1987 New York Giants season

The 1987 New York Giants season was the franchise's 63rd season in the National Football League and their fifth under head coach Bill Parcells. The Giants entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champion but failed to qualify for the playoffs. They were the sixth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs.[1] The Giants started the season 0–5, becoming the first defending Super Bowl champion to lose their first 5 games. Ultimately, the Giants never recovered from their 0–5 start and failed to improve on their 14–2 record from 1986 and finished at 6–9. They were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 1983. They also placed last in their division for the first time since that same season.

1987 New York Giants season
Owner	Wellington Mara
Head coach	Bill Parcells
General manager	George Young
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	6–9
Division place	5th NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	LB Lawrence Taylor

Offseason

NFL draft

1987 New York Giants draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	28	Mark Ingram	WR	Michigan State
2	55	Adrian White	DB	Florida
3	83	Stephen Baker	WR	Fresno State
4	112	Odessa Turner	WR	Northwest State
4	Supp.	Rod Randle	DB	Army
5	140	Paul O'Connor	G	Miami (FL)
6	160	Tim Richardson	RB	Pacific
6	168	Doug Riesenberg	OT	California
8	223	Rod Jones	TE	Washington
9	225	Stan Parker	G	Nebraska
9	251	Dana Wright	RB	Findlay
10	279	Chuck Faucette	LB	Maryland
11	307	Dave Walter	QB	Michigan Tech
12	321	Bill Berthusen	DT	Iowa State
12	329	Chad Stark	RB	North Dakota State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1987 New York Giants staff

	Front office President – Wellington Mara General Manager – George Young Director of Pro Personnel – Tim Rooney Head coaches Head Coach – Bill Parcells Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Ron Erhardt Offensive Backfield – Ray Handley Receivers – Pat Hodgson Tight Ends – Mike Pope Offensive Line – Fred Hoaglin			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bill Belichick Defensive Line – Lamar Leachman Defensive Backfield – Len Fontes Defensive Assistant – Mike Sweatman Special teams coaches Special Teams – Romeo Crennel Assistant Special Teams – Mike Sweatman Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Johnny Parker

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

Roster of the 1987 Replacement Giants
Quarterbacks  8 Mike Busch  9 Jim Crocicchia 15 Paul Kelly Running Backs 26 Earl Beecham 29 Jaime Covington 36 Robert DiRico 41 Kaulana Park Wide Receivers 10 Beau Almodobar 87 Lewis Bennett 19 Mack Cummings 88 Edwin Lovelady 18 Reggie McGowan Tight Ends 83 Charles Coleman 85 Jeff Smith		Offensive Linemen 64 Mike Black 72 Kelvin Davis 68 Bill Dugan 61 Dan Morgan 59 Gregg Swartwoudt 73 Scott Urch Defensive Linemen 77 Dennis Borcky 99 Reggie Carr 94 Curtis Garrett 71 Anthony Howard 93 Brian Sisley 98 Bini Scott		Linebackers 91 Charlie Burgess 95 Chris Davis 59 Dan DeRose 65 Jerry Kimmel 96 Frank Nicholson 97 Warren Thompson 92 Jeff Tootle Defensive Backs 21 Boris Byrd 49 Jimmy Norris 28 Rob Porter 31 Steve Rehage 38 Doug Smith 45 Jim Yarbrough Special Teams  3 George Benyola K  6 Dana Moore P

Roster

1987 New York Giants roster

	Quarterbacks 15 Jeff Hostetler 17 Jeff Rutledge 11 Phil Simms Running backs 33 George Adams 24 Ottis Anderson 44 Maurice Carthon 30 Tony Galbreath 20 Joe Morris 22 Lee Rouson Wide receivers 85 Stephen Baker 82 Mark Ingram Sr. 86 Lionel Manuel 80 Phil McConkey Tight ends 89 Mark Bavaro 84 Zeke Mowatt		Offensive linemen 67 Billy Ard G 60 Brad Benson T 61 Chris Godfrey G 68 Damian Johnson G 59 Brian Johnston C 62 Dan Morgan G 65 Bart Oates C 72 Doug Riesenberg T 66 William Roberts T Defensive linemen 64 Jim Burt NT 77 Eric Dorsey DE 74 Erik Howard NT 70 Leonard Marshall DE 75 George Martin DE 73 John Washington DE		Linebackers 58 Carl Banks OLB 53 Harry Carson ILB 54 Andy Headen OLB 57 Byron Hunt OLB 52 Pepper Johnson ILB 51 Robbie Jones ILB 55 Gary Reasons ILB 56 Lawrence Taylor OLB Defensive backs 25 Mark Collins CB 28 Tom Flynn FS 48 Kenny Hill SS 43 Terry Kinard FS 46 Greg Lasker SS 34 Elvis Patterson CB 27 Herb Welch FS 36 Adrian White 23 Perry Williams CB Special teams  2 Raul Allegre K  5 Sean Landeta P		Reserve lists 63 Karl Nelson T (IR) 81 Stacy Robinson WR (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 14	at Chicago Bears	L 19–34	0–1	Soldier Field	65,704	Recap
2	September 20	Dallas Cowboys	L 14–16	0–2	Giants Stadium	73,426	Recap
3	N/A	Miami Dolphins	Cancelled due to the 1987 NFL strike
4	October 5	San Francisco 49ers	L 21–41	0–3	Giants Stadium	16,471	Recap
5	October 11	Washington Redskins	L 12– 38	0–4	Giants Stadium	9,123	Recap
6	October 18	at Buffalo Bills	L 3–6 (OT)	0–5	Rich Stadium	15,737	Recap
7	October 25	St. Louis Cardinals	W 30–7	1–5	Giants Stadium	74,391	Recap
8	November 2	at Dallas Cowboys	L 24–33	1–6	Texas Stadium	55,730	Recap
9	November 8	New England Patriots	W 17–10	2–6	Giants Stadium	73,817	Recap
10	November 15	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–17	3–6	Veterans Stadium	66,172	Recap
11	November 22	at New Orleans Saints	L 14–23	3–7	Louisiana Superdome	67,639	Recap
12	November 29	at Washington Redskins	L 19–23	3–8	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	45,815	Recap
13	December 6	Philadelphia Eagles	W 23–20 (OT)	4–8	Giants Stadium	65,874	Recap
14	December 13	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 24–27	4–9	Busch Stadium	29,623	Recap
15	December 19	Green Bay Packers	W 20–10	5–9	Giants Stadium	51,013	Recap
16	December 27	New York Jets	W 20–7	6–9	Giants Stadium	68,318	Recap

