HISTORY -- Vs. Dallas Cowboys Part TWO

[Giant Obsession]

With the introduction of the George Young administration  in 1979 Dallas and New York started to wear the look of a rivalry, mainly because of smart drafting which included Young's first draft choice Phil Simms (7th pick of the draft) and 2 years later grabbing Lawrence Taylor with the 2nd pick in the draft.

1979 -- The season started typically enough as the Giants dropped their first 5 games as Phil Simms was kept on the bench garnering exposure to the pro game.  But at 0-5, coach Ray Perkins decided the time had come for his raw rookie from 1-AA Morehead State to earn his chops.  The Giants immediately ripped off 4 wins in a row and a buzz emanated from the faithful that had been a long time coming.  With a chance to even their record and possibly project themselves into the playoff race, the Giants faced Dallas in early November at Giants Stadium.  When Billy Taylor took a pass from Simms from 23 yards out in the 4th quarter the Giants lead 14-6 and hopes were running high. 
But Roger Staubach lead 2 long drives which resulted in a TD and then a late FG and the Giants flirtation with a fairy tale came crashing.  They would finish the season at 6-10.

1981 -- Sitting with a record of 6-7 and their starting quarterback disabled with a broken collarbone, it appeared the Giants and their faithful would have to be satisfied with a season that showed slow steady improvement on offense and the emergence of a rookie LB, Lawrence Taylor and his defensive cohorts who would rank 3rd in defense by season's end.  But wins in Weeks 14 and 15 left them in line for a playoff berth as Dallas came in having already clinched the division.  A victory over Dallas on Saturday and a Green Bay loss to the cross-town Jets on Sunday would fulfill that hope.

It was a windy, chilly Saturday matinee at Giants Stadium that provided the venue for the Giants FIRST hopeful playoff qualification since 1963.  It was a fiercely fought contest...scoreless at the half because usually reliable Giants placekicker Joe Danelo had missed 2 short FG attempts.  But early in the 3rd quarter backup, now starting QB Scott Brunner hit TE Tom Mullady with a 20 yard TD pass and the 7-0 lead held for the rest of the quarter.  Then Dallas pulled their typical late game 4th quarter magic and with 2 minutes left the Giants trailed 10-7 and were left with trying to attain FG range with a drive into a 20 m.p.h. wind.
Brunner nibbled his way down the field setting Danelo up for a 40 yard attempt as the final seconds ticked own.  This time Danelo nailed it and overtime awaited.
The Giants needed to win, a tie would eliminate them and they dominated the overtime with a stifling defense.  Their first drive after a Dallas punt resulted in another missed FG by Danelo, his 3rd of the day.  The defense promptly got the ball back on an interception by Byron Hunt.  Two first downs later and Danelo planted his kick between the uprights and the Giants were halfway home to a playoff appearance with a 13-10 victory.  The next day the Jets throttled the Packers and 18 years of frustration and despair were vindicated.
Go to the 3 minute mark for highlights of both games........
New York Jets - New York Giants 1981

1985 -- Firmly entrenched as a contender in Bill Parcells' 3rd year the Giants came into Texas Stadium in Week 15 with a chance to claim their first Division Championship since 1963.  They were tied with The Cowboys at 9-5 and the winner would claim the division title.  In a game the Giants would dominate offensively turnovers would prove their undoing.  First Downs 25-13 Giants....Yards 396-273 Giants....4 sacks and an interception of 3 Dallas quarterbacks.  Yet with Jim Jeffcoat's 65 yard interception return tying the game in the 2nd quarter, the Giants were unable to ever regain the lead and would fall 28-21.  Again, their path to the playoffs was as a wildcard.

1993 -- The rivalry hit a benign stretch mostly due to the demise of the Cowboys. By this season Jimmy Johnson had replaced Tom Landry as head coach for Dallas and Dan Reeves had surfaced as the Giants new coach and was in his inaugural season.  When the two teams met in Week 16, the divisional title was on the line, the loser would go the wildcard route.  The Giants relied on an efficient offense and the last vestiges of a defense born in the early '80's. This was to be Lawrence Taylor's last regular season game.
Dallas bolted to a 13-0 lead but a Jarrod Bunch TD plunge and 2 David Treadwell FG's lead this game to overtime tied at 13.  Dallas Eddie Murray connected from 41 yards out midway through OT and the Giants wildcard fate was sealed.

