Nowadays, the NFL schedule reveal is a big-time event for the league. So big that they broadcast it on a live national broadcast in prime time.
New York Giant fans, like every other fan base, flock to the program and the reveal with great anticipation, but there’s one thing they likely haven’t figured out as of yet.
The NFL’s schedule makers having been sticking it to the Giants for years.
According to a study by NFL data analyst Warren Sharp, the Giants are the most negatively-impacted team by the schedule this year and have been for the past decade.
There are many variables involved in how Sharp arrives at his findings such as preparation/rest and primetime games. Here are some of his comments.
The following teams were impacted most negatively by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities:
- New York Giants
- Indianapolis Colts
- Chicago Bears
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Houston Texans
The most glaring takeaway should be with regard to the NFC East. The NFC East has two of the teams most negatively impacted by the NFL’s scheduling inequalities (Giants and Eagles) but also has one team that benefits most by the schedule, the Dallas Cowboys.
Go figure. The Dallas Cowboys, the NFL’s most valuable property, gets preferential treatment by the league while two of their main rivals get the shaft.
Here’s more from Sharp:
The Giants were -12 in games with a rest advantage. The Eagles have the second-worst ranking with a -11 net, and have played 44 opponents the last decade who had over a week to prepare. It was the most of any team in the NFL (avg of 29).
The inequality is glaring when considering these two teams play in the same division as the Dallas Cowboys, who have one of the strongest edges:
The Cowboys had more rest in a net of +10 games (#2 best) and played 9 short rest road games (#2 best).
The Giants had more rest in a net of -12 games (#1 worst) and played 20 short rest road games (#1 worst).
Nice. Has it mattered much? Not to the Eagles, but is has to the Giants. Since 2010, the Eagles have won the division four times to the Cowboys’ three. Washington won it twice while the Giants have only one NFC East title in the 2010s.
When it comes to prime time games, the Indianapolis Colts are impacted the most with the Giants a close second.
The Colts have had the unfortunate fate of playing 7 road games on Monday and 7 road games on Thursday to only 3 home games on Monday and 3 home games on Thursday. And as it relates to the NFC East, the Giants (-4 net Thursday home games), Redskins (-5 net Thursday home games) and Eagles (-1 net Thursday home game) all haven’t had any luck hosting games on Thursday, the most favorable time of any to host a game. Whereas the Cowboys have hosted 12, the most in the NFL, and are a net +9 (second best).
Wonderful. For those who thought they were just imagining that the Giants were on the wrong end of a lot of schedule misdeeds, you aren’t crazy after all.
Perhaps next year, when the schedule comes out Giant fans won’t get so excited.
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