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 7 0 6 6 19 • Bears 3 7 14 10 34 Date: September 14 Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois Game start: 8:00 p.m. Game weather: 62 °F (16.7 °C), wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn) Referee: Jim Tunney Television network: ABC

[3]

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 3 7 3 3 16 Giants 7 0 7 0 14 Date: September 20 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 60 °F (15.6 °C), wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)

[4]

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total • 49ers 3 14 10 14 41 Giants 0 7 0 14 21 Date: October 5 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 9:00 p.m. Game weather: 56 °F (13.3 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn) Television network: ABC

[5]

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total • Redskins 3 21 7 7 38 Giants 3 0 9 0 12 Date: October 11 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 52 °F (11.1 °C), wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)

[6]

Week 5

1 2 3 4 OT Total Giants 0 0 3 0 0 3 • Bills 0 0 0 3 3 6 Date: October 18 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 53 °F (11.7 °C), wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)

[7]

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 0 0 0 7 7 • Giants 14 3 3 10 30 Date: October 25 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 56 °F (13.3 °C), wind 19 miles per hour (31 km/h; 17 kn)

[8]

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 10 7 7 24 • Cowboys 7 7 0 19 33 Date: November 2 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 8:00 p.m. Game weather: 69 °F (20.6 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn) Television network: ABC

[9]

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 0 0 7 3 10 • Giants 0 14 3 0 17 Date: November 8 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 8:00 p.m. Game weather: 55 °F (12.8 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)

[10]

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total • Giants 7 3 7 3 20 Eagles 10 0 7 0 17 Date: November 15 Location: Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)

Scoring summary 1 PHI Randall Cunningham 4 yard run (Paul McFadden kick) Eagles 7–0 1 PHI Paul McFadden 25 yard field goal Eagles 10–0 1 NYG Lionel Manuel 36 yard pass from Jeff Rutledge (Raul Allegre kick) Eagles 10–7 2 NYG Raul Allegre 53 yard field goal Tie 10–10 3 PHI Keith Byars 8 yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Paul McFadden kick) Eagles 17–10 3 NYG George Adams 1 yard run (Raul Allegre kick) Tie 17–17 4 NYG Raul Allegre 52 yard field goal Giants 20–17

[11]

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 7 7 0 14 • Saints 3 10 0 10 23 Date: November 22 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana Game start: 3:00 p.m. Game weather: indoors (dome)

[12]

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 10 6 3 0 19 • Redskins 0 0 9 14 23 Date: November 29 Location: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 52 °F (11.1 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)

[13]

Week 12

1 2 3 4 OT Total Eagles 0 6 0 14 0 20 • Giants 7 0 6 7 3 23 Date: December 6 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 38 °F (3.3 °C), wind 22 miles per hour (35 km/h; 19 kn)

[14]

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 7 3 7 7 24 • Cardinals 14 13 0 0 27 Date: December 13 Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri Game start: 3:00 p.m. Game weather: 34 °F (1.1 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn) TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton & Terry Bradshaw

[15]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 0 3 7 10 • Giants 0 13 7 0 20 Date: December 19 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 12:30 p.m. Game weather: 37 °F (2.8 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)

[16]

Week 15

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 7 0 0 0 7 • Giants 0 17 3 0 20 Date: December 27 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 35 °F (1.7 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)

[17]

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Washington Redskins^(3)	11	4	0	.733	7–1	9–3	379	285	W1
Dallas Cowboys	7	8	0	.467	4–4	5–7	340	348	W2
St. Louis Cardinals	7	8	0	.467	3–5	7–7	362	368	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	7	8	0	.467	3–5	4–7	337	380	W2
New York Giants	6	9	0	.400	3–5	4–8	280	312	W2

Awards and honors

• Lawrence Taylor, NFC Pro Bowl selection[18]
• Lawrence Taylor, Pro Football Weekly: 1st team all-conf.[18]
• Lawrence Taylor, UPI: 2nd team all-conf.[18]
• Lawrence Taylor, Associated Press: 2nd team all-NFL[18]
• Lawrence Taylor, Pro Football Weekly: 1st team all-NFL[18]

References

1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 256
2. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nyg/1987_draft.htm
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com
6. Pro-Football-Reference.com
7. Pro-Football-Reference.com
8. Pro-Football-Reference.com
9. Pro-Football-Reference.com
10. Pro-Football-Reference.com
11. Pro-Football-Reference.com
12. Pro-Football-Reference.com
13. Pro-Football-Reference.com
14. Pro-Football-Reference.com
15. Pro-Football-Reference.com
16. Pro-Football-Reference.com
17. Pro-Football-Reference.com
18. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1987/probowl.htm

External links

• 1987 New York Giants at Pro-Football-Reference.com