The 2007 season was the New York Giants' 83rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 32nd playing their home games at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and their fourth under head coach Tom Coughlin.
The Giants finished the regular season 10–6 and in second place in the NFC East, improving upon their 8–8 record in 2006 in which they finished third in their division. They qualified for the playoffs as a wild-card team as the #5 seed, and beat the #4 seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24–14. Next, they defeated the top-seeded Dallas Cowboys 21–17 and the #2 seed Green Bay Packers 23–20 (both of whom they had lost to in their first two games of the season by ten points or more) to become the National Football Conference (NFC) representative in Super Bowl XLII. There, they defeated the heavily favored and previously undefeated 18–0 New England Patriots 17–14 and spoiled their perfect season, aided by the famous Manning to Tyree Helmet Catch.
The 2007 New York Giants became the 9th wild card team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl and the 5th wild card team to win the Super Bowl, and the very first NFC wild card to accomplish the feat. They were the third team in history to win three road playoff games en route to a Super Bowl and set a league record for most consecutive road wins in a single season (11), though the Super Bowl is played on a neutral field rather than an opponent's stadium. It was the 7th league championship season for the New York Giants and their first since they won Super Bowl XXV in 1990. This season would also mark the end of defensive end Michael Strahan's NFL career as he retired following the Giants' Super Bowl victory.
This was the first season since 1997 that Tiki Barber was not on the opening-day roster.
2007 marked the third consecutive season that the Giants made the playoffs, which was only the second time that had happened since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. Tom Coughlin joined Bill Parcells, Steve Owen, and Allie Sherman as the only head coaches in the history of the team to lead the Giants to the postseason three consecutive years.
The Giants season is widely regarded as one of the greatest cinderella stories in professional sports history, as not only did they beat one of the greatest teams of all time in the undefeated Patriots, they did so as a wild-card team that had to win three playoff games on the road to get to Super Bowl XLII, which gave them the nickname of "The Road Warriors", and after looking very mediocre at times during the regular season. In fact, based on regular-season performance, the 2007 New York Giants were the worst team to ever reach a Super Bowl, a curiosity later surpassed when the 2011 New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI to become the first team with a negative point differential to win a Super Bowl. NFL Films named the 2007 Giants as the 53rd greatest team of all time in their countdown of the top 100 teams in football history.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
Offseason
Expectations After their poor finish to the 2006 season, where the Giants lost 7 of their last 9 games after a 6–2 start (albeit achieving a playoff berth in the last week of the season), expectations for the Giants were generally low. Many pundits began to consider Eli Manning as a potential draft bust, especially when considering fellow 2004 draft pick Ben Roethlisberger's Super Bowl run in 2005 and Philip Rivers leading his team, the Chargers, to a 14–2 regular season in 2006; making matters worse, older brother Peyton Manning, who Eli was often compared unfavorably to, had led the Colts to the Super Bowl victory that same year and won the MVP of the game. At the same time, head coach Tom Coughlin came under intense criticism due to his fiery coaching style and strict team rules, and many (including fans) believed that he deserved to be fired after the team's collapse in the second half of the season. In particular, they noted the team's lack of discipline and unity down the stretch and considered these actions a reflection of Coughlin's coaching. Finally Tiki Barber, the Giants's all-time leading rusher and the catalyst for much of their success the previous two seasons, retired at just 31 years of age to enter a broadcasting career.
The Giants decided to give Tom Coughlin one more chance heading into the 2007 season, giving him a one-year contract extension. This essentially indicated that he needed to get the Giants into the postseason in order to receive a long-term contract extension. After his family demonstrated concern over his on-field persona and his apparent anger towards his players, Coughlin decided to undergo a personality change heading into the season. While his strict team rules (most notoriously, his five-minute early rule for a team meeting) remained in place, he became less angry and more encouraging towards his players, and the players took note of his change. Coughlin also set up a leadership committee with Eli Manning and other team captains in order to relate to his players better.
The Giants also entered the season with two new coordinators. Coughlin promoted quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride to offensive coordinator, a position he would hold until his retirement after the 2013 season. He also fired defensive coordinator Tim Lewis and replaced him with Steve Spagnuolo, who would have a crucial impact on the Giants's 4-3 defense.
Defensive end Michael Strahan held out for the entirety of training camp. Having previously been disillusioned with Tom Coughlin's coaching methods, he spent the offseason debating whether or not he would come back for the season, and decided that since he had already played for 14 seasons, he wouldn't have needed the training camp anyway. He eventually returned to the team mere weeks before the season started. Despite his training camp holdout and a hefty fine for not attending the camp, he was still elected as a team captain.
Expectations, however, were still low as few predicted that the Giants would make the playoffs. Perception grew worse as Tiki Barber, now an analyst for NBC, began attacking his former team, particularly Tom Coughlin and especially Eli Manning. Barber attacked Manning not only as a non-productive quarterback, but declared that his leadership skills were "almost comical." When asked about Barber's comments, Manning noted that he didn't have to take the comments seriously, considering that Barber announced his intentions to leave the team in the middle of the previous season.
