1985 New York Giants season

The 1985 New York Giants season was the franchise’s 61st season in the National Football League. The Giants entered the season looking to improve on their 9–7 record in 1984, which was enough to qualify the team for the playoffs as the second wild-card team, and to return to the playoffs for the second consecutive year under third-year head coach Bill Parcells. The Giants managed to do both, finishing with ten victories for the first time since 1963 when the team won eleven games and finishing as the first wild-card team which earned the Giants a home playoff game at Giants Stadium. They defeated the San Francisco 49ers 17–3 in that game, avenging their loss to the 49ers in the previous year's divisional playoffs. However, it was as far as the Giants could get as they were defeated by eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears in the divisional round at Soldier Field 21–0. Bill Parcells stated in "America's Game: 1986 Giants" that the game the Giants played against the Bears in the playoffs that "an honest evaluation of it, we could have probably beat that team one out of ten times. But that day was one of the days that that could have happened", the Giants were ultimately undone by a whiffed punt from legend Sean Landeta, the ball flew out of the air when he went to punt it from a burst of wind coming off Lake Michigan, the Bears recovered the ball for a touchdown from less than 5 yards from the end zone, and ended up winning 21–0. At the time, the team set a record for most rushing yards in one season by a Giants team.

1985 New York Giants season
OwnerWellington Mara
(Since 1965)
Timothy J. Mara
(Since 1965)
Head coachBill Parcells
(3rd season)
General managerGeorge Young
(Since 1979)
Home fieldGiants Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs (49ers) 17–3
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Bears) 21–0
Pro Bowlers

Offseason

NFL draft
Main article: 1985 NFL Draft
Round #Pick #PlayerPositionCollege
119George AdamsRunning backKentucky
246Stacy RobinsonWide ReceiverNorth Dakota State
358Tyrone DavisDefensive backClemson
373Brian JohnstonCenterNorth Carolina
4100Mark BavaroTight EndNotre Dame
5132Tracy HendersonWide ReceiverOhio State
6159Jack OliverGuardMemphis State
8213Lee RousonRunning backColorado
9240Frank WrightDefensive tackleSouth Carolina
10272Gregg DubrocLinebackerLSU
11299Al YoungDefensive backVirginia Tech
12326Herb WelchDefensive backUCLA

Personnel

Staff
1985 New York Giants staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 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

Roster
1985 New York Giants roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

[1]

Regular season

In a game against the Washington Redskins, Joe Theismann's career ended on November 18, 1985, when he suffered a gruesome comminuted compound fracture of his leg while being sacked by New York Giants linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson during a Monday Night Football game telecast. The injury was voted the NFL's "Most Shocking Moment in History" by viewers in an ESPN poll, and the tackle was dubbed "The Hit That No One Who Saw It Can Ever Forget" by The Washington Post.[2]

At the time, the Redskins had been attempting to run a "flea-flicker" play. The Giants' defense, however, was not fooled, and they tried to blitz Theismann. Taylor sandwiched Theismann into Carson and inadvertently landed his hip on Theismann's lower right leg, fracturing both the tibia and the fibula.

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 8, 1985 Philadelphia Eagles W 21–0
76,141
2 September 15, 1985 at Green Bay Packers L 23–20
56,145
3 September 22, 1985 St. Louis Cardinals W 27–17
74,987
4 September 29, 1985 at Philadelphia Eagles W 16–10
66,696
5 October 6, 1985 Dallas Cowboys L 30–29
74,981
6 October 13, 1985 at Cincinnati Bengals L 35–30
53,112
7 October 20, 1985 Washington Redskins W 17–3
74,389
8 October 27, 1985 at New Orleans Saints W 21–13
54,082
9 November 3, 1985 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 22–20
72,031
10 November 10, 1985 Los Angeles Rams W 24–19
74,663
11 November 18, 1985 at Washington Redskins L 23–21
53,371
12 November 24, 1985 at St. Louis Cardinals W 34–3
41,248
13 December 1, 1985 Cleveland Browns L 35–33
66,482
14 December 8, 1985 at Houston Oilers W 35–14
36,576
15 December 15, 1985 at Dallas Cowboys L 28–21
62,310
16 December 21, 1985 Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–10
66,785

