Giants 2026 schedule: John Harbaugh needs early wins, patience

Prediction: Cowboys 31, Giants 6 (0-1)

Week 2: Monday, Sept. 21 at L.A. Rams (8:15 p.m., ESPN)

This is a tough time to run into a Super Bowl favorite, with Harbaugh’s team still figuring out its identity and Nabers still getting his knee right. The Rams won Super Bowl 56 on their home field the last time the NFL hosted the big game at SoFi Stadium, and Super Bowl 61 is back in Los Angeles this February. Sean McVay’s team has a chip on its shoulder after watching the division rival Seattle Seahawks lift the Lombardi Trophy last season. So they’ll use this Monday Night Football tilt as a showcase of what they have in store for the rest of the league. The Giants’ defense will feel the sting of not having Dexter Lawrence in the middle anymore during this one. And Schoen will again lament failing to recruit Matthew Stafford to New York in 2025.

Prediction: Rams 40, Giants 9 (0-2)

Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 27 vs. Tennessee Titans (1 p.m., CBS)

It’s put up or shut up time for Jaxson Dart with last year’s No. 1 pick Cam Ward in town being coached by former Giants head coach Brian Daboll. Former Titans head coach Brian Callahan and ex-Tennessee defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson will work to lift the Giants against their former team, while former Giants players Wan’Dale Robinson, Cor’Dale Flott, Austin Schlottmann and Daniel Bellinger will be out to make a point against their former home fans in New Jersey. Harbaugh breaks the tie narrowly by outmanaging Titans boss Robert Saleh. And if there is any offense the Giants can outscore, it’s Daboll’s.

Prediction: Giants 17, Titans 16 (1-2)

Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 4 vs. Arizona Cardinals (1 p.m., CBS)

Losing this game is not an option if the Giants want their fans to pay attention past Halloween, even with Arizona rookie coach Mike LaFleur deploying rookie running back Jeremiyah Love.

Prediction: Giants 20, Cardinals 15 (2-2)

Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 11 at Commanders (1 p.m., Fox)

A healthy Jayden Daniels is bad news. The Giants haven’t beaten Washington (0-4) since the Commanders drafted him in 2024.

Prediction: Commanders 19, Giants 17 (2-3)

Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 18 vs. New Orleans Saints (1 p.m., Fox)

This is another big game for Dart. A loss to Saints 2025 second-round QB Tyler Shough could be the kind of defeat that prompts leaks from the Giants’ building about who liked the Louisville product coming out of the draft. That’s just how the organization works.

Prediction: Saints 17, Giants 13 (2-4)

Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 25 at Houston Texans (1 p.m., Fox)

The Week 8 bye arrives at the right time after Dart gets overwhelmed by the Texans’ pass rushing duo of Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. The Giants ship edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux out of town before the NFL trade deadline.

Prediction: Texans 23, Giants 0 (2-5)

Week 8: Bye Week

Boo! Another year of trick or treating with the Giants in last place in the NFC East.

Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 8 at Philadelphia Eagles (1 p.m., Fox)

Jameis Winston starts at quarterback for the Giants as Dart continues to lick his wounds from a brutal and physical loss to Houston before the bye. The Giants fall to the rival Eagles, who have won seven of the last nine in this series and 16 of the last 20. But Nabers finally gets going, and the Giants get some mojo back.

Prediction: Eagles 27, Giants 24 (2-6)

Week 10: Thursday, Nov. 12 vs. Commanders (8:15 p.m., Prime Video)

Dart returns to the lineup, and he and Nabers go to work on Washington’s secondary in prime time for a badly needed win — both in the NFC East and in general.

Prediction: Giants 23, Commanders 21 (3-6)

Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 22 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (1 p.m., CBS)

Liam Coen’s Jaguars averaged 33 points per game against Wilson’s Titans defense last season. This game will depend on how often the Giants can turn Trevor Lawrence over. Jacksonville kicker Cam Little is an ace in the hole.

Prediction: Jaguars 22, Giants 17 (3-7)

Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 29 at Indianapolis Colts (1 p.m., Fox)

Janiel Dones, as Nabers famously called Daniel Jones, joins a long line of former Giants players who show Schoen and the organization what they’re missing — the hard way.

Prediction: Colts 31, Giants 18 (3-8)

Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 6 vs. San Francisco 49ers (1 p.m., Fox)

Facing Christian McCaffrey for a second straight year, this time without Lawrence in the middle. Great.

Prediction: 49ers 38, Giants 10 (3-9)

Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 13 at Seattle Seahawks (4:25 p.m., Fox)

This will be a long flight home.

Prediction: Seahawks 33, Giants 13 (3-10)

Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 20 vs. Cleveland Browns (1 p.m., CBS)

Todd Monken, Harbaugh’s first choice for offensive coordinator, leads Myles Garrett, Shedeur Sanders and the Browns into MetLife Stadium. Nabers has a big game, drowning out more leaks from Schoen’s front office about who preferred Sanders in the draft.

Prediction: Giants 26, Browns 24 (4-10)

Week 16: Monday, Dec. 28 at Detroit Lions (8:15 p.m., ESPN)

Jahmyr Gibbs and Nabers both go off in an epic shootout. Winston makes a cameo to execute another electric Ford Field trick play, and the Giants lose a close one with their offense starting to find a new gear.

Prediction: Lions 31, Giants 30 (4-11)

Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 3 at Cowboys (1 p.m., Fox)

Dallas’ defense completes its full turnaround from last year’s disappointment and teams with Prescott’s high-powered offense to bring the high-scoring Giants back down to Earth at AT&T Stadium, where New York has not won since 2016 under Ben McAdoo.

Prediction: Cowboys 40, Giants 10 (4-12)

Week 18: TBD vs. Eagles (TBD)

Harbaugh keeps his disappointed team motivated as he continues to rebuild the franchise’s broken culture, and the Giants beat an Eagles team that is resting tons of starters for the playoffs.

Prediction: Giants 25, Eagles 16 (5-12)

Final record: 5-12, fourth in NFC East