The 1998 New York Giants season was the team's 74th season in the National Football League (NFL) and second under head coach Jim Fassel. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 10–5–1, winning only eight games and missing the playoffs.1998 New York Giants
One of their wins, however, came against the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos in Week 15. Trailing by three late in the fourth quarter, Amani Toomer caught a deep touchdown pass from Kent Graham to give them a 20–16 lead which held when the defense stopped the Broncos on their final drive. The Broncos had not lost a game since Week 16 of the previous season, having won their last regular season game, three playoff games, Super Bowl XXXII, and the first thirteen games of the 1998 season entering the matchup with the Giants.
Offseason NFL draft
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Cincinnati Bengals W 24–17 1–0 Giants Stadium Recap 2 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 10–24 1–1 Alltel Stadium Recap 3 at New York Jets L 23–27 1–2 Giants Stadium Recap 4 Baltimore Ravens L 6–14 1–3 Giants Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 6 Washington Redskins W 31–24 1–0 Giants Stadium Recap 2 September 13 at Oakland Raiders L 17–20 1–1 Network Associates Coliseum Recap 3 Dallas Cowboys L 7–31 1–2 Giants Stadium Recap 4 September 27 at San Diego Chargers W 34–16 2–2 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 5 October 4 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 3–20 2–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap 6 October 11 Atlanta Falcons L 20–34 2–4 Giants Stadium Recap 7 October 18 Arizona Cardinals W 34–7 3–4 Giants Stadium Recap 8 Bye 9 November 1 at Washington Redskins L 14–21 3–5 Jack Kent Cooke Stadium Recap 10 November 8 at Dallas Cowboys L 6–16 3–6 Texas Stadium Recap 11 November 15 Green Bay Packers L 3–37 3–7 Giants Stadium Recap 12 November 22 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–0 4–7 Giants Stadium Recap 13 at San Francisco 49ers L 7–31 4–8 3Com Park Recap 14 December 6 at Arizona Cardinals W 23–19 5–8 Sun Devil Stadium Recap 15 December 13 Denver Broncos W 20–16 6–8 Giants Stadium Recap 16 December 20 Kansas City Chiefs W 28–7 7–8 Giants Stadium Recap 17 December 27 at Philadelphia Eagles W 20–10 8–8 Veterans Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Washington Redskins
Just like they had in 1997, the Giants used the power of their pass rush and domination in the turnover battle to defeat the Redskins 31-24 for their 100th win at Giants Stadium, sacking Washington's quarterbacks eight times and turning three third-quarter takeaways into three touchdowns.
The Redskins scored first after a 37-yard punt return by Brian Mitchell led to quarterback Gus Frerotte finding wide receiver Leslie Shepherd for a 17-yard touchdown. Late in the first quarter, a 15-yard punt return by Amani Toomer set the Giants up in Washington territory, which eventually led to a 35-yard Brad Daluiso field goal after a third-down drop by wide receiver Ike Hilliard.
On the ensuing drive, Frerotte hit Michael Westbrook for a 31-yard touchdown, but right tackle Shar Pourdanesh was called for holding on Michael Strahan; then consecutive sacks by Keith Hamilton and Chad Bratzke killed the possession. Quarterback Danny Kanell hit rookie wide receiver Joe Jurevicius for 22 yards on 3rd-and-7, but he was later flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, forcing New York to punt. Late in the second quarter, a 46-yard field goal by Scott Blanton increased the Redskins' lead to 10–3.
Two plays from scrimmage later, Kanell hit Hilliard—who only played two games his rookie year after a neck injury led to posterior spine stabilization surgery—for a 45-yard gain. Three straight carries by fullback Charles Way gave the Giants 1st-and-Goal at the 9-yard line. Kanell was intercepted by cornerback Cris Dishman on the next play, but linebacker Marvcus Patton was flagged for defensive holding; Kanell made them pay by rolling out and hitting wide receiver Chris Calloway in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, faking out Dishman in the process.
With the score tied at 10 at the start of the third quarter, David Patten returned the opening kickoff 45 yards to Washington's 44; but on 3rd-and-3, Kanell missed Patten with a deep pass that would've gone for a touchdown. However, Brad Maynard's ensuing punt set Washington up at their 5, and Frerotte's next pass was deflected by cornerback Phillippi Sparks and intercepted by a diving Conrad Hamilton, filling in for the injured Jason Sehorn. His return to the 2 led to a touchdown run by Way.
Immediately after, Frerotte's throw to tight end Jamie Asher was intercepted by Strahan—who had dropped back into coverage because of a zone blitz—and returned 24 yards for another score, putting the Giants up 24–10. On the next drive, Frerotte—already a little banged up after trying to make a tackle on Hamilton's pick—was sacked on consecutive plays by Strahan and a combined Bratzke and Keith Hamilton; he would leave the game with a sprained left shoulder.
After a Giants punt, Trent Green—who had only one pass to his name in a four-year career—hit a deep throw to Westbrook for 62 yards; that led to a touchdown toss to fullback Larry Bowie. But after New York went three-and-out, Green was sacked by defensive tackle Christian Peter and fumbled, with Hamilton recovering; one play later, Kanell hit Toomer with a tightly thrown pass for a touchdown, increasing their lead to 31–17.
In the fourth quarter, an interception by former Giants safety Jesse Campbell led to Green converting on a 3rd-and-14 pass to Shepherd and a 4th-and-2 pass to Westbrook; soon after, Green completed a pass to tight end Stephen Alexander for a 1-yard score, making it 31–24 with 6:16 remaining.
