History of the New York Giants
They did not win another championship until 1956, aided by several future Hall of Fame players such as running back Frank Gifford, linebacker Sam Huff, and offensive tackle Roosevelt Brown.
The team's success during the 1980s was aided by head coach Bill Parcells, quarterback Phil Simms and Hall of Fame linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson.
[7] The Giants acquired University of Michigan All-American quarterback Harry Newman and versatile free agent halfback Ken Strong before the 1933 season.
[33] In the 1934 NFL Championship Game, the Giants defeated previously unbeaten Chicago 30–13 at the Polo Grounds on an icy field with temperatures peaking at 25 degrees.
[35] Due to traffic and the inability to find any athletic goods stores open on Sunday, Cohen was unable to return before the game started, and the Giants, wearing conventional footwear, trailed 10–3 at the end of the first half.
[43] In 1949, halfback Gene "Choo-Choo" Roberts scored a league-high 17 touchdowns,[44] and in 1950, he set a team record that would stand for over 50 years, when he rushed for 218 yards on November 12.
[51] Equally notable, the team featured as its coordinators future Hall of Fame head coaches Tom Landry (defense) and Vince Lombardi (offense).
[59] With seven seconds left in regulation, Steve Myhra kicked a 20-yard field goal to tie the score 17–17, sending a game to overtime for the first time in NFL history.
By the early 1960s, the Giants were receiving $175,000 a game under the NFL's television contract with CBS — four times as much as small-market Green Bay, which was one of the most successful teams of the era.
A roster filled with mostly older veterans plus some bad personnel moves (e.g. the dispatching of Rosey Grier, Sam Huff, and Don Chandler) lead to a quick exit from the top of the standings.
[7] They showed marked improvement in 1970; after an 0–3 start, they rebounded to finish 9–5,[72] narrowly missing the playoffs by losing their final game to the Los Angeles Rams.
[74] Other standouts and Pro Bowl selections that year were running back Johnson, who rushed for 1,182 yards (breaking his own team record) and caught 45 passes, tight end Bob Tucker, who followed up his 1971 NFC-leading 59-catch season with 55 in 1972, and defensive stars Jack Gregory and John Mendenhall.
[86] Young hired San Diego Chargers assistant Ray Perkins as head coach and drafted unknown quarterback Phil Simms from Morehead State to the surprise of many.
His arrival raised the Giants linebacking corps — which already included future Hall of Famer Harry Carson and Pro Bowler Brad Van Pelt — into one of the NFL's best.
[88] Another bright spot was the rushing game; keyed by the acquisition (via trade from the Houston Oilers) of running back Rob Carpenter in early October.
In the first round, they defeated the highly favored Los Angeles Rams 16–13 on the road before losing 21–10 to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers.
Here is a description of the play taken from a Monday Night Football broadcast in 2005: "On December 1st, 1986...with the Giants trailing, (Mark) Bavaro catches an innocent pass from Phil Simms over the middle.
[106] Bright spots for the season included tight end Mark Bavaro, who led the team in catches with 55, and three New York's linebackers making the Pro Bowl—Taylor, Carson, and Carl Banks.
[122] New York drove downfield into San Francisco territory, and on the game's last play, kicker Matt Bahr hit a 42-yard field goal to defeat the 49ers, 15–13.
The opening drive ran for over nine minutes[125] (a Super Bowl record) and culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run by Ottis Anderson, giving the Giants a 17–12 lead.
[126] The Giants set a Super Bowl record for time of possession with a mark of 40:33, and Ottis Anderson was named MVP of the game after rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown.
[136] Simms, Hampton, offensive linemen Jumbo Elliot and center Bart Oates made the 1994 Pro Bowl,[139] and Reeves was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press.
Collins then drove the Giants down to the 49ers 23-yard line with six seconds left, setting up a potential game winning 41-yard field goal attempt for Matt Bryant.
[169] They won five straight following a 1–2 start, giving them a two-game lead in the NFC East,[170] but they lost six of their last seven games, and the players publicly clashed with Coughlin.
[177] In the NFC Championship Game, Lawrence Tynes kicked an overtime field goal to give them a 23–20 road victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Escaping three tackles, he threw a long pass to David Tyree, who caught the ball against his own helmet, while being covered by Patriots safety Rodney Harrison.
However, the Giants would proceed to lose five of their next six games and after a loss to the Oakland Raiders in week 13, head coach Ben McAdoo along with general manager Jerry Reese were fired.
They would then win four straight games, including a 17–12 upset over the Seattle Seahawks, and sat at 5–7, tied with the Washington Football Team for best with the division, but the Giants owned the tiebreaker due to a head-to-head sweep.
As the sixth seed in the NFC, the Giants beat the Minnesota Vikings 31–24[203] in the Wild Card round, getting their first playoff win since Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.
A historically poor offensive line and numerous injuries, particularly losing starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a torn ACL in a Week 9 loss against the Raiders, plagued the team throughout the year.
