1993 New York Giants season

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1993 New York Giants season
Head coachDan Reeves
Home fieldGiants Stadium
Results
Record11–5
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Vikings) 17–10
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 3–44
Pro Bowlers
4

The 1993 New York Giants season was the franchise's 69th season in the National Football League and the first under head coach Dan Reeves, who immediately released Jeff Hostetler and named Phil Simms as the team's starting quarterback.[1] 1993 turned out to be the final season for both Simms and all-time Giants great linebacker, Lawrence Taylor. This would also turn out to be the first season of Hall-of-Famer Michael Strahan's career.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Main article: 1993 NFL Draft
1993 New York Giants draft selections
Draft order Player name Position College
Round Choice
2 40 Michael Strahan DE Texas Southern
3 66 Marcus Buckley LB Texas A&M
4 93 Greg Bishop T Pacific
5 123 Tommy Thigpen LB North Carolina
6 150 Scott Davis G Iowa
7 177 Todd Peterson K Georgia
8 207 Jessie Armstead LB Miami (Florida)

[2]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1993 New York Giants staff

Head Coaches

  • Head Coach – Dan Reeves

Offensive Coaches

 

Defensive Coaches

  • Defensive Coordinator – Mike Nolan
  • Defensive Line – Earl Leggett
  • Linebackers – Don Blackmon
  • Defensive Backs – Zaven Yaralian

Special Teams Coaches

  • Special Teams – Joe DeCamillis

Strength and Conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Al Miller
  • Asst.Strength and Conditioning/ Offensive Quality Control – Kerry Goode

[3]

Roster[]

1993 New York Giants final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

  • -- WR


Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Simms started all 16 games in 1993, being one of only seven quarterbacks to do so, and led the Giants to a resurgent 11–5 season including a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs.[4] However, Simms underwent shoulder surgery after the 1992 season to repair a torn labrum. The surgery was successful, and team doctor Russell F. Warren's prognosis for recovery was excellent, and Simms was expected to be ready in time for training camp.[5] However, later during that offseason, Simms was released by the Giants, and subsequently decided to retire. The Giants offense was coming off a sub-par 1992 season, so Dan Reeves and offensive coordinator George Henshaw added and adjusted schemes. The emphasis remained running the ball as the Full House and Power I formations were installed. Rodney Hampton and Phil Simms both made the pro bowl, each the driving force behind the offense. The Defense returned to its dominant ways; allowing an NFL-best 12.8 points per game, or 205 points all year. Lawrence Taylor would join Simms in retirement after the season, ending an era. The Giants finished the 1993 season first in overall defense and rushing offense.

The Giants played the Dolphins in Miami for the first time on December 5, only the fourth meeting between the clubs since the AFL-NFL merger. New York was scheduled to be the opponent for the Dolphins' first regular season game at Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987, but that game was cancelled by a players' strike.

The Giants qualified for the playoffs on December 12 with a win at Giants Stadium against the Colts, 35 years after the two teams met in "The Greatest Game Ever Played". However in week 18, the Cowboys and Giants met in the Meadowlands to conclude the regular season with huge stakes. The winner would win the NFC East and have home-field advantage as the NFC's #1 seed and have a week off, while the loser would have play an extra week and host a wild card game against the Minnesota Vikings as the NFC's #4 seed. The Giants lost to the Cowboys 16–13 in overtime, making their road to the Super Bowl much harder.

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 5, 1993 at Chicago Bears W 26–20
66,900
2 September 12, 1993 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–7
75,891
3 September 19, 1993 Los Angeles Rams W 20–10
76,213
4 Bye
5 October 3, 1993 at Buffalo Bills L 17–14
79,283
6 October 10, 1993 at Washington Redskins W 41–7
53,715
7 October 17, 1993 Philadelphia Eagles W 21–10
76,050
8 Bye
9 October 31, 1993 New York Jets L 10–6
71,659
10 November 7, 1993 at Dallas Cowboys L 31–9
64,735
11 November 14, 1993 Washington Redskins W 20–6
76,606
12 November 21, 1993 at Philadelphia Eagles W 7–3
62,928
13 November 28, 1993 Phoenix Cardinals W 19–17
59,979
14 December 5, 1993 at Miami Dolphins W 19–14
72,161
15 December 12, 1993 Indianapolis Colts W 20–6
70,411
16 December 20, 1993 at New Orleans Saints W 24–14
69,036
17 December 26, 1993 at Phoenix Cardinals L 17–6
53,414
18 January 2, 1994 Dallas Cowboys L 16–13
77,356

Standings[]

NFC East
  • view
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 W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Dallas Cowboys 12 4 0 .750 376 229 W5
(4) New York Giants 11 5 0 .688 288 205 L2
Philadelphia Eagles 8 8 0 .500 293 315 W3
Phoenix Cardinals 7 9 0 .438 326 269 W3
Washington Redskins 4 12 0 .250 230 345 L2

Playoffs[]

NFC Wild Card Game[]

New York Giants 17, Minnesota Vikings 10
1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 10 0010
Giants 3 0 14017

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C), clear
  • Game attendance: 75,089
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

A howling, gusting wind dominated the game as both teams could only score with the wind. However, the Giants managed to score two touchdowns, both by running back Rodney Hampton in the third quarter, to pull ahead for good.

This was both the first playoff game and the first playoff win for the Giants since Super Bowl XXV.

NFC Divisional Playoff[]

San Francisco 49ers 44, New York Giants 3
1 2 34Total
Giants 0 3 003
49ers 9 14 14744

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), clear
  • Game attendance: 67,143
  • Referee: Bernie Kukar
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

49ers running back Ricky Watters rushed for 118 yards, caught 5 passes for 46 yards, and scored an NFL playoff record 5 touchdowns as San Francisco crushed the Giants, 44–3. This was the final NFL game for both Giants legends Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Smith, Timothy W. FOOTBALL; Giants Tell Simms That He's The Boss, The New York Times, June 16, 1993, accessed March 22, 2007.
  2. ^ "New York Giants NFL Draft History". NFL.com. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
  3. ^ Litsky, Frank (1993-02-09). "Giants Complete Coaching Staff". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
  4. ^ 1993 New York Giants Archived 2008-12-28 at the Wayback Machine, databasefootball.com, accessed May 9, 2007.
  5. ^ PRO FOOTBALL; Simms's Surgery Goes Well, The New York Times, March 2, 1994, accessed 2007-01-01.
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