New York Giants Official Website

2009 Schedule Announced
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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APRIL 14, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - Five prime time games, including the previously-announced Thanksgiving night clash in Denver, and the team's first regular season three-game road trip in 15 years highlight the Giants 2009 regular season schedule, which was released today.

The defending NFC East champion Giants will open and close the coming season as they did the last one - starting with a home game against Washington and finishing with Carolina at home and at Minnesota. The game against the Panthers will be the Giants' final regular game in Giants Stadium.

"We have known who we are going to play, so we already knew the difficulty of the schedule," Coach Tom Coughlin said. "Now we see the way it is organized. Without a doubt, it is challenging, but all schedules in the National Football League are challenging. And it has been my position and my statement in the past that I don't worry about the things that I can't change. This is the way it is going to play out. That having been said, it is going to be exciting."

Coughlin's sixth season as head coach will begin on Sunday, Sept. 13, with a home game at 4:15 against division rival Washington. The Giants opened the 2008 season by defeating the Redskins at home, 16-7.

The Giants will play their first prime time game the following week, when they visit Dallas in the first regular season game in the Cowboys' new stadium. They will also play on the road the next two weeks, at Tampa Bay and at Kansas City, with both games scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

"Those are healthy trips," Coughlin said in reference to the length of the flights. "Two years ago, we talked about how we were the road warriors (winning 10 in a row on the road, including three in the postseason). We are going to have to be road warriors again, without a doubt."

On Oct. 11, the Giants will return home to face the Oakland Raiders at 1 p.m. The next week they'll play their fourth road game in five weeks when they face the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome, also a 1 o'clock game.

The Giants will make their second prime time appearance on Sunday, Oct. 25, when they host the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals at 8:20 p.m. On Nov. 1, the Giants will make their annual visit to Philadelphia to face the Eagles in Lincoln Financial Field at 4:15. The following week, Nov. 8, the Giants will host the San Diego Chargers, also at 4:15.

After opening the season with games on nine consecutive Sundays, the Giants will have their annual bye on Nov. 15, much later than last year's Week 4 bye. Coughlin prefers to have the bye later in the season.

"We play nine games before the bye - I think that is better for us," he said. "The bye gives the players, I think, an opportunity to play a long stretch against high-quality opponents and then have a little break."

After the week off, the Giants will host Atlanta at 1 p.m. The Falcons game will be the Giants' fourth in a row against a 2008 playoff team. That week will also mark the start of the NFL's flex scheduling, which means the game can theoretically be moved to prime time. But with the Giants already scheduled for five night games - one shy of the maximum allowed - and a trip to Denver following on a short week - it's unlikely the kickoff of the Atlanta game will be moved.

The Giants will make their first Thanksgiving Day appearance since 1992 when they visit the Broncos in Denver on Nov. 26, Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m.

"We already know that the majority of the work (for the Broncos game) is going to have to be done in the offseason," Coughlin said. "But Denver has a new head coach, a new staff, and will undoubtedly have a new offense, defense and special teams. But we will be ready."

After a 10-day break, the Giants will play their three NFC East opponents on consecutive weeks - Dallas at home on Dec. 6 (4:15), Philadelphia at home on Dec. 13 (8:20) and at Washington on Monday night, Dec. 21 (8:30), their only Monday night appearance of the season.

The Giants will host the defending NFC South champion Panthers on Sunday, Dec. 27 and will conclude the regular season at Minnesota on Jan. 3. Those games are scheduled for 1 p.m., but the time of one of those games is subject to change.

Some highlights from the Giants' 2009 schedule:

*The Giants will play seven games against 2008 playoff teams, including five at home: Arizona, San Diego, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Carolina. They will play two postseason teams on the road: Philadelphia and Minnesota.

*Five of the first eight games are on the road. Last year, five of the first eight were at home.

*The three-game road swing through Dallas, Tampa Bay and Kansas City will be the Giants' first in the regular season since Nov. 21-Dec. 4, 1994, when the Giants swept the Houston Oilers, Washington and Cleveland. Of course, the Giants won road games in three consecutive weeks in the 2007 postseason, defeating Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay on their way to Super Bowl XLII.

Coughlin had three three-game regular season road trips as coach the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 1997, the Jaguars lost to Dallas and Pittsburgh before winning at Tennessee (later that year, they won their final two regular season games at Buffalo and Oakland before losing at Denver in an AFC Wild Card Game). The following season, Jacksonville lost at Buffalo and Denver before concluding with a victory in Baltimore. And in 2001, the Jaguars swept their three-game journey by winning in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Minnesota.

