By James Kratch | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

It's game week.

The Giants will return to practice Monday for their first session of the 2017 regular season. The preseason is over, the initial 53-man roster is set and the time has come to prepare in full for the season opener against the Cowboys on Sunday.

With that in mind, it's time to make our game-by-game predictions for the Giants' season, as well as our NFL playoff and Super Bowl picks.

Will the Giants get back to the playoffs? Win the NFC East? Advance in the postseason? The Super Bowl? Our picks are below. Here we go ...

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WEEK 1 AT COWBOYS

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Michael Ainsworth | AP Photo

Maybe Ezekiel Elliott plays on Sunday. Maybe he doesn't. Either way, the Giants have been thinking about this game and building toward it for months. They show off their improved defense, rattle Dak Prescott and do enough on offense to escape with another nip-and-tuck divisional win. WIN, 1-0.

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WEEK 2 VS. LIONS

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Rick Osentoski | AP Photo

Matthew Stafford and the Lions will not be a pushover. But the Giants aren't losing a home opener in primetime on the night they honor the Super Bowl XLII team. In a game similar to last year's meeting with Detroit, the defense powers the way to victory. WIN, 2-0.

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WEEK 3 AT EAGLES

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Bill Kostroun | AP Photo

The 2-0 Giants run into a bit of a buzzsaw: A 2-0 Eagles team that may be the NFC East's most complete team (foreshadowing!) playing its home opener in a building where they just don't lose to the Giants. Carson Wentz leads the Birds in a close one. LOSS, 2-1.

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Giants' practice squad tracker: Who's in?

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WEEK 4 AT BUCCANEERS

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Kim Klement | USA TODAY Sports

Giant Killer DeSean Jackson has arrived in Tampa, where expectations are sky-high. We aren't buying them, though. The Buccaneers feel like a team due for a letdown. The Giants win an unofficial home game considering all the blue jerseys in the crowd. WIN, 3-1.

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WEEK 5 VS. CHARGERS

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Cary Edmondson | USA TODAY Sports

Everyone will be writing their 2004 retrospective pieces and wondering about what could have been this week. The Chargers' pass rush will be a handful, but the Giants' defense will do enough against Philip Rivers as Eli Manning beats his "old team" and Rivers loses to his. WIN, 4-1.

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Random thoughts on Giants' cutdown day moves

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WEEK 6 AT BRONCOS

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David Zalubowski | AP Photo

The bad news: Von Miller and the Denver defense will undoubtedly be a problem for the Giants' offense. The good news: The Giants' defense should be able to be the same for Trevor Simian and a suspect Broncos offense. That being said, this is a tough spot for the Giants to win. Denver's defense is too much in the end. LOSS, 4-2.

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WEEK 7 VS. SEAHAWKS

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Elaine Thompson | AP Photo

Advanced tickets for the Sheldon Richardson conference call will begin in two weeks. Man, the Seahawks' defense looks scary on paper. This will be a long day for the Giants before their bye week. LOSS, 4-3.

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WEEK 8 BYE WEEK

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WEEK 9 VS. RAMS

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Jeff Hanisch | USA TODAY Sports

The Rams will be better under first-year coach Sean McVay, but they will still be the perfect opponent for the Giants coming out of their bye. They beat up Jared Goff and get well to end a two-game slide. WIN, 5-3.

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WEEK 10 AT 49ERS

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Brad Rempel | USA TODAY Sports

The Giants didn't have any inexplicable losses last season. So they're due. A long flight to the West Coast, a strange atmosphere at an out-of-the-way stadium and a suspicion that Brian Hoyer and new coach Kyle Shanahan will help make Niners' this year's bad, but sneakily good, team add up to a trap game defeat. LOSS, 5-4.

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Did Giants get initial 53 right? | Analysis

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WEEK 11 VS. CHIEFS

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Elaine Thompson | AP Photo

This will be a tough game, but one the Giants should win. Alex Smith and the Chiefs won't have much success as the Giants bounce back from the San Francisco debacle. WIN, 6-4.

