The New York Giants season was the franchise’s 61st season in the National Football League (NFL). 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 the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears in the divisional round at Soldier Field 21–0. Bill Parcells stated in "America's Game: 1986 Giants" about 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." At the time, the team set a record for most rushing yards in one season by a Giants team.
Offseason
NFL draft
Round # Pick # Player Position College 1 19George AdamsRunning backKentucky 2 46Stacy RobinsonWide receiverNorth Dakota State 3 58Tyrone DavisDefensive backClemson 3 73Brian JohnstonCenterNorth Carolina 4 100Mark BavaroTight endNotre Dame 5 132Tracy HendersonWide receiverOhio State 6 159Jack OliverGuardMemphis State 8 213Lee RousonRunning backColorado 9 240Frank WrightDefensive tackleSouth Carolina 10 272Gregg DubrocLinebackerLSU 11 299Al YoungDefensive backVirginia Tech 12 326Herb WelchDefensive backUCLA
Personnel
Staff
Roster
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.
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 Record Venue Attendance 1 September 8 Philadelphia Eagles W 21–0 1–0 Giants Stadium 76,141 2 September 15 at Green Bay Packers L 20–23 1–1 Lambeau Field 56,145 3 September 22 St. Louis Cardinals W 27–17 2–1 Giants Stadium 74,987 4 September 29 at Philadelphia Eagles W 16–10 3–1 Veterans Stadium 66,696 5 October 6 Dallas Cowboys L 29–30 3–2 Giants Stadium 74,981 6 October 13 at Cincinnati Bengals L 30–35 3–3 Riverfront Stadium 53,112 7 October 20 Washington Redskins W 17–3 4–3 Giants Stadium 74,389 8 October 27 at New Orleans Saints W 21–13 5–3 Louisiana Superdome 54,082 9 November 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 22–20 6–3 Giants Stadium 72,031 10 November 10 Los Angeles Rams W 24–19 7–3 Giants Stadium 74,663 11 at Washington Redskins L 21–23 7–4 RFK Stadium 53,371 12 November 24 at St. Louis Cardinals W 34–3 8–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 41,248 13 December 1 Cleveland Browns L 33–35 8–5 Giants Stadium 66,482 14 December 8 at Houston Oilers W 35–14 9–5 Houston Astrodome 36,576 15 December 15 at Dallas Cowboys L 21–28 9–6 Texas Stadium 62,310 16 Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–10 10–6 Giants Stadium 66,785 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Results
Week 1
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Week 2
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Week 7
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Week 8
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Week 9
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Week 10
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Week 11
Week 12
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Week 13
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Week 14
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Week 15
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Week 16
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Standings
Playoffs
Wild card
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
The Giants lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears.
Awards and honors Phil Simms, Pro Bowl MVP NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 202
References
External links 1985 New York Giants at jt-sw.com 1985 New York Giants at Pro-Football-Reference.com