*The Giants last played on Thanksgiving on Nov. 26, 1992, when they lost to the Cowboys in Dallas, 30-3. The Giants are 7-6 on Thanksgiving, but have played on the holiday just twice since 1938, including a 13-6 victory over the Lions in Detroit on Nov. 25, 1982. Overall, the Giants are 9-6 on Thursdays.

*The Giants are 18-31-1 on Monday nights and 13-15-1 on Sunday nights.

*The Giants will play back-to-back home games twice, though the first set of those games is interrupted by the bye. They host San Diego and Atlanta on Nov. 8 and 22 (the bye is the 15th) and Dallas and Philadelphia on Dec. 6 and 13.

*This is the second year in a row the Giants will play their NFC East opponents in games 13-15. Last year, they won at Washington, but lost in Dallas and to Philadelphia at home.

*The Nov. 15 bye is the Giants' latest since 2001, when they were off on Dec. 2.

*This is the first time the Giants will open the season against the same opponent (Washington) since 1991-92, when they hosted the San Francisco 49ers in consecutive seasons. They won the first, 16-14, but lost in '92, 31-14.

*The Giants are opening the season against an NFC East opponent for the third consecutive season (including Dallas in 2007), the first time that's happened since 1988-90 (Washington twice and Philadelphia).

*This is the first time the Giants will conclude the regular season against the same opponent in back-to-back years since 1993 and '94, when they hosted Dallas in the finale - losing in overtime in 1993, but winning the following year. The Giants were scheduled to end both the 2001 and 2002 seasons vs. Philadelphia, but after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the NFL moved the Week 2 games to Jan. 6, and the Giants hosted Green Bay to conclude the season.

*The Giants last ended back-to-back seasons at the same road venue in 1949 and 1950, when they played at Philadelphia.

*This is the fourth time in five years the Giants will finish the regular season on the road.

*When the Giants visit Tampa Bay on Sept. 27, Coughlin will be 63 years, 27 days old and Buccaneers first-year head coach Raheem Morris will be 33 years, 24 days old. The age different of 30 years, 3 days will be the largest between two head coaches in a regular season game since Nov. 4, 2007 when Eric Mangini (36 years, 289 days) faced Joe Gibbs (66 years, 344 days), a difference of 30 years, 55 days.

When the Giants visit Denver on Thanksgiving night, the age difference between Coughlin and Broncos coach Josh McDaniel will be 29 years, 234 days.

*The Giants will open their preseason schedule on Monday night, Aug. 17 against the Panthers in Giants Stadium. They will have just five days off before facing the Bears in Chicago on Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Aug. 29, the Giants will host the Jets in their annual preseason game, the last one to be played in Giants Stadium. Kickoff is 8 p.m. The Giants will conclude their preseason schedule against the Patriots in New England on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m.

*The kickoff times for five of the Giants' second-half games - including the night game vs. Philadelphia - will be subject to the NFL's flexible schedule policy.

The NFL will utilize flexible scheduling in Weeks 11-17. 

In those weeks, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday night on NBC.  Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game will be moved to an afternoon start time.  Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday, Saturday or Monday nights.

A flexible scheduling move will be announced at least 12 days before the game.  For Week 17, the change may be announced six days before the game. Flexible scheduling was designed to ensure quality matchups on Sunday night in those weeks and give "surprise" teams a chance to play their way onto primetime.

The five Giants games that could have their kickoff times changed are vs. Atlanta on Nov. 22 (currently listed as a 1 p.m. start), vs. Dallas on Dec. 6 (1 p.m.), vs. Philadelphia on Dec. 13 (8:20 p.m.), vs. Carolina on Dec. 27 (1 p.m.), and at Minnesota on Jan. 3 (1 p.m.).

A closer look at the Giants' 2009 schedule:

Arizona Cardinals
Giants Stadium
Sunday, October 25, 8:20 p.m., NBC
The Giants lead the series, 79-41-2. The teams last met on Nov. 23, 2008, when the Giants defeated the Cardinals, 37-29, in University of Phoenix Stadium. Their last meeting in Giants Stadium was on Sept. 11, 2005, a 42-19 Giants victory. The Giants are 20-6 vs. the Cardinals in Giants Stadium with victories in 17 of their last 19 meetings here (losing only in 1994 and 1999). From 1950 to 2001, the Giants and Cardinals faced each other twice every season except 1968 and 1982, when they met once. Because of the Cardinals' move to the NFC West, the teams did not meet in 2003, the first season in which they did not play each since 1945. The two teams first met in 1926, when the Cardinals were located in Chicago. The series continued when the Cardinals moved to St. Louis in 1960.  The Cardinals franchise moved to Arizona in 1988.

