25 greatest Giants games

[schloss22]

I put this on the BBWC board earlier.

Along the lines of the ESPN Classic “20 Greatest” shows, I thought I’d share with you all my new list of my 25 favorite Giants games, dating back to the early ‘60s.  This year has obviously added quite a few to the list.

1-February, 2008 –Giants 17  Patriots 14   The new #1.

2 - January, 1991 – Giants 15  49ers 13   

3 - January, 2008 – Giants 23  Packers 20   I put this slightly above the other Super Bowls because of the tension, the overtime, and the classic weather conditions.

4 - January, 1987  Giants 39  Broncos 20   After so many years of waiting, what a feeling!

5 - January, 1991  Giants 20  Bills 19   There’s actually very little separating #’s 1-5.

6 - January, 1987  Giants 17  Redskins 0   Euphoria in Giants Stadium as the clock ran down.

7- January, 2008  Giants 21  Cowboys 17

8 – December, 1981  Giants 13  Cowboys 10   In a lot of ways reminiscent of the NFC championship game this year—bitter cold, winning field goal in OT by Joe Danelo after he had previously missed 2 gamewinners---win gets Giants into the playoffs for first time since 1963 .

9 – January, 2001  Giants 41  Vikings 0   Almost too easy, but great nonetheless.

10 – January, 1987  Giants 49  49ers 3   Complete rout of a very good team.

11 – November, 1970  Giants 35  Redskins 33   Down 33-14, after 3 quarters, Giants stage a remarkable comeback.

12- November 1970   Giants 23  Cowboys 20   The week prior to #11, Giants win on last minute Tarkenton-Ron Johnson pass. 1970 was a fun season.

13- December, 1986   Giants 24  Redskins 14   Gaints win NFC east showdown at RFK stadium.

14 – December, 1963   Giants 33  Steelers 17   Giants need win or tie in season finale to win Eastern Division.

15-  October, 2005   Giants 24  Broncos 23   A sign of things to come for Eli and the Giants.

16- December, 1998   Giants 16  Broncos 13   The previous time the Giants ended a perfect season.

17- October, 1975   Giants 17  Bills 14   Weak Giants team upsets the undefeated Bills and O.J. on Monday night.

18- October, 1984   Giants 37  Redskins 13   The first game where I thought that group of Giants might be really special.

19- November, 1968   Giants 27  Cowboys 21   Upset win on national television at the Cotton Bowl.

20- September, 2006   Giants 30  Eagles 24   

21- December, 1981   Giants 27  Eagles 21   Wild card win in Philly.

22- September, 1969   Giants 24  Vikings 23   2 late touchdowns beat eventual NFL champs.

23- January, 2001   Giants 20  Eagles 10   

24- October, 1967   Giants 27  Steelers 24   Flea flicker (Tarkenton-Ernie Koy-Homer Jones-Tarkenton-Joe Morrison) wins game in the last 2 minutes.

25- October, 1965   Giants 14  Cardinals 10   Two 4th quarter touchdowns, the last by Tucker Frederickson very late in the game.

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[MightyGiants]

I would swap the Packers and the Cowboy play off games.  I think the Cowboy win was extra special, because no one gave the team a chance.

[Wolverine1975]

I would add to the list the 38-35 Giants victory over the Cowboys in November, 1980.  For me, this was sweet revenge from the heartbreaking loss they faced against them the previous year.

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[kartanoman]

Excellent list and I can't say I disagree with any of your selections as each are worthy of "top 25" status. I also agree with Wolverine that the barn-burning spectacular against the Cowboys in the rain back in 1980 needs to be considered as top 25 material given that it broke a 12-game losing streak to the Cowboys and had all the highs and lows that made your head spin.

No discussion of the "top 25" all-time Giants games should be complete without including the championship games of 1934 (i.e. Sneakers game vs Chicago), 1938 vs Green Bay and 1956 against Chicago. Each of those are considered highlights in the all-time history of the organization and deserve inclusion.

In reverse chronological order, here are some others that I believe are either worthy of top-25 or honorable mention at the very least:

- Dec 17, 2005: KC 17 @ NYG 27: a heroic effort by an injury-riddled Giants team over an AFC contender that was highlighted by a legendary performance from Tiki Barber and an inspiring debut of LB Chase Blackburn who had over a dozen tackles in his first start.

