The 1990 New York Giants season was the franchise's 66th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Giants, who play in the National Football Conference (NFC), won their sixth championship and second Super Bowl. Led by linebacker Lawrence Taylor and quarterbacks Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler, the Giants posted a 13–3 record before defeating the Chicago Bears and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers in the NFC playoffs. In Super Bowl XXV, they defeated the Buffalo Bills 20–19 in Tampa Stadium. The story of the season is the subject of a recent book, When the Cheering Stops, by defensive end Leonard Marshall and CBSsports.com co-writer William Bendetson.
After making the playoffs in 1989, the Giants entered the 1990 season as a Super Bowl favorite, though most believed they stood little chance of stopping the 49ers. The Giants began the season with a 27–20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, then won their next nine games before losing a rematch to Philadelphia 31–13 in Week 12. The Giants also lost close games to the 49ers on the road and to the Bills at home in the regular season before defeating both teams in playoff rematches. In the Week 15 game against Buffalo, starting quarterback Phil Simms was injured and ultimately lost for the season with a broken foot. He was replaced by Hostetler, who did not lose a game. The Giants' defense led the NFL in fewest points allowed (211), and the team set an NFL record by committing only 14 turnovers in the regular season. After the season, seven Giants were selected to the Pro Bowl.
In 2007, ESPN.com ranked the 1990 Giants' defense as the sixth-greatest in NFL history, noting that the team "allowed only 13.2 points a game against a very tough schedule – they played against seven playoff teams during the regular season. Led by Hall of Fame outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor and First Team All-Pro inside linebacker Pepper Johnson, New York's defense also came through in the playoffs, holding the Bears to just three points in the divisional playoff game. The Giants then held a resilient 49ers offense to just two field goals and one touchdown and set up the game-winning score by both forcing and recovering a late Roger Craig fumble involving NT Erik Howard and OLB Lawrence Taylor to win the NFC Championship Game 15–13. In Super Bowl XXV, the Giant defense held its own against the Bills' no-huddle offense while the Giants' offense executed long methodical drives that gave the Giants a time of possession advantage of 2 to 1, and New York won 20–19."
Contents
Off-season
NFL draft
The Giants had 11 selections in the 12-round 1990 NFL draft and took running back Rodney Hampton in the first round with the #24 overall selection. They took defensive end Mike Fox from West Virginia University in the second round (#51 overall) and linebacker Greg Mark (#79 overall) of the University of Miami in the third round. Kicker Matt Stover was selected in the 12th round but spent the season on injured reserve.
Coaching staff
Super Coaching Staff: https://www.giants.com/news/super-coaching-staff
Schedule
Game summaries
The Giants started the season with a 27–20 home win over the Philadelphia Eagles ending a four game losing streak to the Eagles. Despite sitting out training camp and the preseason in a contract dispute, linebacker Lawrence Taylor recorded three sacks and a forced fumble. The Giants' defense forced three turnovers and held the Eagles to 83 rushing yards. The Giants' offense scored three touchdowns in a 13-minute span in the third and early fourth quarters, but head coach Bill Parcells felt the offensive performance was lackluster overall: "Our runners didn't run the way we wanted them to. They were a little impatient. There were five or six vivid examples of cutting back too soon. You just have to give the play a chance and let it go where it's supposed to."
With temperatures reaching 122° on the artificial turf at Texas Stadium, the Giants played the Dallas Cowboys on September 16. The Giants dominated from the outset and used backup players heavily throughout the game. Lawrence Taylor batted a Troy Aikman pass high into the air, which he caught and returned for a touchdown. The Giants' defense held the Cowboys to 20 rushing yards and 156 yards of total offense, while the Giants' offense gained 369 yards. The Cowboys totaled only nine first downs, averaged 1.8 yards per rush and were dominated in time of possession, 41:40 to 18:20. Despite the 28–7 victory, Giants center Bart Oates still felt the offense could improve its play: "[w]e missed a lot of assignments. We rushed the ball O.K., but not like we did against Buffalo in preseason. Phil was pressured some. There were plenty of things we didn't do."
