1966 New York Giants season

The 1966 New York Giants season was the franchise's 42nd season in the National Football League (NFL). The season saw the Giants looking to improve on their 7–7 record from 1965. However, they finished in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 1–12–1 record, the worst in franchise history.[2][3] The 12 losses set a single-season team record that was matched four times before being broken in 2017.[4]

1966 New York Giants season
OwnerWellington Mara
Head coachAllie Sherman
Home fieldYankee Stadium
Local radioWNEW[1]
Results
Record1–12–1
Division place8th NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1966 Giants surrendered the most points in NFL history for a 14-game season.[5][6] They allowed 501 points in 14 games, or an average of 35.8 points per game.[3] This total broke the league record for the most points given up in a season.[7] The next most points allowed by a Giants team was 451 in the 2019 season, which was 16 games.[3] The Giants allowed opponents to score more than 30 points in eight of the 14 games, and gave up over 50 points three times.[2] They are the only team in history to give up 500 points in a 14-game season.[5][6]

On November 27, the Giants played the highest-scoring game in NFL history, losing to the Washington Redskins, 72–41.[8] It was the first of three straight games in which the Giants gave up more than 45 points; they allowed 49 points against the Cleveland Browns and 47 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.[2]

Roster
1966 New York Giants roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

{{{reserve_lists}}}


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 11 at Pittsburgh Steelers T 34–34 0–0–1
37,693
2 September 18 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–52 0–1–1
60,010
3 September 25 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–35 0–2–1
60,177
4 October 2 Cleveland Browns L 7–28 0–3–1
62,916
5 October 9 at St. Louis Cardinals L 19–24 0–4–1
43,893
6 October 16 Washington Redskins W 13–10 1–4–1
62,865
7 October 23 Philadelphia Eagles L 3–31 1–5–1
63,018
8 October 30 Bye
9 November 6 St. Louis Cardinals L 17–20 1–6–1
62,967
10 November 13 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–55 1–7–1
34,746
11 November 20 Atlanta Falcons L 16–27 1–8–1
62,746
12 November 27 at Washington Redskins L 41–72 1–9–1
50,439
13 December 4 at Cleveland Browns L 40–49 1–10–1
61,651
14 December 11 Pittsburgh Steelers L 28–47 1–11–1
62,658
15 December 18 Dallas Cowboys L 7–17 1–12–1
62,735

With the addition of the expansion Atlanta Falcons, the NFL had an odd number (15) of teams.[9] This necessitated the use of bye weeks. The Giants received the most centrally located bye, in Week 8, thus perfectly dividing their season into two 7-game halves. They lost all seven games after the break.[2] (In contrast, the expansion Falcons were 0–8 before they got their bye in Week 9, but 3–3 afterwards.)[10]

Game summaries

Week 1
1 234Total
Giants 7 10017 34
Steelers 7 7173 34

[11]

Standings
NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys 10 3 1 .769 9–3–1 445 239 W1
Philadelphia Eagles 9 5 0 .643 8–5 326 340 W4
Cleveland Browns 9 5 0 .643 9–4 403 259 W1
St. Louis Cardinals 8 5 1 .615 7–5–1 264 265 L3
Washington Redskins 7 7 0 .500 7–6 351 355 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 5 8 1 .385 4–8–1 316 347 W2
Atlanta Falcons 3 11 0 .214 2–5 204 437 L1
New York Giants 1 12 1 .077 1–11–1 263 501 L8

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

See also

References
  1. Jaker, Bill; Sulek, Frank; Kanze, Peter (1998). The Airwaves of New York: Illustrated Histories of 156 AM Stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921–1996. McFarland & Company. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-7864-3872-3.
  2. "1966 New York Giants". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
  3. "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  4. Henry, Tyler (December 24, 2017). "Giants set unwanted franchise record with 13th loss". USA Today. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  5. "Team Game Finder Query Results: In a single season, from 1960 to 1977, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points Allowed". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  6. Pasquarelli, Len (May 18, 2009). "Schedule expansion gaining momentum". ESPN. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  7. Whittingham, Richard (2005). Illustrated History of the New York Giants. Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. p. 143. ISBN 1-57243-641-7.
  8. "Redskins Set Mark In 72–41 Win Over Giants". Park City Daily News. Associated Press. November 28, 1966. p. 9. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  9. "Atlanta Falcons: Team History". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  10. "1966 Atlanta Falcons". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  11. "New York Giants 34 at Pittsburgh Steelers 34". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
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