1987 New York Giants season

Last updated

1987 New York Giants season
Owner Wellington Mara
General manager George Young
Head coach Bill Parcells
Home field Giants Stadium
Results
Record6–9
Division place5th NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers LB Lawrence Taylor

The 1987 season was the New York Giants' 63rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their fifth under head coach Bill Parcells. The Giants entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champion but failed to qualify for the playoffs. They were the sixth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs. [1] The Giants started the season 0–5, becoming the first defending Super Bowl champion to lose their first 5 games. Ultimately, the Giants never recovered from their 0–5 start and failed to improve on their 14–2 record from 1986 and finished at 6–9. They were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 1983. They also placed last in their division for the first time since that same season.

Contents

Offseason

NFL Draft

1987 New York Giants draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
128 Mark Ingram   WR Michigan State
255 Adrian White   DB Florida
383 Stephen Baker   WR Fresno State
4112 Odessa Turner   WR Northwestern State
5140 Paul O'Connor   G Miami (FL)
6160Tim Richardson  RB Pacific
6168 Doug Riesenberg   OT California
8223 Rod Jones   TE Washington
9225Stan Parker  G Nebraska
9251 Dana Wright   RB Findlay
10279 Chuck Faucette   LB Maryland
11307 Dave Walter   QB Michigan Tech
12321 Bill Berthusen   DT Iowa State
12329 Chad Stark   RB North Dakota State
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1987 New York Giants staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Bill Belichick
  • Defensive line – Lamar Leachman
  • Defensive backfield – Len Fontes
  • Defensive assistant – Mike Sweatman

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Romeo Crennel
  • Assistant special teams – Mike Sweatman

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Johnny Parker

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

1987 New York Giants replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Roster

1987 New York Giants roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenue
1August 15at New England Patriots W 19–171–0 Foxboro Stadium
2August 22 Cleveland Browns W 24–102–0 Giants Stadium
3August 29 New York Jets L 23–303–0Giants Stadium
4September 5at Pittsburgh Steelers W 26–203–1 Three Rivers Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1September 14at Chicago Bears L 19–340–1 Soldier Field Recap
2September 20 Dallas Cowboys L 14–160–2 Giants Stadium Recap
3at Miami Dolphins Cancelled due to the 1987 NFL strike
4October 5 San Francisco 49ers L 21–410–3Giants Stadium Recap
5October 11 Washington Redskins L 12–380–4Giants Stadium Recap
6October 18at Buffalo Bills L 3–6 (OT)0–5 Rich Stadium Recap
7October 25 St. Louis Cardinals W 30–71–5Giants Stadium Recap
8November 2at Dallas Cowboys L 24–331–6 Texas Stadium Recap
9November 8 New England Patriots W 17–102–6Giants Stadium Recap
10November 15at Philadelphia Eagles W 20–173–6 Veterans Stadium Recap
11November 22at New Orleans Saints L 14–233–7 Louisiana Superdome Recap
12November 29at Washington Redskins L 19–233–8 RFK Stadium Recap
13December 6 Philadelphia Eagles W 23–20 (OT)4–8Giants Stadium Recap
14December 13at St. Louis Cardinals L 24–274–9 Busch Stadium Recap
15December 19 Green Bay Packers W 20–105–9Giants Stadium Recap
16December 27 New York Jets W 20–76–9Giants Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

1234Total
Giants706619
Bears37141034
  • Date: September 14
  • Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
  • Game start: 8:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 62 °F (16.7 °C), wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • Television network: ABC

[3]

Week 2

1234Total
Cowboys373316
Giants707014

[4]

Week 3

1234Total
49ers314101441
Giants0701421

[5]

Week 4

1234Total
Redskins3217738
Giants309012

[6]

Week 5

1234OTTotal
Giants003003
Bills000336

[7]

Week 6

1234Total
Cardinals00077
Giants14331030

[8]

Week 7

1234Total
Giants0107724
Cowboys7701933
  • Date: November 2
  • Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
  • Game start: 8:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 69 °F (20.6 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • Television network: ABC

[9]

Week 8

1234Total
Patriots007310
Giants0143017

[10]

Week 9

1234Total
Giants737320
Eagles1007017

[11]

Week 10

1234Total
Giants077014
Saints31001023

[12]

Week 11

1234Total
Giants1063019
Redskins0091423

[13]

Week 12

1234OTTotal
Eagles06014020
Giants7067323

[14]

Week 13

1234Total
Giants737724
Cardinals14130027

[15]

Week 14

1234Total
Packers003710
Giants0137020

[16]

Week 15

1234Total
Jets70007
Giants0173020

[17]

Standings

NFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Washington Redskins (3)1140.7337–19–3379285W1
Dallas Cowboys 780.4674–45–7340348W2
St. Louis Cardinals 780.4673–57–7362368L1
Philadelphia Eagles 780.4673–54–7337380W2
New York Giants 690.4003–54–8280312W2

Awards and honors

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References

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