As I was finishing up another game review, I was talking to a friend and he asked if I would do any Giants losses (I try to avoid it). That led to a discussion of the worst regular season losses since they've moved to the Meadowlands.
Now, there have been plenty to choose from (many involving the Eagles in particular). But for me, the worst has to have been the 1988 loss to the Jets.
Observe:
- The Giants rebounded from the freak LT blocked FG/ Clyde Simmons return for a TD in OT against the Eagles to win their next 3 games and set them up at 10-5 going into the Jets game.
- A Giants win and they win the NFC East at 11-5.
- A Giants loss and a Eagles loss to Dallas wins the NFC East for the Giants at 10-6 and the Eagles out at 9-7
- A Giants loss and an Eagles tie wins the NFC East for the Giants in at 10-6 vs. 9-6-1 for Philly.
- A Giants loss and an Eagles win give Philly the NFC East. However, if the 49ers, who at 10-5 beat the 9-6 Rams, the Giants clinch a Wild Card. Problem, the 49ers did not need this game, they had already clinched.
- The Giants were matched up with the Jets, who at 7-7-1 had nothing to play for other than to be a spoiler, but had done well the previous week, beating the Colts, 34-16 and essentially knocking them out of the playoffs.
So what happens?
- The Giants fall behind 13-0 by the second quarter
- Phil Simms is sacked 8 times by the Jets, including 3 from a former replacement player named Ken Rose
- The Jets would take a 20-7 lead in the 3rd quarter on a Freeman McNeil TD
- The Giants battle back on two Simms TD passes, including a 4th quarter TD to Lionel Manuel to give the Giants a 21-20 lead.
- However, the Jets would get a great kickoff return to near mid field and then drive down on the Giants, converting a 3rd and 3 to Mickey Shuler and with a backup safety, Tom Flynn on Al Toon because Perry Williams was hurt with a neck injury earlier, Ken O'Brien floated the ball over his head for a TD. Giants lose 27-21.
Not only to the Giants lose to the hated NY Jets. But the Eagles beat Dallas 23-7 to win the NFC East. And later that night, the 49ers would play their starters early and take a 3-0 lead. And then they would pull them, and by the 4th quarter would be down 38-13 in Candlestick, prompting Phil Simms to say the "laid down like dogs" to keep the Giants out of the playoffs.
In all, why this was the worst for me:
- It was the final game of the regular season. There was no more regrouping, no more hope. Everything that could go wrong went wrong and the Giants were out.
- It happened to the friggin Jets. For fans too young to remember this, if you recall how much of a pain in the ass Rex Ryan was with his "we're in charge of NY now", keep in mind, he never actually beat the Giants and the 2011 loss pretty much ended his run. But Rex always played to the Jets fanbase of mouth breathing idiots. Those same idiots had complete bragging rights in 1988 and there was nothing we as Giants fans could do but take it. Parcells even later said that this was tough for Wellington Mara because he wanted it against the Jets as well.
- 1988 was an open year for a Super Bowl. The 1980s was all about the dominant team rampaging to a title. Except for 1988. If the Giants had made it in, they would have had as good a chance to win it all as anyone because the talent was watered down. Remember, this was a team that was hot entering the Jets game, they seemed to be peaking at the right time.
I still get reminded of this by my Jets fan friends. Granted, it's much easier to take it with 3 more Super Bowl Titles.
Dishonorable mention-
- 1988 Giants vs. Eagles
- 1989 Giants vs. Eagles
- 2010 Giants vs. Eagles
- 1978 Giants vs. Eagles (notice a pattern)
- 2006 Giants @ Titans
- 1997 Giants vs Ravens
- 2009 Giants @ Saints
- 1995 Giants vs. Cowboys
Maybe not the worst, but one of the most embarrassing, at least.
1985 in Dallas. Giants are up 14-7 and driving for another TD when Too Tall bats Simms' pass and Jim Jeffcoat plucks it out of the air and scores. The Giants fell apart until late in the game, but it was too late.
We should have won the NFC East that year.
I keep coming back to Dallas at the end of 1993.
Combine the fact that they were to hated rivals that carried significant repercussions.
The Giants controlled their own destiny in both games and failed to capitalize. In 1988 they missed the post season, and in 1993 they missed an opportunity on the #1 seed and first round bye.
And that was part of the back to back Simms passing for 400 yards and then 500 yards in the Cincinnati...both losses.
A game that Strahan completely dominated from start to finish.
We went on to lose to the Eagles the next week in back to back 1 point losses, and then later in the season lose in Philly after almost converting the old hook and lateral.
That season was full of pain but we were probably so numb to it all b/c of 9/11.
That sucked at the time, but Giants fans could at least take solace that they stood toe to toe with the top team in the NFC and could have won.
