NEW YORK _ The coronavirus pandemic did not stop the NFL from scheduling a Giants home game in Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season. On the contrary, it pushed Big Blue into prime time against the Pittsburgh Steelers in their first Monday Night Football home opener since 1995.
Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers also will make a Monday night Week 8 visit to MetLife Stadium, marking the first time in the 51-year history of Monday Night Football the Giants will host two Monday games in the same season.
And a late-season revenge visit from Odell Beckham Jr. and the Cleveland Browns helps to cap off a challenging schedule awaiting first-year head coach Joe Judge.
"I'll tell you what, when you get the schedule, it definitely does give you a little surge of energy," Judge said Thursday night. "The number one positive is we're getting ready to play football, so that's the biggest thing."
The NFL's contingency plan if it cannot start the regular season on time is simply to move the early weeks of the schedule onto the back end after its Week 17 slate. Any week could serve as the opening week.
Every team shares the same bye week as their Week 2 opponent. And the Super Bowl (Feb. 7) could be pushed back if necessary. But for the time being, the NFL is proceeding as if everything is on schedule, though obviously the preseason in August is no guarantee.
Judge's head coaching debut against the Steelers will be the Giants' first Monday night season opener since 2014, when they lost, 35-14, to the Lions in Detroit. But the date every national media outlet will have circled on their calendars is Nov. 2, when the Giants will come off an 11-day break to host Brady's new bunch.
"I think we'll be very aware of Tom being on the other team," said Judge, who spent the last eight seasons coaching the Patriots' special teams. "At that point of the year, I'm sure everyone is going to get used to him wearing a different color jersey. I'm in a different jersey myself. We're more conscious of the opponents we'll be playing. The Buccaneers have a very good defense, they have tons of receivers, tons of weapons, and they made some great additions in the offseason with Tom and Rob (Gronkowski). Seeing those guys over there, no matter where our paths may have crossed in the past, all that's going to matter is that Monday night."