- Oct 30, 2005: WAS 0 @ NYG 36: on the day they honored their patriarch, the Giants came out inspired and, led by Tiki Barber, put a serious a$$-whoopin' on the rival Redskins that would have made Wellington smile

Dec 12, 1999: NYG 19 @ BUF 17: the Giants drown "Flutie Flakes" and the Bills with a last-second drive that ended when reserve kicker Cary Blanchard kicked a game-winning 48-yarder

Dec 13, 1997: WAS 10 @ NYG 30: for a team that had recently sunk to the depths of the NFL, the Giants capped off a division title with an inspired effort over Washington, and former Giant QB Jeff Hostetler, by storming home to the title

Jan 02, 1994: DAL 16 @ NYG 13 (OT): even though this was a painful loss, it had everything you could ask for between heavyweight contenders with the prize (i.e. division title w/ home-field advantage throughout the playoffs) at stake. The Giants layed it all out on the line, erased a 13-0 deficit and clawed back to send the game into overtime, against what was the greatest team of the 1990s, before falling at the end

Dec 10, 1989: NYG 14 @ DEN 7: a courageous effort in the snow at Mile High where the Giants, coming off two bitter defeats at the hands of the 49ers and Eagles, played with desparation throughout. It was the game of LB Gary Reasons' career and highlighted by a Meggett screen pass he bobbled, secured and took to the house, the famous 4th and 1 goal-line stand where Reasons popped Humphreys so hard he knocked his mouthpiece out and holding on for dear life at the end when they held off Elway long enough for the clock to run out for the big victory

Sep 11, 1989: NYG 27 @ WAS 24: one of the legendary Parcells-Gibbs matchups, this season opener saw the Giants jump out to a big early lead, only to have the Skins storm back and lead by a TD, to Simms marching them back down the field for the tying TD and capped by a Raul Allegre 52-yard FG as time expired for the big win

Nov 27, 1988: NYG 13 @ NO 12: simply put, the game that launched LT to the top of the Mt. Everest of the greatest ever. In a game missing Phil Simms, and the Saints threatening to run away with the game, LT single-handedly stopped the Saints and gave the Giants' offense opportunities to win it ... which they did when Paul McFadden drilled the winning FG in the final seconds

Dec 01, 1986: NYG 21 @ SF 17: nothing can be finer than to beat the 49ers! A 17-0 halftime lead evaporated when an angry and determined Giants team flexed their muscle on national TV, and in front of the arrogant 49ers fans, to completely dominate the second half and wow Giants fans with a display that had rarely been seen before.

Nov 25, 1984: KC 27 @ NYG 28: despite three quarters of frustration, the final quarter set the stage for what was Phil Simms' first great comeback performance in his career as he led two scoring drives in the final eight minutes to pull out a big one.

Sep 09, 1984: DAL 7 @ NYG 28: this was the first time I had ever seen the Giants kick the living $h!t out of the Cowboys and it gave me (as well as all the fans at the stadium that day) great pleasure ... 'nuff said!

Jan 02, 1983: NYG 26 @ PHI 24: the Giants send off Ray Perkins to Alabama with a spirited effort that culminated with a Joe Danelo chip shot winner at the gun.

Oct 25, 1981: NYG 27 @ ATL 24 (OT): the Giants defeated the team picked in the pre-season be be in the Super Bowl. The Giants shut down the #1 offense in the league and managed to kick the winner in OT

Oct 28, 1979: NYG 20 @ LAR 14: the Giants defeated the eventual NFC Champs in Los Angeles (first time since 1959) with a courageous effort from Phil Simms, who was knocked out of the game but came back to lead a number of big scoring drives and completely frustrate the more physical Rams in one of the most memorable games of that era.

Nov 14, 1976: WAS 9 @ NYG 12: the first Giants win ever against George Allen ... which ended the ordeal of Giants players not shaving until they defeated George Allen and the Skins; it was also the first ever win in Giant Stadium for Big Blue

Nov 26, 1972: PHI 10 @ NYG 62: the Giants clicked on all cylinders to score the most ever points in their history

Peace!

Nov 08, 1970: DAL 20 @ NYG 23: the hated Cowboys go down in the final minutes with a Tarkenton laser beam to Ron Johnson for the winning points.

 

[schloss22]

October 29, 1967 - Giants 38  Browns 34 

Thrilling win over the first place Browns (remember the Century Division?) was another good memory which just missed making the list.

[bighitterdalama]

A great compilation by all. But one game is missing in order to make the set complete:

November 16, 1986. The Giants face the Vikings in the Hubie Dome. Bud Grant's final season with the Vikings. A brutal "take no prisoners" football game by any and all standards. With 1:12 to go the game, the Giants, down 20-19, face a fourth and 17 from midfield. Under a ferocious Viking pass rush, Phil Simms completes a 22 yard deep out pass to Giant WR Bobby Johnson. First down Giants. Five plays later, Raul Allegre hits the game winning field goal.

Final: Giants 22, Vikings 20.

Big Hitter

[Sam56]

Did I miss something significant or have we won so many NFL Titles that  we can just dismiss them all in a list of 10 or 20 or 25 franchise greatest games?

In the 1956 National Football League Championship Game played at Yankee Stadium in New York City on 30 December 1956, the New York Giants defeated the Chicago Bears 47-7.

