1993 New York Giants season
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New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
was the franchise's 69th season in the
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(NFL) and the first under head coach
Dan Reeves Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for a ...
, who was hired by the Giants after being fired by the
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in the off-season. The Giants were looking to improve on their 6-10 mark from the previous year under former head coach
Ray Handley Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...
and return to the playoffs for the first time since winning
Super Bowl XXV Super Bowl XXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
in January 1991. Under Reeves’ watch, the Giants did exactly that, finishing with an 11-5 record and qualifying for the playoffs as one of the three Wild Card teams in the NFC. They defeated the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
at home in their first playoff game, but were soundly defeated by the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
in the Divisional Playoffs. After the season, star linebacker
Lawrence Taylor Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959), nicknamed "L.T.", is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as an outside linebacker for the New York Giants ( 1981–1993) in the National Football League ( ...
announced his retirement from football. As Taylor was playing out his final season, another Giants defensive stalwart was entering the league; 1993 saw the debut of Texas Southern defensive end
Michael Strahan Michael T. Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television personality, journalist, and former professional football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Giants of the Nation ...
in the team’s lineup. 1993 was also the last season for veteran Giants quarterback
Phil Simms Phillip Martin Simms (born November 3, 1955) is an American former football quarterback who spent his entire 15-year professional career playing for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He is currently a television sport ...
; he was released following the season and after entertaining offers to continue his career, Simms elected to retire in 1994.


Offseason

There was some significant roster turnover from 1992. Among the departures were veteran linebackers
Carl Banks Carl E. Banks (born August 29, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played from 1984 to 1995 for the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Br ...
, who joined the
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, and
Pepper Johnson Thomas "Pepper" Johnson (born July 29, 1964) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League (USFL). He played in the Nat ...
, who joined the
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; defensive end Leonard Marshall, who joined the
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; and Super Bowl XXV MVP
Ottis Anderson Ottis Jerome Anderson (born January 19, 1957) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants. He played college football at Miami, wh ...
, who retired. Another major roster turnover move was at the quarterback position, which had been in flux since the end of the 1990 season. After Simms went down to an injury,
Jeff Hostetler William Jeffrey Hostetler (born April 22, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and Washington Redskins. His nickname is "Hoss." College career ...
took over for him and led the Giants to their second Super Bowl victory. Handley had chosen Hostetler over Simms in 1991 to become the starter, but Simms eventually won the job back after Hostetler himself suffered an injury. Simms again assumed the position in 1992, but once again suffered a severe injury pressing Hostetler back into duty. Injuries also befell Hostetler, who recorded a winning record despite the team’s 6-10 finish. When the season ended and Reeves took over, he chose Simms as his starter and Hostetler was released


NFL Draft


Personnel


Staff


Roster


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 The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
in the playoffs.1993 New York Giants
, databasefootball.com, accessed May 9, 2007.
However, Simms underwent shoulder surgery after the
1993 season File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The White House (Moscow), Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Cze ...
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.PRO FOOTBALL; Simms's Surgery Goes Well
''The New York Times'', March 2, 1994, accessed 2007-01-01.
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 Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I co ...
in
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, 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 The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys (based in Arling ...
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 The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
as the NFC's #4 seed. The Giants lost to the Cowboys 16–13 in overtime, making their road to the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
much harder.


Schedule


Standings


Playoffs


NFC Wild Card Game

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 Super Bowl XXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
.


NFC Divisional Playoff

49ers running back
Ricky Watters Richard James Watters (born April 7, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Watters play ...
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 Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959), nicknamed "L.T.", is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as an outside linebacker for the New York Giants ( 1981–1993) in the National Football League ( ...
and
Phil Simms Phillip Martin Simms (born November 3, 1955) is an American former football quarterback who spent his entire 15-year professional career playing for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He is currently a television sport ...
.


See also

* List of New York Giants seasons


References


New York Giants on Pro Football Reference

Giants on jt-sw.com
{{1993 NFL season by team New York Giants seasons
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
New York Giants season 20th century in East Rutherford, New Jersey Meadowlands Sports Complex