This post was originally going to be posted prior to the season, just after the blog about some of the greatest victories for the G-Men.
But, since I failed to get this out on time, I was waiting for the right moment - or the wrong moment, depending on your viewpoint - to publish this.
Seeing as though the Giants just lost their sole possession of first place to the Philadelphia Eagles after an embarrassing loss there, with yet another blowout for a second year in a row at Lincoln Financial Field, this seemed like an opportune time.
Last season, the Eagles shut the Giants out there, 27-0. This time, the Giants scored first, and never scored again, en route to another blowout loss, this time with a final score of 27-7.
I do not think that it rates as among the most crushing losses since I have been a Giants fan, since there have been quite a few. However, it is certainly a huge disappointment, and probably their most disappointing loss of the year thus far.
Here is a blog about more Giants losses, as well:
I posted about the Giants greatest moments in the preseason, so let me now focus on the opposite: some of the worst Giants defeats, with a particular focus on their losses since I have been a fan of the team, going way back to 1981. That was the year that I became a fan of American football, and the New York Giants were the natural pick. My grandfather and brother both preferred the Jets. My grandfather, of course, could remember the historic Super Bowl III win that defined the Jets organization at that point (it had only been 13 years since that historical victory), and which still defines the franchise now, nearly half a century later.
Truth be told, I am not entirely sure why I took to the Giants more than the Jets, since the Jets were the better team at that point. They were the only one of the two local teams to even have made it to the Super Bowl, let alone to have won one. And in 1981, the Jets indeed appeared to be the better team, with a better record and likely a better chance to achieve some great things. That perception might have died down in the playoffs, when the Jets lost instantly to the Bills, while the Giants knocked off the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles on the road at Veterans Stadium. But in 1982, only one of those two teams made it to the playoffs, and it was not the Giants. Plus, the Jets won two road games to reach the AFC title game, before bowing out to the Miami Dolphins. As I have mentioned before, the Jets are my second favorite team, right after the Giants, and I never understood why some fans believe that liking or preferring one means that you absolutely have to despise the other one (or at least cannot actively pull for them), otherwise you are not a "real" football or sports fan. So, I was excited by the success of the Jets, although admittedly a bit envious, as well.
Both the New York Jets and the New York Giants kind of stunk things up a bit in 1983, but the Giants returned to the playoffs in 1984. Still, in 1985, the Jets enjoyed a better record during the regular season and, in fact, looked to be one of the elite teams of the AFC, until two losses late in the season knocked them down to a mere wildcard team. Once there, the Jets lost to the Super Bowl-bound new England Patriots who, at that time, were making their first trip to the big dance, where they would get crushed by the Chicago Bears, the team that I believe was the most dominant team of any single season that I have ever witnessed. The Giants lost to those same Bears in the playoffs, although they at least beat the 49ers in order to get there. So, the Jets had enjoyed a better regular season, but the Giants seemed to be more built for the postseason. Still, neither team had as of yet made it to the Super Bowl.
In the 1986-87 season, of course, that would change. Perhaps the last old bit of envy of the Jets as the better team came early in 1986, when the Jets raced out to an impressive 10-1 start, and enjoyed the best record in the league, with five games remaining. The Giants, of course, were right behind them at 9-2, as were the Bears, the Broncos and Washington. The Giants were bound to meet two of those teams in the regular season and, as it turned out, in the playoffs, too. If the Jets, to that point, had enjoyed more success since the 1981 season, and seemed to have the more impressive resume during the Super Bowl era, that season would go a long way towards altering that perspective in a big way. The Giants won out their remaining games, finishing the season at 14-2, while the Jets, after suffering a humiliating 45-3 loss at Miami, wound up losing all five of their last regular season games, to finish at 10-6. They qualified for the playoffs and even won a game against Kansas City, but then lost to the Cleveland Browns in double overtime.
The Giants earned home field advantage with their impressive 14-2 regular season mark, and in the playoffs, really caught fire. They bounced the 49ers out of the playoffs with a stunning 49-3 blowout win, then shut out the Redskins, 17-0, in the NFC Championship Game, to earn their first ever Super Bowl appearance. Once there, they had to overcome the tricky Broncos, who played very well in the first half and went into halftime with a 10-9 lead. But the Giants exploded for 30 second half points, which is still a Super Bowl record. Phil Simms completed 22 of 25 passes (an 88.5% completion rating, also still a Super Bowl record) and threw three touchdown passes, leading the Giants past Denver to capture the first championship for the franchise in 30 years, although it was their first title in the Super Bowl era. Now, I no longer really cared that the Jets had been to the AFC Championship in 1982, while the Giants never seemed to do nearly as much, because Giants fans could celebrate their championship season.