The game was played on an icy field. To adjust to the conditions, the Giants opted to wear sneakers instead of traditional football cleats (called Sneaker's Game Two by many). The advantage the sneakers provided in footing was cited as a major factor in New York's romp.

This Giant' teams featured a number of Hall of Fame players, including running back Frank Gifford, offensive tackle Roosevelt Brown, defensive back Emlen Tunnell, linebacker Sam Huff, and defensive end Andy Robustelli. Two Giant assistants of head coach Jim Lee Howell, Offensive Coordinator Vince Lombardi and Defensive Coordinator Tom Landry, later became NFL Hall of Fame head coaches with other teams.

The 1956 season marked the Giants first at Yankee Stadium and the team earned its way to the championship game by winning the NFL Eastern Division title with a regular season record of 8-3-1. The 1956 NFL Championship was the third in the history of the New York Giants franchise.

After this NFL Title, we went THIRTY SEASONS without another one. How can this game/team be dissed by not even being in our top 25 in franchise history.

Apparently now that we have won three more title games, this team loaded with Hall of Famers can't even make a list of the Giants Top 25 games in franchise history. That's pathetic Giant fans. 

[schloss22]

No disrespect intended to the '56 Giants, who obviously were a great team with a great Championship Game victory.

My list was a personal one of my favorite games.  I was only 2 in 1956.

[Sam56]

No problem schloss. I did not see a start date on the Top 25.

Just the "25 greatest Giants games" and I figured any team that wins us a NFL Title AND includes FIVE on-field Giant HOFers PLUS Lombardi AND Landry coaching us should rate in someone's Top Games.

Now you know about this fine Giant team that's in your history. BTW, you grew up in a real rough period in becoming a Giant fan. Congrats for sticking out the horrendous late Sixties, all the Seventies and the early Eighties. Now you have three more Titles to enjoy.  

[kartanoman]

Geez, Sam ... read my second paragraph a little more closely ... you haven't missed a thing ... apart from where I wrote:

"No discussion of the "top 25" all-time Giants games should be complete without including the championship games of 1934 (i.e. Sneakers game vs Chicago), 1938 vs Green Bay and 1956 against Chicago. Each of those are considered highlights in the all-time history of the organization and deserve inclusion."

I may have been born in 1969, and missed those HOFers in action, but even I know better than to not include them in the all-time list.

Charlie, Sam, Frank and Kyle and the Gang get their due props!

Peace, my friend!

[Sam56]

Chris, it must have been my 65 year old eyes and that bottle of Sam Adams I had at lunch. 

[Gunga Din]

I know it's a loss, but I think you got to list the '58 Championship game against the Colts.
It's one of the greatest games ever.

[NYSPORTS]

I would add to the list the 38-35 Giants victory over the Cowboys in November, 1980.  For me, this was sweet revenge from the heartbreaking loss they faced against them the previous year.

That was such a back and forth game.  Certainly a classic. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198011090nyg.htm

  DAL NYG
NYG Earnest Gray 25 yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick) 0 7
DAL Tony Dorsett 1 yard rush (Rafael Septien kick) 7 7
NYG Larry Heater 1 yard rush (Joe Danelo kick) 7 14
DAL Robert Newhouse 1 yard rush (Rafael Septien kick) 14 14
NYG George Martin 4 yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick) 14 21
NYG Leon Perry 1 yard rush (Joe Danelo kick) 14 28
DAL Ron Springs 58 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) 21 28
DAL Robert Newhouse 29 yard rush (Rafael Septien kick) 28 28
DAL Tony Dorsett 13 yard rush (Rafael Septien kick) 35 28
NYG Tom Mullady 20 yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick) 35 35
NYG Joe Danelo 27 yard field goal 35 38

[Sam56]

"I know it's a loss, but I think you got to list the '58 Championship game against the Colts. It's one of the greatest games ever."

No offense meant Gunga, but to me, who lived through this game, I personally consider it one of the two worst New York championship games of my lifetime. I was just 14 then (and I am 66 now) and I still get sick to my stomach thinking about the so-called "Greatest NFL Game Ever". I remember telling this to our late, great Chris Allen when he talked that game up. It was hateful and I will NEVER put it on any "greatest Giant games" list. Man, a loss is a loss, especially in a game we should have won.

If your wondering what the other "worst championship game" was, it was Game 7 of the 1960 World Series between the Pirates and the Yanks. Yeah, the Maz homerun game. Damn there goes my stomach all over again! 

[spiderblue43]

kart,

December 9th, 1934..

The Sneakers Game, of course! Remember the Bears were undefeated (13-0) and had allowed 16 points all season until losing to the Jints 30-13. So the Giants have done it twice-stopping an undefeated team in a championship. Unprecedented!