The 2012 season was the New York Giants' 88th in the National Football League (NFL), their ninth under head coach Tom Coughlin and their third playing home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

On February 10, Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan was hired as the new offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

With their Super Bowl XLVI title to defend, the Giants began its 2012 campaign at home in the Annual Kickoff Game[6] against their NFC East foe, the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys would close out the half with quarterback Tony Romo completing a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kevin Ogletree.

Dallas came right back in the fourth quarter with Romo completing a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Miles Austin.

The Giants tried to rally as Super Bowl XLVI MVP quarterback Eli Manning completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Martellus Bennett, but the Cowboys' offense ran out the clock and preserved the win.

A mild controversy erupted on the Giants' final kneel in the closing seconds of the game when Tampa Bay head coach Greg Schiano ordered his defensive linemen to blitz Giants' quarterback Eli Manning, presumably in the hope that this would lead to a forced fumble and subsequent touchdown to steal the victory.

The Giants' first road game came against a Carolina Panthers team led by second-year quarterback Cam Newton.

With the win, the Giants improved to 2–1 and reclaimed a share of the NFC East title with the Philadelphia Eagles, who they would play the following week.

The San Francisco 49ers were looking to avenge their playoff loss against the Giants, and had just come off back-to-back landslide victories against the Jets and Bills.

Also, with the Eagles' loss to the Lions earlier in the day, the Giants gained sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

At the time of this game, northern New Jersey (and, indeed, a vast majority of the Northeast megalopolis area) was recovering from the widespread damage and power outages caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Both teams traded possessions through the first quarter before Steelers' wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger three minutes into the second period.

Shortly after, with around five minutes remaining in the half, New York's Osi Umenyiora was able to knock the ball from Roethlisberger's hand as the quarterback was attempting a pass.

Seven minutes into the third quarter, Giants' kicker Lawrence Tynes extended the home team's lead by three via a 50-yard field goal.

With a minute to go in the period, Tynes would successfully convert a 23-yard attempt and give the Giants a ten-point lead with a quarter to play.

The Giants hosted the Packers on Sunday Night Football, as quarterbacks Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers faced each other for the fourth time in three seasons.

Although the Packers were expected to avenge their playoff loss from last season, the Giants took a 31–10 lead into halftime and ultimately won the game 38–10, snapping a two-game losing streak and improving to a 7–4 record.

Coming off a huge victory over the Packers, the Giants traveled to Washington for their only Monday Night Football appearance of the season.

The first-round draft pick (32nd overall) rushed for a touchdown on a kickoff return and ran for two more scores in a huge win over the Saints.

The game took place only two days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, just an hour's drive from the Giants' practice facility.