The 1997 New York Giants season was the franchise's 73rd season in the National Football League (NFL) and the first under head coach Jim Fassel, who replaced Dan Reeves after four seasons.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p.133
The Giants improved upon their previous season's output of 6–10. They managed to achieve a 10–5–1 record, the Giants’ best mark since 1993, and won the NFC East for the first time since their 1990 Super Bowl season.1997 New York Giants Despite winning the division title and earning a home playoff game, the Giants were eliminated in their Wild Card Round matchup by the Minnesota Vikings 23–22.
Offseason
NFL draft
Roster
Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 at Baltimore Ravens W 21–20 1–0 Memorial Stadium 2 Jacksonville Jaguars L 16–38 1–1 Giants Stadium 3 New York Jets L 17–27 1–2 Giants Stadium 4 at Green Bay Packers L 17–22 1–3 Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, Wisconsin)
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 August 31 Philadelphia Eagles W 31–17 1–0 Giants Stadium Recap 2 September 7 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 13–40 1–1 Alltel Stadium Recap 3 September 14 Baltimore Ravens L 23–24 1–2 Giants Stadium Recap 4 September 21 at St. Louis Rams L 3–13 1–3 Trans World Dome Recap 5 September 28 New Orleans Saints W 14–9 2–3 Giants Stadium Recap 6 October 5 Dallas Cowboys W 20–17 3–3 Giants Stadium Recap 7 October 12 at Arizona Cardinals W 27–13 4–3 Sun Devil Stadium Recap 8 October 19 at Detroit Lions W 26–20 (OT) 5–3 Pontiac Silverdome Recap 9 October 26 Cincinnati Bengals W 29–27 6–3 Giants Stadium Recap 10 Bye 11 November 9 at Tennessee Oilers L 6–10 6–4 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Recap 12 November 16 Arizona Cardinals W 19–10 7–4 Giants Stadium Recap 13 November 23 at Washington Redskins T 7–7 (OT) 7–4–1 Jack Kent Cooke Stadium Recap 14 November 30 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 8–20 7–5–1 Giants Stadium Recap 15 December 7 at Philadelphia Eagles W 31–21 8–5–1 Veterans Stadium Recap 16 December 13 Washington Redskins W 30–10 9–5–1 Giants Stadium Recap 17 December 21 at Dallas Cowboys W 20–7 10–5–1 Texas Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Despite being projected by many to finish last place in the NFC East after going 6–10 in 1996 and boasting the NFL's youngest roster, the Giants secured a victory in their first regular season game under new head coach Jim Fassel on his 48th birthday against their division rivals the Eagles, whom they had lost to in four straight meetings. Although they were outgained in first downs (24–12), total yards (447–290) and time of possession (35:31–24:29), New York won the turnover battle (2–0) and controlled the game at the line of scrimmage.
After posting one of the lowest-scoring offenses and having one of the most ineffective pass rushing units in '96, the Giants collected nine sacks against Philadelphia's quarterbacks, with Michael Strahan picking up 2.5, while the offense hit big early with Dave Brown finding Charles Way out of the backfield for a 62-yard catch-and-run on their second possession; this led to Brown scoring a touchdown on a quarterback draw three plays later.
After Chris Boniol kicked a 48-yard field goal for the Eagles, the Giants maintained a 7–3 lead late in the first half, with a Scott Galyon pass deflection and Keith Hamilton's sack spoiling drives, before rookie Tiki Barber—one of five Giant rookies starting the game—ran for a 21-yard gain and then caught a pass from Brown for 28 yards. With six seconds remaining, Brown then hit Chris Calloway for a touchdown.
The Giants continued their momentum on the opening kickoff of the third quarter, with Thomas Lewis sprinting 84 yards to the Eagle 8-yard line; two plays later, Barber scored his first NFL touchdown. After a 39-yard Brad Daluiso field goal made the score 24–3, the Eagles replaced starting quarterback Ty Detmer with Rodney Peete, who immediately led them on an 81-yard drive, capped off by a touchdown run by Ricky Watters. In the fourth quarter, Peete completed five consecutive passes, finding Kevin Turner on a contested pass for a 14-yard touchdown, cutting New York's lead to 24–17 with 8:15 remaining.
After the Giants went three-and-out, Watters gained 25 yards on back-to-back carries to put Philadelphia on the edge of the red zone. But Peete's next pass was intercepted by rookie safety Sam Garnes, who raced 95 yards for a back-breaking touchdown. Any comeback hopes were quelled on the next possession, as New York's pass rush of Strahan and fellow defensive end Chad Bratzke combined to sack Peete three times, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Hamilton.
The Giants' nine sacks marked nearly a third of their entire 1996 total (30), also marking a successful debut for new defensive coordinator John Fox. With the win, Fassel became their third consecutive head coach to win his debut after Dan Reeves and Ray Handley, and the first NFL head coach to win his debut on his birthday.
Week 2: at Jacksonville Jaguars
After an opening day victory, the Giants traveled south to face the Jaguars, the AFC Championship Game participants of a season ago, who were forced into playing their third-string quarterback, with starter Mark Brunell and backup Rob Johnson out with injuries. Former seventh-round draft pick Steve Matthews was making his first and only NFL start, but New York stumbled through an eventual blowout due to a lethargic offense that was shredded in the time of possession battle (39:39-20:21).
Neither team crossed midfield on each of their first three drives before Keith Hamilton sacked Matthews and forced a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Marcus Buckley, setting up the Giants at Jacksonville's 27-yard line. A sliding 23-yard catch by rookie wide receiver Ike Hilliard led to a Tiki Barber touchdown; however, Hilliard suffered a sprained neck ligament making the catch, which not only took him out of the game, but forced the seventh overall draft pick to miss the remainder of the season due to spinal instability.
