New York Giants’ 2020 NFL schedule: 5 storylines to look forward to

The NFL is set to release its complete 2020 schedule this week. While there will likely be contingencies based on COVID-19 restrictions, the release is expected to include a full, on-time 17-week season.

We already know the teams the New York Giants will play in a full season. The only thing we don’t know are game dates and times. With that in mind, here are five storylines to look forward to from the Giants’ 2020 schedule.

Andrew Thomas vs. Chase Young

Many Giants’ fans wanted Young, the Ohio State edge rusher generally thought to be the best player in the 2020 draft class. Instead, they got Thomas, who will be expected to block Young, who was taken No. 2 by the Washington Redskins, twice a year for the foreseeable future.

We don’t yet know which side Thomas will play on the Giants’ 2020 offensive line. Regardless, the two will likely go 1-on-1 at some point. Who will get the better of it?

Another part of Giants-Redskins that is interesting is, of course the next chapter in the Daniel Jones vs. Dwayne Haskins saga. The Giants took Jones No. 6 a year ago, while the Redskins selected Haskins No. 15. Which team made the better quarterback choice?

Finally, new coaches square off. The Redskins led by veteran Ron Rivera, who many thought would get the job rookie head coach Joe Judge landed with the Giants.

Odell’s back

The Cleveland Browns will come to MetLife Stadium to face the Giants, which means Odell Beckham Jr. will perform in front of Giants fans for the first time since the team decided they were better off without him and shipped him to Cleveland.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Beckham is greeted by Giants fans. Not to mention what sort of celebration Beckham will cook up if he happens to score a touchdown.

Brady the Buc

Tom Brady — and Rob Gronkowski, too — will come to MetLife Stadium at some point as members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It goes without saying that Brady and Gronkowski in Buccaneers’ uniforms is going to look weird.

Kyler and Isaiah

The Arizona Cardinals come to MetLife for a second straight season, and there are a couple of storylines here.

Kyler Murray, of course, was the No. 1 overall pick in 2019. Jones was the second quarterback taken. Like with Haskins and Jones, there will always be a fascination with comparing how well the two players are progressing.

The other story will be rookie linebacker Isaiah Simmons. Many fans banged the drum for the Giants to draft Simmons. They didn’t and the Cardinals, picking No. 8, did. It’s going to be fascinating to see how Arizona uses him, and for this one game whether or not Simmons can make the Giants regret passing him up in the draft.

Jason Garrett returns to Dallas

The Giants’ offensive coordinator was, of course, head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010 to 2019. He was offensive coordinator in Dallas for three seasons before that. Assistant coaches generally aren’t big stories, but this one will be somewhat of an exception.

The full list of opponents:

Home

Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Away

Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.