Despite being projected by many to finish last place in the NFC East after going 6–10 in 1996 and boasting the NFL's youngest roster, the Giants secured a victory in their first regular season game under new head coach Jim Fassel on his 48th birthday against their division rivals the Eagles, whom they had lost to in four straight meetings.
After a 39-yard Brad Daluiso field goal made the score 24–3, the Eagles replaced starting quarterback Ty Detmer with Rodney Peete, who immediately led them on an 81-yard drive, capped off by a touchdown run by Ricky Watters.
Any comeback hopes were quelled on the next possession, as New York's pass rush of Strahan and fellow defensive end Chad Bratzke combined to sack Peete three times, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Hamilton.
After an opening day victory, the Giants traveled south to face the Jaguars, surprising AFC Championship Game participants of a season ago, but forced into playing their third-string quarterback, with starter Mark Brunell and backup Rob Johnson out with injuries.
Late in the first quarter, Dave Brown completed three straight passes to put the ball on the 1-yard line, where Tiki Barber scored his third touchdown in as many games; however, Brad Daluiso's extra point attempt was blocked by Rob Burnett.
A promising-looking drive at the start of the third quarter was ruined when left guard Greg Bishop was flagged for a late hit on a play where Way picked up a first down into Rams territory; instead the Giants were forced to punt.
On their next drive, Brown's deep pass for Kevin Alexander was intercepted by safety Keith Lyle; however, Banks fumbled the snap on the next play and Chad Bratzke recovered, giving New York the ball at midfield.
Despite the victory, Barber would be out the next four games with a torn knee ligament, while undrafted rookie center Derek Engler, filling in for injured longtime veteran Brian Williams, suffered a broken ankle, and would miss the remainder of the season.
It was still 13–9 with seven minutes left before Amani Toomer returned a Toby Gowin punt 37 yards to Dallas's 33; another interference call on Kevin Smith—given an additional flag for removing his helmet after the play—set up a Charles Way touchdown run, putting New York up 20–9 with 6:18 to go.
After a three-and-out, Brad Maynard punted away from his end zone to Deion Sanders, who attempted a reverse handoff to Kevin Mathis; but Patten disrupted the exchange, and the Cowboys lost eight yards back to their own 36.
Quarterback Kent Graham failed to generate any offense for Arizona, completing just 4-of-14 passes for 40 yards and interceptions to Tito Wooten and Percy Ellsworth, the second pick coming after they reached New York's 24-yard line.
But while the first pick led to another Daluiso field goal, Kanell answered Graham's turnover with one of his own, as cornerback Aeneas Williams jumped in front of Chris Calloway and returned the pass 30 yards for a touchdown.
In the third quarter, after Case fumbled on a sack by defensive tackle Robert Harris and Chad Bratzke recovered, Kanell found Calloway on a deep pass for a 47-yard gain; two plays later, he hit David Patten for a touchdown, the first catch of his career.
The Giants won their fifth straight game over the 1-6 Bengals, but the 29-27 outcome wasn't secure until Jason Sehorn stopped a late two-point conversion attempt and Chris Calloway recovered the ensuing onside kick.
After a 35-yard Brad Daluiso field goal on the opening drive, Cincinnati answered by handing off to Ki-Jana Carter five times for 24 yards, while Jeff Blake hit wide receiver James Hundon for a 21-yard gain.
On 4th-and-5, rather than try a long field goal, Blake passed down the middle to Dunn, who took advantage of a poor tackling angle by Tito Wooten and went all the way to the end zone, giving Cincinnati a surprising 21–10 halftime lead.
But on the two-point conversion attempt, Blake's left-corner fade pass for Carl Pickens was intercepted by Sehorn, and the desperation onside kick was fielded by Calloway, securing a New York win and Cincinnati's seventh straight loss.
Midway through the third quarter, a 34-yard run by Tyrone Wheatley on 3rd-and-2 put the Giants in the red zone; but Amani Toomer and Kevin Alexander both dropped potential first-down catches, and they kicked another field goal.
Neither offense could cross midfield throughout the majority of the fourth quarter, as Kanell was sacked twice by defensive tackle Henry Ford, and Michael Strahan and Robert Harris combined to stop a Tennessee drive.
With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Danny Kanell called an audible at the line of scrimmage and launched a 56-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer; a last-minute sack by Jessie Armstead kept the Giants up 10–0 at halftime.
The game was dominated by defense from the opening kickoff, as Tyrone Wheatley was stopped twice in 3rd-and-short situations in the first quarter, and despite Conrad Hamilton giving the Redskins two first downs via penalty on the same drive on 3rd-and-15, tackles for loss by Phillippi Sparks and Jessie Armstead knocked them out of field goal range.
New York gave the ball to Way four times for 31 yards; then a 20-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Darrell Green led to Kanell finding Chris Calloway in the back of the end zone for a toe-tapping touchdown.
Each team's next drive was spoiled by a sack, with Robert Harris and Keith Hamilton getting to Hostetler, and defensive end Jamal Duff—whom the Giants had cut before the season—nearly forcing a turnover before Greg Bishop recovered the fumble.
The first drive looked promising, featuring a 27-yard pass from Danny Kanell to Chris Calloway on the initial play; but after drawing a penalty when failing to get Tampa Bay to jump offsides on 4th-and-2, Brad Daluiso missed a 47-yard field goal wide left.
Later in the first quarter, quarterback Trent Dilfer hit tight end Dave Moore for a 26-yard gain into the New York red zone; but his third-down pass was intercepted by Phillippi Sparks, who returned it 68 yards to the Bucs' 27-yard line.
Dunn gained 169 yards from scrimmage—the most of his young career—as New York fell to 7–5–1; they maintained their one-game division lead thanks to a Redskins loss, but an Eagles win also bumped them up to 6–6–1, making next week's game in Philadelphia all the more critical.
Armstead, who also collected 10 tackles and half a sack, was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week, while Barber rushed for a season-high 114 yards and Way added 76 for the Giants, who moved one step closer to clinching the division title, with a rematch against Washington coming up.
Another Daluiso field goal added to the Giants' lead, as throughout the first half, Aikman was frequently harassed by Keith Hamilton, and Michael Irvin by Jason Sehorn, who came up with his sixth interception—New York's league-best 27th—after a 26-yard pass to Anthony Miller gave the Cowboys their first substantial gain of the day, and an apparent huge throw down to the 1-yard line was wiped out by a penalty.
Brown continued to look uncomfortable, completing just 2-of-9 passes for 14 yards and taking three sacks; however, Dallas failed to capitalize, as Kevin Mathis had a big punt return negated by a penalty, and Aikman and his backup Wade Wilson both fumbled snaps on consecutive drives, giving the Giants a franchise-record 44 takeaways on the season.
But after taking nearly eight minutes off the clock, the drive stalled at the 5-yard line; the field goal snap was high, but Brad Maynard was able to corral and spot it, and Daluiso's kick was good for the fifth time, extending the Giants' lead to 22–13.