Atlanta Falcons
Giants Stadium
Sunday, November 22, *1 p.m. FOX
The Giants trail in the regular season series, 10-9. Since 1981, the visiting team has won the last 12 games in the series, the longest such streak in NFL history. The last victory by a home team in the series was on Nov. 11, 1979, a 24-3 Giants triumph in Giants Stadium. Since then, the Giants have lost five successive home games to the Falcons, including defeats in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The last of those defeats was a 14-10 decision on Nov. 21, 2004, when Eli Manning made his first NFL start in a 14-10 Falcons victory. The Giants won the two most recent meetings in Atlanta, 27-14 on Oct. 15, 2006 and 31-10 exactly a year later.

Carolina Panthers
Giants Stadium
Sunday, December 27, 1 p.m., FOX
The Giants have won their last two games against Carolina to tie the regular season series, 2-2. That includes a 34-28 overtime victory in Giants Stadium on Dec. 21, 2008, when the Giants clinched home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. In that game, the Giants rushed for 301 yards, the fifth-highest total in franchise history. In Giants Stadium, the Giants are 1-1 against the Panthers in the regular season and 0-1 in the postseason. The teams will also meet in their opening preseason game on Aug. 17. The Panthers are the only opponents the Giants will face in both the preseason and the regular season. The Panthers are coached by John Fox, who was the Giants' defensive coordinator from 1997-2001.

Dallas Cowboys
New Dallas Cowboys Stadium: Sunday. September 20, 8:20 p.m., NBC
Giants Stadium: Sunday, December 6, *4:15 p.m., FOX
The Giants trail in the regular season series, 55-36-2. The teams split their season series in 2008, with each team winning at home: the Giants defeated Dallas on Nov. 2 in Giants Stadium, 35-14, but the Cowboys won the rematch on Dec. 14 in Texas Stadium, 20-8. In 2007, Dallas won both regular season games: 45-35 on Sept. 9 in Texas Stadium and 31-20 on Nov. 11 in Giants Stadium. But the Giants defeated the Cowboys, 21-17, on Jan. 13 in an NFC Divisional Playoff Game in Dallas, their only postseason meeting with the Cowboys. The Giants are 18-14 vs. Dallas in Giants Stadium. The Cowboys this season move into their new stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Giants were 11-25 in regular season games in Texas Stadium, but 1-0 in the postseason. They are 15-31-1 in Dallas. The Giants have swept the season series 10 times, while Dallas has 18 series sweeps.

Denver Broncos
Invesco Field
Thursday, Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving), 8:30 p.m., NFL Network
The Giants lead the regular season series, 5-4, and the postseason series, 1-0 (a 39-20 victory in Super Bowl XXI). The teams last met on Oct. 23, 2005, when Eli Manning's two-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer with five seconds remaining gave the Giants a 24-23 victory. The Giants last played in Denver on Sept. 10, 2001, when then Broncos earned a 31-20 season-opening Monday night victory. This will be the Giants' first Thanksgiving Day game in exactly 17 years - on Nov. 26, 1992, they lost to the Cowboys in Dallas, 30-3. The Giants are 7-6 on Thanksgiving, but have played on the holiday just twice since 1938, including a 13-6 victory over the Lions on Nov. 25, 1982.

The Giants first played on Thanksgiving in 1926, their second year of existence, when they defeated the Brooklyn Lions, 17-0. After a two-year hiatus, they played a Thanksgiving Day game every season from 1929-38. They did not play again on Thanksgiving until 1982. The Giants are 9-6 in Thursday games, including a 16-7 victory over Washington on Sept. 4, 2008.

Kansas City Chiefs
Arrowhead Stadium
Sunday, October 4, 1 p.m., FOX
The Giants have won three in a row dating back to 1998 and six of their last seven games against the Chiefs and lead the series, 9-2. The teams last met on Dec. 17, 2005, when the Giants earned a 27-17 victory on their home field. The Giants last faced the Chiefs in Kansas City on Sept. 23, 2001, a 13-3 Giants victory in Arrowhead Stadium. The Giants are 3-2 in Kansas City.