2000 -- In a surprising year which would propel them to the Super Bowl, the Giants first big step was clinching their division.  To accomplish this they would have to defeat a pesky Dallas team at Texas Stadium.  Fired up to be a spoiler this time, the Cowboys throttled the Giants in the first half and lead 13-0.  Then in a tale of 2 games within a game, Kerry Collins hit Amani Toomer from 33 yards out and Tiki Barber added a 13 yard TD run in the 4th quarter to finally give the Giants a lead they would not relinquish en route to a 17-13 victory.  But this game belonged to the defense, which held the Cowboys to 145 total yards and garnered 5 sacks, an interception and recovered 2 fumbles.  Additionally they held HOF running back Emmitt Smith to 46 yards on 24 carries.  It was to be the last road game of the season until they travelled to Tampa for Super Bowl 35.

[Webster29]

That 81 Danelo OT game brought tears to my eyes.   I got quite emotional after that one.    It was a long time coming.

[BlueMoshik]

That 1979 season! It was much more of a roller coaster ride than the 6-10 record indicates. The Giants indeed lost their first five games as Simms sat on the bench while "Patterson Plank" Joe played himself out of the starting lineup. Perkins actually brought Simms in for the first time in that fifth game, versus the Saints, with the score 17-14 in favor of New Orleans. The Giants lost that one 24-14.

In game six, the 0-5 Giants faced the 5-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers who had a tremendous defense featuring future HOFer Lee Roy Selmon and the running of Ricky Bell. Simms showed real fight and grit in leading the Giants, against all expectations, to their first win of the season. The Giants then won three straight to get to 4-5 and that crucial matchup with the Cowboys at Giants Stadium, which GO vividly describes. That 16-14 loss was a real heartbreaker.

Still, it's worth mentioning that second Dallas game of the 1979 season. The Giants went into the Cowboys home with a 6-7 record, with momentum and a real shot at the playoffs if they won their last three. But the Giants laid an egg and lost 28-7; that loss eliminated the team's playoff hopes, took the wind out of their sails, and they ended the season with two flat losses to mediocre teams (the Cards and the Colts).

It might also be worth mentioning the awful injury-riddled 4-12 1980 season. The formerly competent Giants D had a pretty awful season (only Brad Van Pelt and Harry Carson played well). But one of the team's four wins came against mighty Dallas, 38-35!

[Giant Obsession]

That 1979 season! It was much more of a roller coaster ride than the 6-10 record indicates. The Giants indeed lost their first five games as Simms sat on the bench while "Patterson Plank" Joe played himself out of the starting lineup. Perkins actually brought Simms in for the first time in that fifth game, versus the Saints, with the score 17-14 in favor of New Orleans. The Giants lost that one 24-14.

In game six, the 0-5 Giants faced the 5-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers who had a tremendous defense featuring future HOFer Lee Roy Selmon and the running of Ricky Bell. Simms showed real fight and grit in leading the Giants, against all expectations, to their first win of the season. The Giants then won three straight to get to 4-5 and that crucial matchup with the Cowboys at Giants Stadium, which GO vividly describes. That 16-14 loss was a real heartbreaker.

Still, it's worth mentioning that second Dallas game of the 1979 season. The Giants went into the Cowboys home with a 6-7 record, with momentum and a real shot at the playoffs if they won their last three. But the Giants laid an egg and lost 28-7; that loss eliminated the team's playoff hopes, took the wind out of their sails, and they ended the season with two flat losses to mediocre teams (the Cards and the Colts).

It might also be worth mentioning the awful injury-riddled 4-12 1980 season. The formerly competent Giants D had a pretty awful season (only Brad Van Pelt and Harry Carson played well). But one of the team's four wins came against mighty Dallas, 38-35!

Oh yes, the Mike Friede game.  Another promising young receiver we stumbled upon when Detroit released him.  Blew out his knee and was never the same.  I could add Odessa Turner to that list.  I thought he was a close reincarnation of Homer Jones.