1988 New York Giants season
NFL team season
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The 1988 New York Giants season was the franchise's 64th season in the National Football League (NFL). The team finished 10–6, but due to the Philadelphia Eagles, who also went 10–6, completed a season sweep of New York Giants, a loss to the New York Jets in the season finale kept them out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season due to them also losing the conference tiebreaker to the Los Angeles Rams for the final wild-card berth. The season was marked early by the suspension for substance abuse of star linebacker Lawrence Taylor by the NFL for the first four games of the season. Following the end of the season, the Giants would see two longtime defensive stalwarts; defensive end George Martin and future Hall-of-Fame inside linebacker Harry Carson, announce their retirement.
OwnerWellington Mara
| 1988 New York Giants season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Wellington Mara |
| General manager | George Young |
| Head coach | Bill Parcells |
| Offensive coordinator | Ron Erhardt |
| Defensive coordinator | Bill Belichick |
| Home stadium | Giants Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC East |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | 2 |
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1988 New York Giants draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Eric Moore | G | Indiana | |
| 2 | 36 | John Elliott * | T | Michigan | |
| 3 | 62 | Sheldon White | CB | Miami (OH) | |
| 4 | 92 | Ricky Shaw | LB | Oklahoma State | |
| 5 | 118 | Jon Carter | DE | Pittsburgh | |
| 6 | 145 | David Houle | G | Michigan State | |
| 7 | 175 | Mike Perez | QB | San Jose State | |
| 7 | 186 | Danta Whitaker | TE | Mississippi Valley State | |
| 8 | 202 | Sammy Lilly | CB | Georgia Tech | |
| 10 | 259 | Eric Hickerson | DB | Indiana | |
| 10 | 265 | Steve Wilkes | TE | Appalachian State | |
| 11 | 286 | Greg Harris | WR | Troy State | |
| 12 | 313 | David Futrell | DT | Brigham Young | |
| 12 | 323 | Brendan McCormack | DT | South Carolina | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 7 | at Green Bay Packers | W 34–3 | 1–0 | Lambeau Field |
| 2 | August 14 | New York Jets | W 24–21 | 2–0 | Giants Stadium |
| 3 | August 20 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 28–17 | 3–0 | Giants Stadium |
| 4 | August 27 | at Cleveland Browns | L 13–17 | 3–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 5 | Washington Redskins | W 27–20 | 1–0 | Giants Stadium | Recap | |
| 2 | September 11 | San Francisco 49ers | L 17–20 | 1–1 | Giants Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | September 18 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 12–10 | 2–1 | Texas Stadium | Recap | |
| 4 | September 25 | Los Angeles Rams | L 31–45 | 2–2 | Giants Stadium | Recap | |
| 5 | October 2 | at Washington Redskins | W 24–23 | 3–2 | RFK Stadium | Recap | |
| 6 | October 10 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 13–24 | 3–3 | Veterans Stadium | Recap | |
| 7 | October 16 | Detroit Lions | W 30–10 | 4–3 | Giants Stadium | Recap | |
| 8 | October 23 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 23–16 | 5–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | Recap | |
| 9 | October 30 | at Detroit Lions | W 13–10 (OT) | 6–3 | Pontiac Silverdome | Recap | |
| 10 | November 6 | Dallas Cowboys | W 29–21 | 7–3 | Giants Stadium | Recap | |
| 11 | November 13 | at Phoenix Cardinals | L 17–24 | 7–4 | Sun Devil Stadium | Recap | |
| 12 | November 20 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–23 (OT) | 7–5 | Giants Stadium | Recap | |
| 13 | November 27 | at New Orleans Saints | W 13–12 | 8–5 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap | |
| 14 | December 4 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 44–7 | 9–5 | Giants Stadium | Recap | |
| 15 | December 11 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 28–12 | 10–5 | Giants Stadium | Recap | |
| 16 | December 18 | at New York Jets | L 21–27 | 10–6 | Giants Stadium | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
Week 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| • Giants | 0 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 27 |
- Date: September 5
- Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Game start: 8:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C), wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn)
- Referee: Dick Jorgensen
- TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf
| 1 | WSH | Chip Lohmiller 26 yard field goal | Redskins 3–0 | |
| 1 | WSH | Chip Lohmiller 25 yard field goal | Redskins 6–0 | |
| 2 | WSH | Ricky Sanders 29 yard pass from Doug Williams (Chip Lohmiller kick) | Redskins 13–0 | |
| 2 | NYG | Raúl Allegre 23 yard field goal | Redskins 13–3 | |
| 3 | NYG | Joe Morris 9 yard run (Raúl Allegre kick) | Redskins 13–10 | |
| 3 | NYG | Raúl Allegre 32 yard field goal | Tie 13–13 | |
| 4 | NYG | Tom Flynn 27 yard blocked punt return (Raúl Allegre kick) | Giants 20–13 | |
| 4 | NYG | Jim Burt 39 yard fumble return (Raúl Allegre kick) | Giants 27–13 | |
| 4 | WSH | Kelvin Bryant 19 yard pass from Doug Williams (Chip Lohmiller kick) | Giants 27–20 | |
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Giants | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| Cowboys | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
- Date: September 18
- Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Game start: 4:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C); Wind 16 mph (26 km/h)
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
Week 9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Giants | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Lions | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
- Date: October 30
- Location: Pontiac Silverdome
- Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 38,354
- Game weather: Indoors (dome)
- Referee: Jerry Seeman
- TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Dan Jiggetts
| Q2 | DET | Chadwick 15 yard pass from Hilger (Murray kick) | DET 7–0 | |
| Q2 | NYG | McFadden 42 yard field goal | DET 7–3 | |
| Q3 | NYG | Morris 1 yard run (McFadden kick) | NYG 10–7 | |
| Q4 | DET | Murray 37 yard field goal | Tie 10–10 | |
| OT | NYG | McFadden 33 yard field goal | NYG 13–10 | |
Week 13
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Giants | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Saints | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
- Date: November 27
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Game start: 7:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 66,526
- Game weather: Indoors (dome)
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann
| Q1 | NO | Morten Andersen 27 yard field goal | NO 3–0 | |
| Q2 | NO | Morten Andersen 41 yard field goal | NO 6–0 | |
| Q2 | NYG | Stephen Baker 85 yard pass from Jeff Hostetler (Paul McFadden kick) | NYG 7–6 | |
| Q2 | NO | Morten Andersen 26 yard field goal | NO 9–7 | |
| Q4 | NYG | Paul McFadden 46 yard field goal | NYG 10–9 | |
| Q4 | NO | Morten Andersen 45 yard field goal | NO 12–10 | |
| Q4 | NYG | Paul McFadden 35 yard field goal | NYG 13–12 | |
Standings
| NFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Philadelphia Eagles(3) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 379 | 319 | W2 |
| New York Giants | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 9–5 | 359 | 304 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 345 | 387 | L2 |
| Phoenix Cardinals | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–5 | 6–6 | 344 | 398 | L5 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 265 | 381 | L1 |