They followed that up four years later with another title run, this time not as behemoths, like they appeared to be in 1986-87, but as a team that barely squeaked past other teams regarded as the favorites. They trampled on the Bears in the playoffs, true. But they just got past the Niners in San Francisco during that epic NFC Championship battle, and then just barely held off the Buffalo Bills, who at that time seemed to be emerging as the leading candidate for "Team of the Decade" honors. After that rather unexpected championship (at least it was deemed a surprise, although my younger version of myself, completely taken by that 1990-91 Giants squad, never stopped believing in them), the Giants clearly had enjoyed undeniable success at the highest levels, while it was suddenly the Jets who looked like the team that had been left behind in the dust a bit.
Again, I will post what I felt were some of the greatest disappointments as a Giants fan, which I have been since the 1981 season. But that also means that I do not remember the "Miracle at the Meadowlands," or the championship game losses of the late fifties and into the sixties (the Giants made it to fix championship games in a six year span from 1958 to 1963, and lost them all), or some of the other losses that they suffered even before that.
For me, it begins with a huge, and unfortunately memorable playoff collapse against the San Francisco 49ers, the team that the Giants had a very strong on again off again rivalry with over the course of the past three decades or so. The one that I am thinking of specifically took place in January of 2003, at Candlestick Park. The Giants had suffered losses there before, but never quite like this.
New York looked unstoppable early on, racing out to a 38-14 lead, behind an offense that looked explosive enough to make a run at the Super Bowl (the Giants had reached the Super Bowl just two seasons prior, and still had the core of that team for the 2002-03 season). San Francisco looked overwhelmed. Their defense was not keeping up with the explosive Giants offense, and the 49ers offense looked overmatched.
Then, suddenly, the Niners came to life, and the Giants, in the meantime, could do nothing right. Before you knew it, the Giants lead had collapsed, and San Francisco held a 39-38 lead.
Yet, still, somehow, the Giants managed to have one last opportunity to win the game in the final seconds. It would come down to a field goal attempt, which made it similar circumstances to the 1990-91 NFC Championship Game.
Only this time, the results were radically different.
While the Giants made that field goal to win the game and move on to the Super Bowl in 1991, the Giants screwed everything up in 2003. The snap was horrendous, leading to a very poor kick that had no chance (although it should be noted that there should have been a call on the play against San Francisco that was not made).
It was weird, because by then, I was fully an adult. Yet, that particular game made me feel like a kid again, albeit the less flattering aspects of childhood. It was the last time that I can remember losing myself in a game, and getting angry and worked up over the results. Literally, I was probably red in the face, and yelling as the Giants were in the process of collapsing. Something about the 49ers always brings out the worst in me.
So, that loss was bad. But there are other losses that the Giants suffered which stung pretty bad as a Giants fan, as well. There was another huge lead in a playoff game that the Giants enjoyed in the 1997-98 season, in the Wild Card Game. I think that there is something about the playoffs that makes losses there sting a little more. The Giants were division champions that season, and were the surprise team of the league, seemingly. They built a comfortable 16-point lead against the Minnesota Vikings in the comfortable confines of Giants Stadium. But then, before the home crowd, the Giants inexplicably collapsed, and the Vikings pounded their way back into the game, eventually winning it right at the end, scoring the last 10 points in the final minute and a half of play. Very disheartening.
Another big loss came against the Los Angeles Rams following the 1989 season. The Giants were supposed to be in rebuilding mode that season, but raced out to a surprising 8-1 start. They then went to Los Angeles and got blown out by the Rams, although they recovered enough to finish the season at 12-4. With that record, the Giants stood alone with the second best record in the league (the 14-2 mark by the 49ers stood as the best), and looked to be serious contenders. Then, that Rams game, which could (and perhaps should) have been a revenge game for the earlier beating the Rams delivered. Except, the game was very tight, nodded up at 13-13, and headed into overtime. Who can forget Flipper Anderson's memorable touchdown catch, and him immediately running out of the field of play and into the lockers, putting the exclamation point on the finality of that stunning loss.
There were also some truly horrible regular season losses, as well. The one that stands out for me came in 1990, after the Giants raced out to a franchise best 10-0, undefeated start. Going into the season, the Eagles had seemed to own the Giants, but New York had managed to pound out a 27-20 win in the season opener. The Eagles struggled early on, stumbling out of the gates to a 2-4 record, but they had managed to piece together a four game winning streak heading into the rematch against New York, this time in Philadelphia. The Giants were a week away from the historic showdown against the San Francisco 49ers, and everyone seemed to take it for granted that the Giants would beat the Eagles. Indeed, for most of the first half, it looked fully like the Giants were capable of doing it, too. They got a fairly quick touchdown, and a 7-0 lead. The Eagles got into it, yet still, the Giants were only down 14-13 at halftime. Still plenty of time to find a way to win. But in the second half, the Eagles caught fire. They added a field goal to make it 17-13, then in the fourth quarter, added a touchdown, to make it 24-13, and put the Giants backs to the wall. Phil Simms and the offense tried hurry up mode, but a pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown to essentially ice the game. The score was now 31-13, and that would prove to be the final score. It is always irritating, I guess, to see a very solid winning streak (particularly an undefeated start like that) end, but it was particularly annoying against the Philadelphia Eagles, of all teams, and just one week before the big showdown against San Francisco. The fact that the 49ers also lost (in fact, every division leading team that historic weekend lost, which was a first in NFL history) kind of made the sting a little less, but it was still so irritating as a Giants fan. This game probably will not make it as among the most disappointing losses in Giants history elsewhere, but I remember it being a very bad loss at the time, for sure.
