In the playoffs, they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round 20–10, then shut out the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game 41–0, making it to Super Bowl XXXV However, the Giants were handily beaten by the Baltimore Ravens 34–7.

Early in the season the Giants’ record stood at 7–2 and coming off two double digit wins, before they lost two straight home games to decline to 7–4.

That was when Head Coach Jim Fassel made a bold move and publicly stated in the postgame press conference: "This team is going to the playoffs".

The game was delayed for 23 minutes due to thunder in the surrounding area, forcing both teams to take shelter in their respective locker rooms.

The game also introduced the football world to "Thunder and Lightning," the nickname given to the Ron Dayne-Tiki Barber running back tandem.

With a minute left in that half, quarterback Kerry Collins found receiver Amani Toomer for a 25-yard touchdown to make the score 13–3 Giants.

On the ensuing drive, the Giants forced a three-and-out with a sack by Pete Monty and got the ball back, then Tiki Barber ran for a 31-yard touchdown to make the score 20–3 at halftime.

In the second quarter, Redskins quarterback Brad Johnson opened the scoring by hitting longtime Dolphin Irving Fryar for a 23-yard touchdown, and they led 10–0 at the half.

However, in the fourth quarter, McNair hit Frank Wycheck for his second touchdown of the day to make the score 28–7 and put the game out of reach.

In the first quarter, Amani Toomer lost a fumble deep in Giants territory, and the ball was recovered by Rams cornerback Dexter McCleon, who went down at the 1 yard line.

Without a doubt, the low point of the Giants' season was their Week 12 loss to the Detroit Lions, a game that was nowhere close to being as competitive as the final score indicated.

In the quarter, Tiki Barber returned a punt 67 yards in order to give the Giants great field position, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty by Bashir Levingston.

In the third quarter, Charlie Batch hit receiver Johnnie Morton, who outran Jason Sehorn to the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown to make it 28–0.

While the Giants were still 7–4 and a half-game behind the division lead, many critics began to relentlessly attack the team for their poor performance (particularly regarding this game), and questioned whether or not they had the ability to even make the playoffs after a 7–2 start.

The loss also put Jim Fassel on an even hotter seat, as he needed to get his team to the playoffs in order to save his job in the final year of his contract.

The first game for the Giants after Jim Fassel's guarantee was this Sunday night clash against the Arizona Cardinals, who were playing with backup quarterback Dave Brown starting in place of the injured Jake Plummer.

After a 6–2 start, they had lost 3 of their previous 4 games, including a close loss to the Eagles at home after kicker Eddie Murray had missed a potential game-tying field goal.

This loss played a key role in the Redskins' failing to reach the postseason despite a 6–2 start and considerable preseason hype regarding their free-agent signings.

The Giants returned home after their big win over Washington and blew out the Steelers in a game that could have been even worse than the final score indicated.

Later in the second quarter, in a role reversal, the Giants used Tiki Barber at the goal line rather than Ron Dayne, and he went inside for a 3-yard touchdown to make the score 13–3 at the half.

With the Giants holding the tiebreaker over the Vikings due to better divisional record, a win in their Week 17 game against future coach Tom Coughlin's Jaguars on a Saturday afternoon would clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell drove the Jags down the field and threw a touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Brady with 1:56 to go, and the two-point conversion made the score 21–18.

Donovan McNabb dropped back and threw an out pattern to receiver Torrance Small when Jason Sehorn jumped in front of the pass and broke it up.

Donovan McNabb, who had finished second in MVP voting for the 2000 season, was held to completing less than half his pass attempts (20–41) and just 17 yards rushing.

In order to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XXXV, the Giants would battle it out against the Minnesota Vikings, who finished the regular season 11–5 and featured a high-flying offense featuring first-year starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper, running back Robert Smith, wide receivers Randy Moss and Cris Carter, and tackles Korey Stringer and Todd Steussie.

These same critics claimed that in order for the Giants to win, they would have to rely heavily on the ground game to control the clock and keep the Vikings' offense off the field.

Offensive Coordinator Sean Payton studied footage of the Vikings' defense and was so appalled at their secondary (particularly starting corners Robert Tate and Wasswa Serwanga) that he boldly stated at the Giants' first meeting before the game that they would throw for over 300 yards in the first half.

Kerry Collins began the game by hitting Amani Toomer, who had hardly practiced all week due to an injury, on a slant pattern for 16 yards.

On the ensuing kickoff, Brad Daluiso's kick was poor, but Vikings running back Moe Williams misplayed the ball and fumbled.

On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Shaun Williams sacked Daunte Culpepper and forced him to fumble, and the ball was recovered by Cornelius Griffin at the Vikings' 29 yard line.