On September 23 at Giants Stadium, before 76,483 fans, the Giants met the Miami Dolphins for the first time since the Dolphins' undefeated 1972 season. Miami held the ball for only 19:42, and totaled only 158 yards of offense. The Giants' offense set the tone by holding the ball for 10:25 on the opening drive, leading to a field goal by Raúl Allegre. Holding Dan Marino to 119 total yards, and 3.6 yards per passing attempt, the Giants prevailed by a score of 20–3. Parcells was criticized by the local media for playing Taylor in the final moments, despite the lopsided score, after he had injured his hamstring.
The Giants faced the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4 before 75,923 fans at Giants Stadium. The Giants' defense held the Cowboys to 51 rushing yards on 20 attempts, and the Giants controlled the ball for 35:38. Giants quarterback Phil Simms threw three touchdowns, and backup Jeff Hostetler ran for a 12-yard score late in the fourth quarter. Although the Giants' league-leading defense gave up 284 yards, 84 came on the Cowboys' final possession when the Giants played a prevent defense. Simms threw touchdown passes to Mark Ingram and Rodney Hampton, and the Giants built a 31–10 early in the fourth quarter before pulling their starters and allowing a Dallas touchdown.
Playoffs
The Giants finished the regular season having committed an NFL record-low 14 turnovers, and their defense led the league in fewest points allowed (211).
NFC Divisional Playoff: Vs Chicago Bears
The Giants defeated the Chicago Bears 31–3 at home in the NFC Divisional playoff game on January 13, 1991. Ottis Anderson rushed for 80 yards on 21 carries, and the Giants rushed for 194 yards overall, dominating time of possession; with more than 38 minutes on offense. Parcells, at the suggestion of Belichick, used a four-man defensive line most of the game—as opposed to the Giants' traditional 3-4 defense—confusing the unprepared Bears, who had trouble with their blocking assignments. The Giants were 4-for-4 on fourth-down plays and converted 6 of 14 third downs. The Giants' defense stopped the Bears on the goal line on a fourth-down attempt in the second quarter and held Bears quarterback Mike Tomczak to 17-of-36 passing for 205 yards and two interceptions. Bears running back Neal Anderson was kept to a season-low 19 yards on 12 carries. Hostetler threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third.
NFC Championship Game: At San Francisco 49ers
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
The Giants advanced to face the two-time defending champion San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game on January 20, 1991, in front of 65,750 fans at Candlestick Park. The winner of the game would go directly to Tampa to play the Super Bowl the following week. Parcells used this as a motivating factor. Before the game, Parcells said that the team could pack for only 2 days or the entire week. He then threw down a big suitcase and told his players "I guess you know which one I'm packing for." The game was a rematch of the 7–3 49ers win one month earlier. The teams alternated field goals in the first and second quarter to make the score 6–6 at halftime. Less than five minutes into the third quarter, 49ers quarterback Joe Montana threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to receiver John Taylor to give San Francisco a 13–6 lead. A Giants field goal made the score 13–9 at the end of the third quarter. With 9:42 remaining in the game, Leonard Marshall sacked and injured Montana, who left the game. The Giants got the ball back, but were stopped on a key third down and one. On fourth down, Parcells called a fake punt, and fortunately for the Giants the 49ers only had 10 men on the field, which resulted in a long run by Gary Reasons to set up another Giants field goal, making the score 13–12. The 49ers then attempted to run out the clock, but Giants nose tackle Erik Howard made a key play, fighting through a double-team to knock the ball out of running back Roger Craig's possession by getting his helmet on the football. Lawrence Taylor fought through a block at the line of scrimmage applied by tight end Brent Jones and a subsequent block by fullback Tom Rathman to position himself at Craig's location along the line of scrimmage to catch Howard's forced fumble in mid-air, which gave the ball to the Giants at their own 43-yard line. Hostetler completed passes to Bavaro and Baker, advancing the Giants to within Matt Bahr's field-goal range. Bahr's fifth made kick of the day, a 42-yarder with no time left on the clock, gave the Giants a 15–13 victory.
