1988 New York Giants season
OwnerWellington Mara
General managerGeorge Young
Head coachBill Parcells
Home fieldGiants Stadium
Local radioWNEW–AM 1130
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
2

The 1988 New York Giants season was the franchise's 64th season in the National Football League (NFL). The team would finish with 10–6, but a loss to the New York Jets in the season finale would keep them out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The Giants would finish second behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the division, losing the conference tiebreaker to the Los Angeles Rams for the final wild card. The season was marked early by the suspension for substance abuse of star linebacker Lawrence Taylor by the NFL for the first four games of the season. Following the end of the season, the Giants would see two longtime defensive stalwarts; defensive end George Martin and future Hall-of-Fame inside linebacker Harry Carson, announce their retirement.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1988 NFL Draft
1988 New York Giants draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 10 Eric Moore  G Indiana
2 36 John Elliott *  T Michigan
3 62 Sheldon White  CB Miami (OH)
4 92 Ricky Shaw  LB Oklahoma State
5 118 Jon Carter  DE Pittsburgh
6 145 David Houle  G Michigan State
7 175 Mike Perez  QB San Jose State
7 186 Danta Whitaker  TE Mississippi Valley State
8 202 Sammy Lilly  CB Georgia Tech
10 259 Eric Hickerson  DB Indiana
10 265 Steve Wilkes  TE Appalachian State
11 286 Greg Harris  WR Troy State
12 313 David Futrell  DT Brigham Young
12 323 Brendan McCormack  DT South Carolina
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1988 New York Giants staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Bill Belichick
  • Defensive line – Lamar Leachman
  • Defensive backfield – Len Fontes
  • Defensive assistant – Mike Sweatman

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Romeo Crennel
  • Assistant special teams – Mike Sweatman

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Johnny Parker

Roster

1988 New York Giants roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad None

47 active, 15 inactive


Rookies in italics

[2]

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue
1 August 7 at Green Bay Packers W 34–3 1–0 Lambeau Field
2 August 14 New York Jets W 24–21 2–0 Giants Stadium
3 August 20 Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–17 3–0 Giants Stadium
4 August 27 at Cleveland Browns L 13–17 3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 5 Washington Redskins W 27–20 1–0 Giants Stadium Recap
2 September 11 San Francisco 49ers L 17–20 1–1 Giants Stadium Recap
3 September 18 at Dallas Cowboys W 12–10 2–1 Texas Stadium Recap
4 September 25 Los Angeles Rams L 31–45 2–2 Giants Stadium Recap
5 October 2 at Washington Redskins W 24–23 3–2 RFK Stadium Recap
6 October 10 at Philadelphia Eagles L 13–24 3–3 Veterans Stadium Recap
7 October 16 Detroit Lions W 30–10 4–3 Giants Stadium Recap
8 October 23 at Atlanta Falcons W 23–16 5–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Recap
9 October 30 at Detroit Lions W 13–10 (OT) 6–3 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
10 November 6 Dallas Cowboys W 29–21 7–3 Giants Stadium Recap
11 November 13 at Phoenix Cardinals L 17–24 7–4 Sun Devil Stadium Recap
12 November 20 Philadelphia Eagles L 17–23 (OT) 7–5 Giants Stadium Recap
13 November 27 at New Orleans Saints W 13–12 8–5 Louisiana Superdome Recap
14 December 4 Phoenix Cardinals W 44–7 9–5 Giants Stadium Recap
15 December 11 Kansas City Chiefs W 28–12 10–5 Giants Stadium Recap
16 December 18 at New York Jets L 21–27 10–6 Giants Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
Redskins 6 707 20
• Giants 0 31014 27
Scoring summary
1WSHChip Lohmiller 26 yard field goalRedskins 3–0
1WSHChip Lohmiller 25 yard field goalRedskins 6–0
2WSHRicky Sanders 29 yard pass from Doug Williams (Chip Lohmiller kick)Redskins 13–0
2NYGRaúl Allegre 23 yard field goalRedskins 13–3
3NYGJoe Morris 9 yard run (Raúl Allegre kick)Redskins 13–10
3NYGRaúl Allegre 32 yard field goalTie 13–13
4NYGTom Flynn 27 yard blocked punt return (Raúl Allegre kick)Giants 20–13
4NYGJim Burt 39 yard fumble return (Raúl Allegre kick)Giants 27–13
4WSHKelvin Bryant 19 yard pass from Doug Williams (Chip Lohmiller kick)Giants 27–20

[3]

Week 3

1 234Total
• Giants 5 070 12
Cowboys 3 070 10

Week 9

1 234OTTotal
• Giants 0 3703 13
Lions 0 7030 10
Scoring summary
Q2DETChadwick 15 yard pass from Hilger (Murray kick)DET 7–0
Q2NYGMcFadden 42 yard field goalDET 7–3
Q3NYGMorris 1 yard run (McFadden kick)NYG 10–7
Q4DETMurray 37 yard field goalTie 10–10
OTNYGMcFadden 33 yard field goalNYG 13–10

[4]

Week 13

1 234Total
• Giants 0 706 13
Saints 3 603 12
Scoring summary
Q1NOMorten Andersen 27 yard field goalNO 3–0
Q2NOMorten Andersen 41 yard field goalNO 6–0
Q2NYGStephen Baker 85 yard pass from Jeff Hostetler (Paul McFadden kick)NYG 7–6
Q2NOMorten Andersen 26 yard field goalNO 9–7
Q4NYGPaul McFadden 46 yard field goalNYG 10–9
Q4NOMorten Andersen 45 yard field goalNO 12–10
Q4NYGPaul McFadden 35 yard field goalNYG 13–12

[5]

Standings

NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Philadelphia Eagles(3) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 8–4 379 319 W2
New York Giants 10 6 0 .625 5–3 9–5 359 304 L1
Washington Redskins 7 9 0 .438 4–4 6–6 345 387 L2
Phoenix Cardinals 7 9 0 .438 3–5 6–6 344 398 L5
Dallas Cowboys 3 13 0 .188 2–6 3–9 265 381 L1

References

  1. ^ "1991 New York Giants Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1988 New York Giants starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-03.
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jan-20.

External links

New York Giants
New York Giants seasons
1988 NFL season
Categories