There was also the Wildcard game defeat after a surprisingly successful season in 1997. he Giants finished 10-5-1, and took the division title, going unbeaten in the NFC East in the process (7-0-1), which was the first tine any NFC East team had achieved that feat. But the good feelings from the success of the season were taken away considerably by the stinging loss to the Vikings at home in Giants Stadium, after having a big lead in the first half, and even in the fourth quarter. Minnesota scored 10 points in the final minute and a half of the game to hand the Giants a defeat that still stings to this day.
Here are some of the other losses that really resonate with me as a Giants fan:
Cowboys 16, Giants 13, OT, Jan. 2, 1994 — Emmitt Smit runs for 168 yards as Cowboys beat Giants to clinch NFC East
Jets 27, Giants 21, Dec. 18, 1988 — With a playoff berth on the line, crosstown rival Jets rally to beat Giants in final minutes
Eagles 23, Giants 11, Jan. 11, 2009 — Top-seeded Giants lose in divisional playoff, dashing hopes of Super Bowl repeat
1986 - Chicago Bears 21, Giants 0 - The Bears in 1985 enjoyed the most dominant season in NFL history. They were the better team on the field on that day, and showed that they were easily the best team in the NFL by blowing out New England in the Super Bowl a few weeks later. But the Giants looked like they had a shot there for a while, although it all started falling apart after the infamous Landeta muffed punt that broke a scoreless tie and gave Chicago an unexpected 7-0 lead. The crowd erupted into life, and the Giants slowly but surely were beaten down from that point onward.
1990 - Rams 19, Giants 13
1988 San Francisco 20, Giants 17
1988 Eagles 23, Giants 17
1991 Washington 17, Giants 13
1991 Bengals 27, Giants 24-
1990 Eagles 31, Giants 13 - I remember this loss as being particularly stinging. Why? Because the Eagles had been the one team that tormented the Giants like no other in the seasons prior to 1990, with some strange wins and bizarre, fluky plays. But it seemed like all of that was over, finally, when the Giants handled the Eagles in Week One on Sunday Night Football, before a nationally televised audience. Then, the 10-0 start had people thinking that New York was a superpower, and the 6-4 Eagles would likely not be able to stand up to the Giants. Indeed, the first half looked promising, as the Giants looked good, and the game was mostly even. Then came the second half, and everything fell apart, slowly but surely. Philly built a 24-13 lead, and the Giants tried to rally. But Phil Simms threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and the Eagles and their fans celebrated wildly. It ended any wild dreams of an undefeated season, and once again, served as a reminder that there was just something about these Eagles that the Giants could not solve, for whatever the reason. Hugely disappointing loss, at least at the time.
1990 49ers 7, Giants 3 - Yes, the Giants got revenge later on. But when this meeting actually took place, it felt like it might just be for all the marbles. Both teams raced off to 10- starts, but both teams lost the week prior, ending hopes for a clash between two 11-0 teams. Still, they were both 10-1, and easily the top two teams in the NFC. San Francisco had won the two prior Super Bowls, and were aiming for a third straight title, but the Giants seemed to be the only really serious challenger that the 49ers had, at least in the NFC. Had the Giants won, they likely would have the inside track on home field advantage, and a definite psychological advantage over the 49ers. Everyone expected a wild shootout, but it was a tough, defensive struggle instead. The G-Men got a field goal, but San Fran reciprocated with the only touchdown of the game in the next drive. The Giants had opportunities after that, and probably should have gotten a touchdown at one point. Parcells gambled in the fourth quarter by going after a touchdown instead of the safer field goal, and this proved costly at the end of the game. The Niners had won the big regular season clash, and it was a huge disappointment. But then again, it made their eventual win in the NFC Championship Game about one month and a half later all the sweeter!
1992 Cowboys 34, Giants 28
1992 Eagles 47, Giants 34
2004 Panthers 23, Giants 0 - Shut out at home? In the playoffs? Really?
2010 - Eagles 38, Giants 31 - The Giants were leading by 21 with 7 1/2 minutes left to play. They lost by a touchdown, in regulation, after a collapse of epic proportions. Just embarrassing.
1995 - San Diego Chargers 27, New York Giants 17
2006 - Tennessee Titans 24, New York Giants 21
2013 - Panthers 38, Giants 0
2000 - Super Bowl XXXV. But here's the thing: Despite my hopes that the Giants would win, the Ravens were the better team. Far and away the better team. The Giants were beaten and bruised, and just had no chance in this one. The Ravens defense was probably the best defense in NFL history.
Honorable Mentions:
Eagles 19, Giants 17 "Miracle at the Meadowlands"
Washington 72, Giants 41
Baltimore Colts 23, Giants 17
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