America's Game: The 2007 New York Giants. NFL Super Bowl XLII - New York Giants Championship DVD. Tom Coughlin: A Football Life.
Giants free agents heading into the 2007 season Players whose contracts expire become free agents, and are classified (or "tagged") according to the players' collective bargaining agreement as restricted free agents (RFA), unrestricted free agents (UFA), or exclusive-rights free agents (ERFA). Players listed in green were retained by the team, while those in red were signed by another franchise. Restricted free agents are indicated by the round in which the player was originally drafted, as this determines qualifying offers and compensation.
Position Player Free agencytag Date signed 2007 team Offensive guard Lewis Kelly UFA — (none) Center Ryan Kuehl UFA February 27 New York Giants Center Shaun O'Hara UFA March 1 New York Giants Center Grey Ruegamer UFA New York Giants Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe UFA March 4 Minnesota Vikings Outside linebacker Brandon Short UFA — (none) Outside linebacker Reggie Torbor RFA (4) May 3 New York Giants Cornerback Frank Walker UFA March 13 Green Bay Packers Running back Derrick Ward RFA (7) March 1 New York Giants Safety Gibril Wilson RFA (2) May 3 New York Giants
Draft class
NOTES: The Giants were awarded an additional seventh-round pick (#250 overall) as a compensatory selection.
Training camp photos
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Carolina Panthers L 21–24 0–1 Giants Stadium Recap 2 at Baltimore Ravens W 13–12 1–1 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 3 New York Jets L 12–20 1–2 Giants Stadium Recap 4 at New England Patriots L 20–27 1–3 Gillette Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 9 at Dallas CowboysL 35–45 0–1 Texas Stadium Recap 2 September 16 Green Bay Packers L 13–35 0–2 Giants Stadium Recap 3 September 23 at Washington Redskins W 24–17 1–2 FedExField Recap 4 September 30 Philadelphia Eagles W 16–3 2–2 Giants Stadium Recap 5 October 7 New York Jets W 35–24 3–2 Giants Stadium Recap 6 at Atlanta Falcons W 31–10 4–2 Georgia Dome Recap 7 October 21 San Francisco 49ers W 33–15 5–2 Giants Stadium Recap 8 October 28 at Miami Dolphins W 13–10 6–2 Wembley Stadium Recap 9 Bye 10 November 11 Dallas Cowboys L 20–31 6–3 Giants Stadium Recap 11 November 18 at Detroit Lions W 16–10 7–3 Ford Field Recap 12 November 25 Minnesota Vikings L 17–41 7–4 Giants Stadium Recap 13 December 2 at Chicago Bears W 21–16 8–4 Soldier Field Recap 14 December 9 at Philadelphia Eagles W 16–13 9–4 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 15 December 16 Washington Redskins L 10–22 9–5 Giants Stadium Recap 16 December 23 at Buffalo Bills W 38–21 10–5 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 17 New England Patriots L 35–38 10–6 Giants Stadium Recap
Standings
Staff 2007 New York Giants staff Front office President/CEO – John Mara Chairman/executive vice president – Steve Tisch Senior vice president/general manager – Jerry Reese Vice president of player evaluation – Chris Mara Assistant general manager – Kevin Abrams Director of pro personnel – David Gettleman Assistant director of pro personnel – Ken Sternfeld Director of college scouting – Marc Ross
Head coaches Head coach – Tom Coughlin
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Kevin Gilbride Quarterbacks – Chris Palmer Running backs – Jerald Ingram Wide receivers – Mike Sullivan Tight ends – Mike Pope Offensive line – Pat Flaherty Assistant offensive line – Dave DeGuglielmo Offensive quality control – Sean Ryan Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Steve Spagnuolo Linebackers- Bill Sheridan Defensive line – Mike Waufle Defensive backs – Peter Giunta Secondary/safeties – David Merritt Defensive quality control – Andre Curtis
Special team coaches Special teams coordinator – Tom Quinn Assistant special teams – Thomas McGaughey
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jerry Palmieri Assistant strength and conditioning – Markus Paul
Roster
Regular season
Week 1: at Dallas Cowboys
The Giants opened up their 2007 campaign with a 45–35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium. For the second straight year, the Giants left Dallas with injuries to key starters including defensive end Osi Umenyiora, running back Brandon Jacobs, and quarterback Eli Manning. Before suffering a separated shoulder in the fourth quarter, Manning put on a stellar performance, completing 28 of 41 passes, for 312 yards, 4 touchdowns and just 1 interception. However, a horrid defensive performance overshadowed his play.
The Giants got off to a fast start as Manning hit Plaxico Burress on a 60-yard touchdown pass off play action to open up the scoring. Burress and Manning would connect for 3 touchdowns on the night. After a Dallas took a 17–6 lead late in the half, Manning led the Giants on another drive, capped off to his second strike to Burress. Burress on the night caught 9 passes for 144 receiving yards. The Giants closed to within one at half's end following a Lawrence Tynes field goal after a Dallas fumble.