The 1996 New York Giants season was the franchise's 72nd season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and their fourth and final 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 an ...

. The team was looking to improve on its 5-11 finish from the year before. In the

1996 NFL Draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...

, the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

selected defensive end Cedric Jones with the fifth overall pick. The Giants' first game of the

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 pol ...

was at home against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, and resulted in a 23–20 loss in overtime. After being shut out by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, New York fell to 0–3 with a 31–10 defeat to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. Against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, the Giants earned their first victory of the season; a 15–10 win 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 expansion ...

left them with a 2–3 record heading into their bye week. The team then lost four of its next six games. After defeating the Cowboys, the Giants' record entering December stood at 5–7. They ended the season by losing three of their last four games. With a 6–10 record, the Giants finished in last place in the

National Football Conference East Division 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 Arlingto ...

. After the season, the Giants fired Reeves and hired

Jim Fassel James Edward Fassel (August 31, 1949 – June 7, 2021) was an American college and professional football player and coach. He was the head coach of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1997 to 2003. He was offensive coor ...

as his replacement. Quarterback Dave Brown started all 16 games for the Giants in 1996, throwing for 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. New York's leading running back was

Rodney Hampton Rodney Craig Hampton (born April 3, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Giants in the first round of the 1990 NFL D ...

, who had 254 carries for 827 yards. Wide receivers

Chris Calloway Christopher Fitzpatrick Calloway (born March 29, 1968) is a former American football player. Calloway played professional football as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, including seven seasons for the New Yor ...

and Thomas Lewis led the Giants with four touchdowns and 53 receptions each; Calloway had a team-high 739 receiving yards. Defensively,

Chad Bratzke Chad Alan Bratzke (born September 15, 1971) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). College career Bratzke played college football at Eastern Kentucky University. As a freshman, he totaled 47 solo tac ...

and

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 ...

had the most sacks among Giants players with five apiece, while

Jason Sehorn Jason Heath Sehorn (born April 15, 1971) is a former American football cornerback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants from 1994 to 2002 and St. Louis Rams in 2003. He played college football ...

had five interceptions to lead the team.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Game summaries

Week 4: at New York Jets

Both New York teams were winless as they entered the game at Giants Stadium. The Jets got on the board first with

Nick Lowery Dominic Gerald Lowery (born May 27, 1956) is a former American football placekicker. In his career he played for the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and New York Jets. He played in college at Dartmouth College. Lowery was selected to th ...

kicking a 46-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the Giants responded with

catching a touchdown pass from Dave Brown. In the third quarter, the Jets cut the Giants' lead to one point thanks to a 39-yard field goal, once again coming from Lowery. The Giants increased the lead in the fourth quarter thanks to two 20-yard field goals from

Brad Daluiso Bradley William Daluiso (born December 31, 1967) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League. He played twelve seasons, the majority of them with the New York Giants. In addition, he played for the Atlanta Falcons, ...

, helping the Giants secure their first win of the season.

References

{{1996 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 division. ...

New York Giants season 20th century in East Rutherford, New Jersey Meadowlands Sports Complex