1987 New York Giants season

Last updated

1987 New York Giants season
Owner Wellington Mara
General manager George Young
Head coach Bill Parcells
Offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt
Defensive coordinator Bill Belichick
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


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 (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


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
3—at 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
Scoring summary
1PHI Randall Cunningham 4 yard run (Paul McFadden kick)Eagles 7–0
1PHIPaul McFadden 25 yard field goalEagles 10–0
1NYG Lionel Manuel 36 yard pass from Jeff Rutledge (Raúl Allegre kick)Eagles 10–7
2NYGRaúl Allegre 53 yard field goalTie 10–10
3PHI Keith Byars 8 yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Paul McFadden kick)Eagles 17–10
3NYG George Adams 1 yard run (Raúl Allegre kick)Tie 17–17
4NYGRaúl Allegre 52 yard field goalGiants 20–17

[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

  1. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 256
  2. ↑ "1987 New York Giants Draftees".
  3. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  5. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  7. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  8. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  9. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  10. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  11. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  12. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  13. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  14. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  15. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  16. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  17. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "1987 NFL Pro Bowlers".
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