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WEEK 12 AT REDSKINS

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

There's potential for a circus-like atmosphere on Thanksgiving Night in Landover. Josh Norman vs. Odell Beckham, Janoris Jenkins vs. Terrelle Pryor, Giants vs. Redskins ... this is a tough game to see the Giants winning. LOSS, 6-5.

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Mark Herzlich placed on season-ending IR

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WEEK 13 AT RAIDERS

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Ben Margot | AP Photo

The Giants had a bad loss no one saw coming in the Bay Area. Now they get the big win no one expected, winning a wild shootout where their defense gets just enough stops on Derek Carr while the Giant offense rolls over a suspect Raiders defense. WIN, 7-5.

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WEEK 14 VS. COWBOYS

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David Richard | AP Photo

We don't know if Elliott will play this coming Sunday. We do know, though, that he should be on the field in December when the Cowboys come to the Meadowlands. It's tough to envision the Giants winning five straight against Dallas. Elliott helps prevent it from occurring with a big day in a critical game. LOSS, 7-6.

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Why Geno Smith won Giants' backup QB job

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WEEK 15 VS. EAGLES

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The law of averages bounces back the other way. Doug Pederson makes a few more curious coaching decisions at MetLife Stadium as the Giants split the season series and gain a much-needed win to keep pace in the division and playoff races. WIN, 8-6.

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WEEK 16 AT CARDINALS

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David Zalubowski | AP Photo

We're not buying the Cardinals this season. It feels like their window has been shut. But they do have talent, and they'll be able to throw a serious wrench in the Giants' playoff hopes on Christmas Eve. A road loss puts the Giants in a tenuous spot and hands the NFC East title to the Eagles. LOSS, 8-7.

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Giants release CB Valentino Blake

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WEEK 17 VS. REDSKINS

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Phelan M. Ebenhack | AP Photo

Week 17. At home. Against the Redskins. The season is on the line. The Giants deliver, beating Kirk Cousins in what will likely be his final game with Washington to secure an NFC wild card berth. WIN, 9-7.

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PLAYOFF PICKS

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Brett Davis | USA TODAY Sports

Matt Ryan and the Falcons will avoid the Super Bowl hangover and repeat as NFC South champions, but they'll be the conference's No. 3 seed behind the No. 1-seeded Seahawks (NFC West) and second-seeded Packers (NFC North).

The league's best division, the NFC East, will round out the field. The Eagles win the division at 10-6 and get the No. 4 seed, followed by the Giants and Cowboys, who get the wild cards in that order with 9-7 records (the Redskins finish 7-9).

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Fred Vuich | AP Photo

The Patriots will grab home field advantage in the AFC again after running away with another AFC East title while the Steelers win the AFC North again to grab the No. 2 seed.

They will be followed by the AFC West champion Raiders and AFC South champion Titans. The Texans grab the first wild card and the Chargers surprise to take the second.

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NFC WILD CARD ROUND AT EAGLES

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Jim Rogash | Getty Images

What's that? Yup, a Giants playoff victory for the first time in six years. Lincoln Financial Field has been a house of horrors for the Giants in recent years, but they finally find success there to start the postseason. Manning outduels Wentz and the defense shines in a hard-hitting, physical battle to advance in the tournament. WIN AND ADVANCE.

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NFC DIVISIONAL ROUND AT SEAHAWKS

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Ted S. Warren | AP Photo

If the Seahawks were too much in East Rutherford, they will certainly be too much in Seattle. The Giants will be competitive, but fade in the second half as their season ends a victory short of a trip to the NFC title game. LOSS AND ELIMINATION.

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THE REST OF THE NFL PLAYOFFS

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Jeffrey Phelps | AP Photo

It's a revenge postseason for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. They beat the Falcons at Lambeau Field in the NFC divisional round, then upset the Seahawks on the road to win the NFC title and advance to Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis.

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Stew Milne | USA TODAY Sports

When the Packers get to Minneapolis, the Patriots will be there waiting for them. The Raiders and Titans will prevail in a pair of divisional clashes in the wild card round, only to bow out to the Steelers and Patriots, respectively, in the divisional round.

The Patriots will then turn back the Steelers at home in another AFC Championship game meeting before repeating as Super Bowl champions with a win over the Packers in one of the most-hyped Super Bowls in history. That's six for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

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James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.