The NFL preseason schedule was released for 2014 and there are some good early matchups between teams and things will start off with the NY Giants taking on the Buffalo Bills in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio and that will be on August 3 as Michael Strahan gets inducted into the HOF and that will begin the exhibition slate of the season.
The preseason will have a rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos after the Super Bowl and that will be in Colorado for the first week of the schedule, while some other notable games include the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins, as well as the Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings. The Giants are honored to be playing in the game since Strahan is getting into the Hall of Fame, but head coach Tom Coughlin also said that having an extra game could be good for the players and team chemistry after the Giants signed over 20 players in free agency.
The team missed the playoffs for the second straight season after winning the Super Bowl and now Eli Manning is looking for a bounce back after throwing for more than 25 interceptions in 2013. The team lost Hakeem Nicks to the Colts and Justin Tuck to the Raiders as their biggest departures, while general manager Jerry Reese has added a host of new names, including Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Walter Thurmond, Rashad Jennings and Mario Manningham. Manning will be working with a new offensive coordinator in Ben McAdoo this season after the departure of Kevin Gilbride and Coughlin is hoping that will energize the offense.
The Giants open the preseason with the Buffalo Bills and that means they will be playing five games this year and that first matchup will be on NBC before their Week 1 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers and that will be a home game at MetLife Stadium. The following week will be at Indianapolis against Andrew Luck and the Colts, while Week 3 has a game against the Jets where the Giants will be the away team and then they will finish with the New England Patriots at home, which is always an intriguing matchup after their Super Bowl battles.