Week 1
1 234Total
Eagles 0 000 0
• Giants 14 007 21
  • Date: September 8
  • Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 78 °F (25.6 °C); wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and John Madden

[3]

Week 2
1 234Total
Giants 0 677 20
• Packers 10 706 23
  • Date: September 15
  • Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
  • Game start: 3:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 56 °F (13.3 °C); wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

[4]

Week 3
1 234Total
Cardinals 7 307 17
• Giants 7 3107 27

[5]

Week 4
1 234OTTotal
• Giants 0 01006 16
Eagles 0 0370 10

[6]

Week 5
1 234Total
• Cowboys 7 779 30
Giants 3 3203 29
  • Date: October 6
  • Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C); wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, O.J. Simpson, Joe Namath

[7]

Week 6
1 234Total
Giants 0 31710 30
• Bengals 14 777 35
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C); wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

[8]

Week 7
1 234Total
Redskins 0 003 3
• Giants 0 773 17

[9]

Week 8
1 234Total
• Giants 0 7014 21
Saints 3 0010 13

[10]

Week 9
1 234Total
Buccaneers 3 1007 20
• Giants 3 3106 22

[11]

Week 10
1 234Total
Rams 7 633 19
• Giants 0 7107 24

[12]

Week 11
1 234Total
Giants 7 0140 21
• Redskins 7 079 23
  • Date: November 18
  • Location: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11.1 °C); wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • Television network: ABC

Week 12
1 234Total
• Giants 0 101014 34
Cardinals 3 000 3
  • Date: November 24
  • Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
  • Game start: 3:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 30 °F (−1.1 °C); wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)

[13]

Week 13
1 234Total
• Browns 7 14014 35
Giants 7 13310 33
  • Date: December 1
  • Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 43 °F (6.1 °C); wind 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn)
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bob Griese

[14]

Week 14
1 234Total
• Giants 14 2100 35
Oilers 0 1400 14
  • Date: December 8
  • Location: Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Wayne Walker

[15]

Week 15
1 234Total
Giants 0 1407 21
• Cowboys 7 1407 28
  • Date: December 15
  • Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
  • Game start: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 36 °F (2.2 °C); wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw

[16]

Week 16
1 234Total
Steelers 0 370 10
• Giants 7 2100 28
  • Date: December 21
  • Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
  • Game start: 12:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: 27 °F (−2.8 °C); wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

[17]

Standings
NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys(3) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 7–5 357 333 L1
New York Giants(4) 10 6 0 .625 5–3 8–4 399 283 W1
Washington Redskins 10 6 0 .625 4–4 6–6 297 312 W3
Philadelphia Eagles 7 9 0 .438 4–4 6–8 286 310 W1
St. Louis Cardinals 5 11 0 .313 1–7 3–9 278 414 L2

Playoffs

Wild Card
1 234Total
49ers 0 300 3
• Giants 3 770 17

Even though the 49ers recorded 362 yards of total offense, with receiver Dwight Clark catching 8 passes for 120 yards, the Giants limited San Francisco to only one field goal. Meanwhile, New York running back Joe Morris rushed for 141 yards.

Divisional
1 234Total
Giants 0 000 0
• Bears 7 0140 21
  • Date: January 5
  • Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
  • Game start: 11:30 a.m.
  • Game weather: 18 °F (−7.8 °C); wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerrall & John Madden

The Giants lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears.

Awards and honors
  • Phil Simms, Pro Bowl MVP [18]

References
  1. "1985 New York Giants starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  2. Shapiro, Leonard (2005-11-18). "The Hit That Changed a Career". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  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. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 202
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