giants is the road finish, with a Week 16 Thursday night game in Philadelphia and a New Year's Day game in Washington in Week 17. They get a break with the trip to Green Bay landing early in the year. But the back-to-backers in Cleveland and Pittsburgh right after Thanksgiving don't seem like a lot of fun, and getting the Vikings and Packers on the road back-to-back in Weeks 4 and 5 is no easy draw either.

          The Odell Beckham Jr. factor: The Giants have been one of the NFL's worst teams the past two years, have had three straight losing seasons and missed the playoffs four years in a row. But there they are with five prime-time games -- Monday Nighters against the Bengals and Vikings, Sunday Nighters against the Packers and Cowboys and the Thursday Nighter in Philly. Beckham is a big draw, and you have to think that's a big reason a team like the Giants keeps getting prime-time games.

          Cheerio!: Teams that go to London get the following week as the bye week to recover. So, since the Giants play the Rams in London in Week 7, their bye is in Week 8. Players and coaches love it when the bye week is in the middle of the season, as opposed to too early before they need it or too late when they're over-tired. So that Week 8 bye is a nice perk for the Giants after they get back from jolly old England.

          Strength of schedule: T-30th, .461

          Giants Regular-Season Schedule (All times Eastern)

          • Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 11, at Dallas, 4:25 p.m.

          • Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 18, New Orleans, 1 p.m.

          • Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 25, Washington, 1 p.m.

          • Week 4: Monday, Oct. 3, at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m.

          • Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 9, at Green Bay, 8:30 p.m.

          • Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 16, Baltimore, 1 p.m.

          • Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 23, at Los Angeles, 9:30 AM

          • Week 8: BYE

          • Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 6, Philadelphia, 1 p.m.

          • Week 10: Monday, Nov. 14, Cincinnati, 8:30 p.m.

          • Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 20, Chicago, 1 p.m.

          • Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 27, at Cleveland, 1 p.m.

          • Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 4, at Pittsburgh, 4:25 p.m.

          • Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 11, Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

          • Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 18, Detroit, 1 p.m.

          • Week 16: Thursday, Dec. 22, at Philadelphia, 8:25 p.m.

          • Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 1, at Washington, 1 p.m.