Not only are the Giants not playing the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football to open season, they’re not playing on Sunday night at all.
According to Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com, the Giants full schedule features one Thursday night appearance and two on Monday.
That’s a direct reflection of low expectations following a disappointing 2018 season, for the most popular team in the country’s biggest media market.
It’s the first time they haven’t appeared on NBC’s Sunday Night Football since 2006 (unless they’re flexed into it later this season).
As previously reported, the Giants open at Dallas in a late-afternoon game, and will play their home opener the following week against the Bills.
Their Thursday appearance is in Week Six at the Patriots, and they play a pair of division games on Mondays, at home against the Cowboys in Week Nine, and at the Eagles in Week 14.
In the past, quarterback Eli Manning’s brother Peyton has cited not wanting to call his brother’s games, so a pair of appearances on Monday might keep him from expanding his ESPN presence.