With the win, not only did the Giants advance to their second Super Bowl, they became and still remain the only team in NFL history to defeat a two-time repeat Super Bowl champion in the playoffs on the road.
Super Bowl XXV
at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Super Bowl XXV took place amidst a background of war and patriotism in front of 73,813 fans at Tampa Stadium, in Tampa, Florida. The Gulf War had begun less than two weeks previous and the nation rallied around the Super Bowl as a symbol of America. Adding to the patriotic feeling was Whitney Houston's stirring rendition of the national anthem, perhaps the greatest in Super Bowl history. The game itself was among the most competitive Super Bowls ever played. The Giants got off to a quick 3–0 lead. However, the Bills scored the next 12 points, on a field goal, a touchdown by backup running back Don Smith and a safety after Jeff Hostetler was sacked in the end zone by Bruce Smith. Down 12–3, the Giants ran a drive that took nearly eight minutes and culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Hostetler to Stephen Baker, making the score 12–10 at halftime.
The Giants received the second-half kickoff and mounted a drive during which they converted on five third-down plays over the course of more than nine minutes (a Super Bowl record) and scored on a one-yard touchdown run by Ottis Anderson, giving the Giants a 17–12 lead. The signature play of the drive came on a third-down play, when Giants receiver Mark Ingram appeared about to be tackled well short of a first down. However, Ingram evaded several tacklers, dragging one defender in the process, to gain just enough yards for a first down. The Giants' strategy to handle the Bills' potent offense had become clear: keep them off the field. The Giants' two touchdown drives consumed over 17 minutes.
The Bills struck back quickly. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Thurman Thomas ran for a 31-yard touchdown that put the Bills back in front, 19–17. A few possessions later, the Giants drove down to the Bills' 4-yard line but had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Matt Bahr that gave the Giants a 20–19 lead. Both teams exchanged possessions before the Bills began one final drive. The Bills drove down to the Giants' 30-yard line to set up a game-winning 47-yard field goal attempt by Scott Norwood. Just before the kick, ABC showed a graphic indicating that, on grass that season, Norwood had only made three of seven field goals from at least 40 yards, and that the 47-yarder would be Norwood's longest ever on grass. A few moments later, in what became the game's signature moment, Norwood's attempt missed wide right, and the Giants won their second Super Bowl in five years, 20–19.
Season Facts
This year was the second of four times that the Giants faced a team in the regular season that they later played in the Super Bowl. The Giants are 2–2 in the regular season and 4–0 in the Super Bowl against these teams.
The Giants wore their home blue uniforms for their first seven games; five of those games were played at home and the remaining two were at the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, who traditionally wore their white uniforms at home. In all, the Giants wore their blue jerseys 12 times (winning 11 of those games) and their white jerseys seven times (winning five of those games).
The Giants played the Miami Dolphins for the first time since their first meeting in 1972.
The Giants set an NFL record for the fewest turnovers in a 16-game season, with 14.
The Giants had a 13-game regular-season winning streak: three wins in 1989 and 10 wins in 1990.
The Giants' 10–0 start was the best in team history, and their 13–3 record was their second-best in a 16-game season.
The Giants' victory over the Bears in the NFC Divisional game was their first over the Bears in the playoffs since 1956.
Awards and honors
Ottis Anderson, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
Reyna Thompson, 1990 All-Madden Team
Reyna Thompson, 1990 NFC Pro Bowl selection
Eric Howard, 1990 All-Madden Team
Matt Bahr, 1990 All-Madden Team
Lawrence Taylor, 1990 NFC Pro Bowl selection
Lawrence Taylor, 1990 Second Team All-Pro
Sean Landeta, 1990 NFC Pro Bowl selection
Sean Landeta, 1990 First Team All-Pro
David Meggett, 1990 NFC Pro Bowl selection
Pepper Johnson, 1990 NFC Pro Bowl selection
Pepper Johnson, 1990 First Team All-Pro
Bart Oates, 1990 NFC Pro Bowl selection