What we didn't know at the time was that the loss cost the Giants a bye, and that bye might have given an injured Antonio Pierce enough time to heal so the team wouldn't look like crap in the playoffs.
True Phil, but you still have to do your job and beat the team in front of you
We should have won the NFC East that year.
I was at that game. The Giants kicked their asses all night. What a long ride back to Long Island that was.
True Phil, but you still have to do your job and beat the team in front of you
If Kenny Hill doesn't drill Mark Collins, the Giants beat the 49ers and they don't need them anyway.
It was almost like a preview of our disaster against the 49ers in the playoffs later that year.
I literally destroyed my TV remote after that game, which is not something I ever did before or since.
2006 vs. Titants: blow 21-0 second half lead to Vince Young of all people
2005 vs. Seahawks: Feely.
2006 vs. Titans: blow 21-0 second half lead to Vince Young of all people
2005 vs. Seahawks: Feely.
duh, the OP already mentioned the Titans collapse.
The Phil McConkey fumble always stuck in my craw. He was your basic good hands guy returner. Never a threat to break one, the only reason he was back there was not to fumble. And he coughs one up in a huge spot. Kind of like Calloway with the onside kick in 1997. It's one thing if an OBJ or Dave Meggett type muffs one but for these guys it's like a game manager Danny Kanell type QB throwing interceptions.
A game that Strahan completely dominated from start to finish.
Good call Chris. That one ticks me off too. I can't remember what happened but I recall some type of blown call by the ref or something. The Rams receivers didn't even allow the Giants to tackle them. They just caught the ball and hit the deck all day long. That was a very frustrating game.
YES, and I was in that corner of the stadium along with 80,000 other people screaming "QB draw."
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was 2001 when we had the Greatest Show on Turf BEAT in the dome and let it slip away.
A game that Strahan completely dominated from start to finish.
Good call Chris. That one ticks me off too. I can't remember what happened but I recall some type of blown call by the ref or something. The Rams receivers didn't even allow the Giants to tackle them. They just caught the ball and hit the deck all day long. That was a very frustrating game.
Was that the "Tackle by the Helmet" call? I still remember that, as well as Dayne getting punched under the pile.
Maybe not the worst, but one of the most embarrassing, at least.
Brutal loss, if i recall correctly it was the week before in Minnesota where a brett favre led vikings team drilled the giants. 2 of the most putrid fucking games a team could possibly play.
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Last home game in Giants Stadium. A who's who of Giants greats in attendence. A playoff berth still in play. So what happened? Matt fucking Moore torched them in a 41-9 blowout that effectively ended their season. Matt Moore!!! And a mediocre Carolina team with nothing to play for.
Maybe not the worst, but one of the most embarrassing, at least.
Brutal loss, if i recall correctly it was the week before in Minnesota where a brett favre led vikings team drilled the giants. 2 of the most putrid fucking games a team could possibly play.
Total dog jobs by that team.
But probably the worst overall season to me as a whole was 2006. Some of those losses were just mind-boggling. By the end of that season, I was shot.
That was brutal at the time, but it takes the edge off knowing that the Giants were going nowhere that season and that without blowing that game they never land Eli in the draft.
I'm okay with that only because it directly led to the 2011 Super Bowl. And because it's the last game with any real significance that Andy Reid won with the Eagles.
But probably the worst overall season to me as a whole was 2006. Some of those losses were just mind-boggling. By the end of that season, I was shot.
Agreed about 2006 even though we brought the Eagles to that playoff OT in their house..It was very draining
The 1985 team was not beating the Bears no matter what we did against the Cowboys.
1. not sure of the year, but the lousy giants were beating the heavily favored over-the-hill-gang redskins when ron johnson ran 10 yards for a 1st down. the redskins stopped him but he didn't go down. after 4 or 5 redskins pushed and carried johnson back to the line of scrimmage, lb chris hanburger stole the ball. i remember laughing, 'ha! good try ham-burger' but for some bizarre reason the refs ruled it a fumble. i couldn't believe i had seen such as obvious and bad call. completely changed the momentum of the game and the giants went on to lose. i researched it, i believe it was 1973, the giants were up 21-3 and lost 27-24.
1. 1970 the giants lose to dallas cowboys again on a momentum changing call. the refs ruled that a fran tarkenton to aaron thomas TD was out of bounds when in fact he was clearly inbounds. the refs mistakenly took the design lines which were straight and ran parallel to the endzone line to be the end of the endzone [they don't allow that kind of endzone design any more maybe even because of this game]. i researched it and the giants were up 10-0 and eventually lost 28-10, but that TD came when the giants were down 14-10 and would have put them ahead 17-14. instead gogolak misses the FG and then a few plays later wr lance rentzel throws a 58-yd TD to bob hayes and now the cowboys are up 21-10. hayes tacked on another TD from staubach. giants end up 9-5 one game behind the cowboys who won the division.