Every NFL season has a turning point. For the 2025 New York Giants, it might arrive [before we even hit Halloween](https://gmenhq.com/new-york-giants-are-cursed-if-nightmare-opening-schedule-is-actually-real). With a schedule that feels more like a punishment than a path to progress, Big Blue is staring down a brutal reality: if they don’t beat the New Orleans Saints in Week 5, this thing could unravel fast.
Listen, everyone starts the season 0-0 and no games are won on paper, but entering the season, [this is an objectively difficult schedule](https://gmenhq.com/the-league-isnt-cutting-new-york-giants-any-slack-with-2025-schedule).
The Giants open with four games that could chew up and spit out even the best rosters. Road games at Washington and Dallas to start, then a prime-time date with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 and a home matchup against a stacked Los Angeles Chargers team in Week 4. That’s a buzzsaw. That’s survival mode. And that’s before even getting to the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, or Detroit Lions.
Which brings us to New Orleans, Week 5, on the road, against a team that might be even more of a question mark than the Giants themselves. And because of that, it’s a game the Giants absolutely have to win.
New York Giants face early must-win game against Saints
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Let’s not pretend the Saints are a stable franchise right now. Derek Carr retired out of nowhere. They’ve got a rookie head coach in Kellen Moore and a quarterback room full of dart throws—rookie Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener. The defense is aging. The roster is retooling. It’s a rebuild in disguise, and the Giants need to take full advantage.
This is about getting in, grabbing a win, and getting out. Russell Wilson should have the upper hand against a potential rookie-led Saints team still figuring out who they even are. Head coach Brian Daboll has to scheme this one like it’s a playoff game. Control the ball, pound the run, simplify the reads, and use New Orleans’ inexperience against them.
If the G-Men walk out of the Superdome 0-5, things get really ugly really fast. The Eagles are waiting on a short week. Then it’s road games at Denver and Philly again. Then the 49ers. It’s a schedule that doesn’t let up during any stretch—and if they don’t take advantage of the soft spots, they’ll be buried before the bye.
Week 5 might not decide the season, but it sure could save it. No one likes throwing "must-win" out there early, but the Giants will likely need this one. Bad.
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