Minnesota Vikings
The Metrodome
Sunday, January 3, *1 p.m., FOX
The Giants trail in the regular season series, 12-8, but lead the postseason series, 2-1. The Giants are 4-5 in Minnesota, including 4-2 in the Metrodome, where they won games in three consecutive years (2002, 2003 and 2004). In a battle of division champions, the Vikings defeated the Giants, 20-19, in the 2008 season finale on Dec. 28 in Minnesota. It was the first time in the last six games of the series that the home team won. All three postseason games between the teams were played in Giants Stadium, including the Giants' 41-0 victory in the 2000 NFC Championship Game.

New Orleans Saints
The Superdome
Sunday, October 18, 1 p.m., FOX
The Giants lead the regular season series, 14-10, but are 4-6 as visitors - 3-6 in New Orleans, 3-5 the Superdome and 1-0 in Giants Stadium, where a Saints home game was played in 2005 after the team was forced to leave New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The teams last met on Dec. 24, 2006, when the Saints won, 30-7. The Giants last played in the Superdome on Dec. 14, 2003, a 45-7 Saints victory. New Orleans Coach Sean Payton was the Giants' quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator from 1999-2002.

Oakland Raiders
Giants Stadium
Sunday, October 11, 1 p.m., CBS
The Giants trail in the series, 7-3. They last faced the Raiders on Dec. 31, 2005 in Oakland, where the Giants won, 31-20, to clinch the NFC East title. That victory broke the Giants' four-game losing streak in the series. The teams' most recent meeting in Giants Stadium was on Nov. 25, 2001, when the Raiders prevailed, 28-10. The Giants last defeated the Raiders in New Jersey on Dec. 24, 1989 by a 34-17 score.

Philadelphia Eagles
Lincoln Financial Field: Sunday, November 1, 4:15 p.m., FOX
Giants Stadium: Sunday, December 13, *8:20 p.m., NBC
In a regular season series that began in 1933, the Giants lead the Eagles, 79-67-2, and are tied in the postseason series, 2-2. The Giants have won six of their last eight regular season games against the Eagles, including four victories in a row in Philadelphia. But they have lost two postseason meetings in that span, including a 23-11 decision in last season's NFC Divisional Playoff Game. Prior to that, the teams split their regular season series, with each team winning as visitors. The Giants triumphed, 36-31, in Philadelphia on Nov. 9, but lost at home, 20-14, on Dec. 7. The teams split their season series for just the fourth time in the last 24 years. The teams also split their season series in 1990, 2002 and 2006. The Giants won both games in 1985, '86, '87, '93, '94, '97-2000, 2005 and 2007 (11 sweeps). Philadelphia swept the series in 1988, '89, '91, '92, '95, '96, 2001, 2003 and 2004 (nine sweeps). The Giants are 4-2 in the regular season and 0-1 in postseason play in Lincoln Financial Field. The Giants are 15-18 vs. Philadelphia in regular season games in Giants Stadium.

San Diego Chargers
Giants Stadium
Sunday, November 8, 4:15 p.m., CBS
The Giants lead the series, 5-4, including 3-2 at home and 2-1 in Giants Stadium. The teams will face each other in New Jersey for the first time since Dec. 23, 1995, a 27-17 Chargers victory. The Giants last defeated the Chargers in Giants Stadium on Sept. 14, 1986. The 1995 game was the only other meeting here since then. The Giants and Chargers most recently played on Sept. 25, 2005 in San Diego, where the home team won, 45-23.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Raymond James Stadium
Sunday, September 27, 1 p.m., FOX
The Giants lead the regular season series, 10-6, and the postseason series, 1-0. They are 5-5 on the road against the Buccaneers, 2-2 (including 1-0 in the postseason) in Raymond James Stadium. The teams last met in a 2007 NFC Wild Card Game, a 24-14 Giants victory in Tampa on Jan. 6, 2007. Their most recent regular season meeting was a 17-3 Giants victory here on Oct. 29, 2006. The Giants last played a regular season game in Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 24, 2003, a 19-13 Buccaneers victory.

Washington Redskins
Giants Stadium: Sunday, September 13, 4:15 p.m., FOX
FedEx Field: Monday, December 21, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
The Giants have played the Redskins every year since 1932 and lead the regular season series, 87-61-4. The postseason series is tied, 1-1. The Giants have faced the Redskins 152 times in the regular season, making this their most frequently-contested rivalry. In 2008, the Giants swept the series for the second time in three years. They won, 16-7, on Sept. 4 in Giants Stadium and 23-7 on Nov. 30 in Washington. The Giants have swept the season series with the Redskins 28 times. They are 21-12 against the Redskins in Giants Stadium and 6-5-1 in FedEx Field.

*Time subject to change.