The Giants.com crew is presented with four statements and must decide whether they are Fact or Fiction.

The Giants will open the season against a divisional opponent.

John Schmeelk: Fiction – You can count this as wish-casting. I despise first weekend divisional games. I don't think divisional games should be played until October. Let teams learn who they are before you unleash them on their divisional foes. Math is also on my side here, with only six divisional games versus 11 non-divisional games. For fun, I'll give you two possibilities here. First, my preferred Week 1 matchup would be either the Browns or Cardinals. You start the John Harbaugh era at home, where you have nine games this year, giving the fans something to cheer about to start the year. I do think the Browns still have an excellent defense, so I would lean towards the Cardinals. I predict the Giants will play on the road against the Houston Texans in primetime as part of that Monday night doubleheader to begin the season.

Dan Salomone: Fact – The Giants have not opened the season against the Cowboys since 2023, which feels like an eternity in the history of the rivalry. They went through a streak of opening against each other in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2023. Meanwhile, John Harbaugh has set his sights on the NFC East. The Giants need to be more competitive in the division, and what a way to kick off the new era against Dallas.

Matt Citak: Fiction – I think there's a good chance the Giants open the season at MetLife Stadium against the Cowboys, but for the sake of differing from Dan, I'm going to go in a different direction. I still believe the Giants will begin the season at home, but instead of facing off against a familiar divisional foe, how about opening the season against a familiar face? Maybe a former head coach of theirs? It would make for some NFL storylines to have Brian Daboll, now the offensive coordinator for the Titans, begin the new season against his old team. On top of that, Robert Saleh, Tennessee's head coach, would be returning to his old home stadium. Then add in the fact that Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward, the first two QBs selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, both showed encouraging signs in their respective rookie campaigns, and this has all the makings of an incredibly entertaining season opener.

The Seahawks will be the toughest opponent on the Giants' road schedule.

John Schmeelk: Fact – Can we first marvel at how difficult the Giants' road schedule is? Aside from the three divisional games, three of the road games are against playoff teams last year (Texans, Rams, Seahawks) with the remaining two the Super Bowl-contending Lions and a Colts team that started the season 7-1 before Daniel Jones tore his Achilles. The answer to the actual statement is either the Seahawks or Rams, but I'll go with the Super Bowl champion since they beat the Rams last year.

Dan Salomone: Fact – They are the king of the mountain until someone throws them off. This game will have added intrigue with Mike Macdonald having served for a long time under John Harbaugh (Ravens) and his brother Jim (Michigan).

Matt Citak: Fact – The other NFC West opponent on the Giants' road schedule, the Los Angeles Rams, made me think about this one for a minute. But it would be difficult to build an argument against the Seahawks being the toughest road game for Big Blue this season considering they are the reigning Super Bowl champions. Add in the fact that Lumen Field is one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL and this is the easy choice (despite the fact that the Giants have won two of their last three contests in Seattle).

The 49ers will be the toughest opponent on the Giants' home schedule.

John Schmeelk: Fact – I hesitated here because I don't know how healthy the 49ers are going to be when the Giants play them. Will George Kittle be on the field? Fred Warner? Nick Bosa? Those are key players that suffered serious injuries in 2025, though Warner appeared to be close to a return late in the year. The Eagles are an option here, but I have too many questions about Jalen Hurts in another new offense and a potential upcoming AJ Brown trade. The Jaguars are the other interesting option given their record last year and the return of talented rookie Travis Hunter. But I will take the consistency of a Kyle Shanahan-run team.

Dan Salomone: Fact – The NFC West was crazy last season with three teams boasting at least 12 wins, including the 49ers. It marked Kyle Shannahan's fifth double-digit win total in the last seven years.

Matt Citak: Fact – The 49ers won 12 games in 2025 with their two best defensive players, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, both suffering season-ending injuries early in the year. Both should be back for the start of the season, which will provide a tremendous boost to the San Francisco defense. On the other side of the ball, the 49ers signed Mike Evans in free agency before selecting De'Zhaun Stribling with the first pick of the second round of the draft, providing Brock Purdy with two new and talented options in the passing game, not to mention big targets. The 49ers could easily be one of the best teams in the NFL this season.

The Saints will be the most improved team on the Giants' schedule.

John Schmeelk: Fact – The Titans are another option here with all their additions and a new coaching staff and Cam Ward in his second season, but the Saints should be the answer because we already saw them improve at the end of last season. The Saints won four of their last five games with Tyler Shough playing solid football. The Saints also added Travis Etienne and guard David Edwards in free agency, with talented wide receiver Jordyn Tyson joining in the draft. I almost selected the Cowboys here. Dallas returns a top-tier offense but made no additions on that side of the ball. Their defense, on the other hand, will have more than half of their starters different than at the start of last season. But I think that rebuild takes two years instead of a quick turnaround after only one. Dallas also won seven games last year, so it is a smaller jump.

Dan Salomone: Fact – The NFC South wasn't mistaken for the NFC West as all four teams were sub-.500 in 2025. But the Saints did notch four wins in their final five games and were 5-4 overall with Tyler Shough as the starting quarterback. Now he gets to throw to Jordyn Tyson.

Matt Citak: Fiction – New Orleans heads into the 2026 campaign in much better shape than a year earlier, due in part to Tyler Shough going into Year 2 after a promising rookie campaign. But I can't honestly say that the Saints are going to make a bigger jump than two other teams on the Giants' schedule – the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts. The Lions went just 9-8 last year after going 15-2 and 12-5 in the previous two seasons. Chances are they go back to 12+ wins this season. As for the Colts, if Daniel Jones can get back on the field early in the season, Indianapolis should easily top their eight wins from last year, and possibly by a good margin.