On their next possession, a 24-yard pass to Alexander put the Redskins at the Giants' 38; but Green's fourth-down pass for Westbrook was knocked away by safety Percy Ellsworth, and their last-ditch drive failed to cross midfield, with the ball slipping out of Green's hand on a pump-fake for an incomplete pass on 4th-and-10.
With two sacks and an interception return for his first career touchdown, Strahan was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week, as the Giants' defense overcame a relatively unproductive offensive outing.
Week 2: at Oakland Raiders
An early-season cross-country trip to Oakland—the Giants' first game there since 1973—resulted in a disappointing loss to the Raiders, a game dominated by penalties and decided by timely defensive breakdowns and an inefficient New York offense.
On the first play, running back Napoleon Kaufman broke through the line and raced 80 yards for a touchdown, longer than any play the Giants had allowed from scrimmage the previous year. But Charles Way hit back with a 21-yard run, aided by 15 yards with a late hit by safety Eric Turner; then an 18-yard pass from Danny Kanell to Ike Hilliard put the Giants in the red zone. Four plays later, he hit Hilliard again on a slant for a hard-fought score; it was Hilliard's first career touchdown and the first for the Giants on their opening drive since Week 15 of the 1996 season.
Neither team gained a first down on each of their next two drives, as Kanell was sacked by defensive end Lance Johnstone and quarterback Jeff George by Michael Strahan, while a 26-yard completion to tight end Howard Cross was wiped out by holding on center Lance Scott. A 49-yard catch-and-run by Tim Brown got the Raiders off their own 4-yard line, but a sack by Chad Bratzke killed the possession.
The game trudged through the second quarter, as neither team crossed midfield until the four-minute mark, with both Tiki Barber and Gary Brown being stopped for losses on 3rd-and-short situations, while George threw a third-down pass short of the mark to wide receiver James Jett, and had another pass nearly intercepted by safety Tito Wooten.
After a New York punt, the Raiders took over at their own 20-yard line with 1:02 remaining in the first half; George then hit consecutive passes to Jett for 25 yards to get into Giants territory. Two plays later, he found wide receiver Terry Mickens for a 10-yard gain, and then threw a screen pass to Kaufman for 12 yards; Kaufman fumbled on the play and linebacker Ryan Phillips recovered, but an inadvertent whistle by referee Dick Hantak negated the turnover. Soon after, a 41-yard Greg Davis field goal gave Oakland a 10–7 lead as the half expired.
The third quarter began similarly for both teams; David Patten returned the kickoff 49 yards, Kanell fumbled on a sack by defensive end James Harris but right tackle Scott Gragg recovered, and a Brad Daluiso field goal was taken off the board when linebacker James Folston was called for defensive holding, leading to Kanell hitting Chris Calloway for a 20-yard touchdown. Then a 42-yard kickoff return by Desmond Howard led to an eventual 3rd-and-1 at the Giants' 29; George fumbled the snap, but fell on top of it, and then threw to fullback Jon Ritchie on fourth down for seven yards. Three plays later, he hit Brown, who beat Conrad Hamilton for a 22-yard score, putting the Raiders back up 17–14.
After Brad Maynard's next punt was downed by Pete Monty at the 1, George had a pass for Ritchie stripped by defensive tackle Robert Harris for a fumble, which linebacker Marcus Buckley recovered at the 15. But the Giants went backwards in three plays, so they brought on Daluiso to tie the game with a field goal. The Raiders' next drive was foiled by a Strahan sack, and a 39-yard punt return by Amani Toomer set the Giants up at Oakland's 36; but after a 14-yard run by Barber, the series stalled, and Daluiso missed wide right on a 40-yard kick.
Bratzke forced a fumble on his next sack of George, but left tackle Pat Harlow recovered; it still forced the Raiders into a 3rd-and-26, but George found tight end Rickey Dudley down the seam for 26 yards. A 29-yard pass to Brown on 3rd-and-8 set up a 3rd-and-inches at the Giants' 18 with eight minutes left. But left guard Steve Wisniewski was flagged for false start, and Jessie Armstead sacked George and forced a fumble; Harlow recovered again, but they were knocked out of field goal range and punted down to the 6.
However, the Giants went three-and-out, with a holding call on Gragg—the 31st and last accepted penalty of the game—negating Hilliard's first-down catch, and Oakland got the ball back at New York's 49. An 8-yard run by Kaufman, a 13-yard catch by Brown, and a 10-yard catch by Howard on 3rd-and-10 put the ball at the 13-yard line; the Giants' defense finally tightened up, so Davis kicked a 26-yard field goal, giving Oakland a 20–17 lead at the two-minute warning.
With one time-out remaining, the Giants took over at their own 21; Kanell hit Hilliard for 9 yards, then Barber out of the backfield, but he was knocked out of bounds inches short of the first down. On third down, Turner knocked away the pass for Barber; however, Kanell ran a quarterback sneak for the first down. After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Kanell completed to Hilliard for 10 yards, and then Barber for four up to the 45 as the clock reached under a minute. But after Charles Woodson knocked away Kanell's pass for Joe Jurevicius, Turner blitzed and sacked him for an 11-yard loss. The Giants hurried to the line on fourth down, but Turner this time intercepted Kanell's pass for Hilliard, sealing the Raiders win.
George threw for 303 yards despite being sacked five times, while the Giants converted on just 1-of-14 third downs and committed 15 of the penalties, with nine of them for pre-snap movement.
Week 3: vs. Dallas Cowboys