Very little went right for the Giants after that. A 43-yard pass to Keenan McCardell led to a Mike Hollis field goal at the start of the second quarter. On the next play from scrimmage, Barber fumbled the ball, which was recovered by safety Travis Davis. Five plays later, Matthews's third-down pass was intercepted in the end zone by linebacker Corey Widmer, but defensive back Thomas Randolph was flagged for pass interference. James Stewart then hurdled into the end zone to give the Jaguars a 10–7 lead.
After a Giants punt, Matthews led Jacksonville on a 13-play, 82-yard drive, often victimizing Randolph—filling in for the ill Phillippi Sparks and injured Conrad Hamilton—with the passing game. On 4th-and-1 from the 9-yard line, Natrone Means broke loose for a touchdown. With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, New York took over in Jaguars territory, and reached the 30-yard line. But on Dave Brown's pass to tight end Howard Cross, he was hit and fumbled the ball, and rookie defensive end Renaldo Wynn recovered. A 21-yard pass to wide receiver Willie Jackson led to a 52-yard Hollis field goal, stretching Jacksonville's lead to 20–7 at halftime.
On Jacksonville's second drive of the third quarter, the running of Means and Stewart led to another Hollis field goal. After that, the Giants finally achieved a sustained drive, as Brown hit Barber down the left sideline for a 29-yard gain. A pass interference call on cornerback Deon Figures put the ball at the 8, where Brown found Chris Calloway for a touchdown; a failed two-point conversion kept the score 23–13.
In the fourth quarter, the floodgates opened, as Matthews completed a 41-yard pass to Jimmy Smith, who again beat Randolph on the play. That set up Hollis's fourth field goal; two plays later, Brown was intercepted by Davis, which led to Means scoring his second touchdown. Stewart added another of his own in the closing minutes to complete the scoring.
After a successful debut, Barber only rushed for 17 yards on 11 carries, while Brown and the passing game were undone by drops and poor decision-making, with the offense only converting on 2-of-12 3rd downs and gaining 206 yards from scrimmage.
Week 3: vs. Baltimore Ravens
Despite earning a season-high 29 first downs and winning nearly every major statistical category, the Giants dropped a 24-23 decision to the Ravens due to special teams blunders and a couple of late defensive breakdowns.
Baltimore struck first on their initial drive, as Earnest Byner gained 27 yards on four straight touches before Vinny Testaverde completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Derrick Alexander. Late in the first quarter, Dave Brown completed three straight passes to put the ball on the 1-yard line, where Tiki Barber scored his third touchdown in as many games; however, Brad Daluiso's extra point attempt was blocked by Rob Burnett.
On the Giants' next drive, after an interception was nullified by penalty, a 27-yard pass to Amani Toomer on 3rd-and-7 put them in field goal range; however, Daluiso's 41-yard kick missed wide right. Two plays later, Testaverde hit Michael Jackson for a 34-yard gain, setting Baltimore up at the 1. New York stopped them on three plays before rookie running back Jay Graham finally scored to extend their lead to 14–6. Late in the first half, Brown completed 8-of-9 passes on a 67-yard drive, the last one a touchdown toss to Charles Way with 14 seconds left. Their two-point conversion attempt failed, so they trailed 14–12 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the running of Barber and veteran Tyrone Wheatley keyed a 61-yard drive, with the Giants benefitting when an apparent Barber fumble was ruled a stoppage of forward progress. Wheatley scored from the 1, and Brown completed a pass to Barber for two points, putting New York up 20–14. Later in the period, Testaverde was intercepted by safety Percy Ellsworth; soon after, Brown hit Howard Cross for 26 yards and wide receiver Kevin Alexander for 20 to put the Giants in the red zone. A 27-yard field goal by Daluiso put the Giants ahead by nine early in the fourth.
After both teams went three-and-out, Testaverde led the Ravens on an 83-yard march, including a 34-yard pass to tight end Eric Green. Three plays later, he found Jackson in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown to make the score 23–21. On the ensuing drive, Barber was stopped on 3rd-and-1 at Baltimore's 24, and Daluiso missed another 41-yard field goal wide right.
With three minutes remaining, Baltimore took over; Testaverde dropped the ball on the first play as he pulled back from center Leo Goeas, but it bounced right back to him and he ran for an 11-yard gain. A 12-yard run by Byner and an 11-yard catch by Green set up Stover—a member of the Giants' 1990 Super Bowl roster—for a game-winning 37-yard field goal with 34 seconds left.
The loss spoiled a solid game for Brown, who threw for 269 yards while completing passes to nine different receivers; Chris Calloway led with eight catches for 79 yards. It was the Ravens' first road win since their move from Cleveland prior to the 1996 season.
Week 4: at St. Louis Rams
An ugly defensive struggle saw the Giants fall 13–3 to the Rams, in their first season under head coach and old Philadelphia nemesis Dick Vermeil, as they accumulated just 194 yards of total offense.
Their first play from scrimmage was a busted exchange that resulted in Dave Brown scrambling for seven yards and getting injured on the play. Two plays later, his replacement Danny Kanell was sacked and fumbled, and defensive tackle D'Marco Farr recovered for St. Louis. The defense forced a stop of Lawrence Phillips on 4th-and-1, but Tiki Barber was also injured on a hit that knocked the ball out shortly after; both he and Brown would return, however.