1985 New York Giants season

The 1985 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.

1985 New York Giants season
OwnerWellington Mara
General managerGeorge Young
Head coachBill Parcells
Home fieldGiants Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishWon wild card playoffs
(vs. 49ers) 17–3
Lost divisional playoffs
(at Bears) 0–21
Pro Bowlers
5

Offseason

NFL draft
Main article: 1985 NFL Draft
Round #Pick #PlayerPositionCollege
119George AdamsRunning backKentucky
246Stacy RobinsonWide receiverNorth Dakota State
358Tyrone DavisDefensive backClemson
373Brian JohnstonCenterNorth Carolina
4100Mark BavaroTight endNotre Dame
5132Tracy HendersonWide receiverOhio State
6159Jack OliverGuardMemphis State
8213Lee RousonRunning backColorado
9240Frank WrightDefensive tackleSouth Carolina
10272Gregg DubrocLinebackerLSU
11299Al YoungDefensive backVirginia Tech
12326Herb WelchDefensive backUCLA

Personnel

Staff
1985 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
1985 New York Giants roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 67 William Roberts G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 84 Zeke Mowatt TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

[1]

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.[2]

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 November 18 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 December 21 Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–10 10–6 Giants Stadium 66,785

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1
1 234Total
Eagles 0 000 0
• Giants 14 007 21

[3]

Week 2
1 234Total
Giants 0 677 20
• Packers 10 706 23

[4]

Week 3
1 234Total
Cardinals 7 307 17
• Giants 7 3107 27

[5]

Week 4
1 234OTTotal
• Giants 0 01006 16
Eagles 0 0370 10

[6]

Week 5
1 234Total
• Cowboys 7 779 30
Giants 3 3203 29

[7]

Week 6
1 234Total
Giants 0 31710 30
• Bengals 14 777 35

[8]

Week 7
1 234Total
Redskins 0 003 3
• Giants 0 773 17

[9]

Week 8
1 234Total
• Giants 0 7014 21
Saints 3 0010 13

[10]

Week 9
1 234Total
Buccaneers 3 1007 20
• Giants 3 3106 22

[11]

Week 10
1 234Total
Rams 7 633 19
• Giants 0 7107 24

[12]

Week 11
1 234Total
Giants 7 0140 21
• Redskins 7 079 23
  • Date: November 18
  • Location: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11.1 °C); wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • Television network: ABC

Week 12
1 234Total
• Giants 0 101014 34
Cardinals 3 000 3

[13]

Week 13
1 234Total
• Browns 7 14014 35
Giants 7 13310 33

[14]

Week 14
1 234Total
• Giants 14 2100 35
Oilers 0 1400 14

[15]

Week 15
1 234Total
Giants 0 1407 21
• Cowboys 7 1407 28

[16]

Week 16
1 234Total
Steelers 0 370 10
• Giants 7 2100 28

[17]

Standings
NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys(3) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 7–5 357 333 L1
New York Giants(4) 10 6 0 .625 5–3 8–4 399 283 W1
Washington Redskins 10 6 0 .625 4–4 6–6 297 312 W3
Philadelphia Eagles 7 9 0 .438 4–4 6–8 286 310 W1
St. Louis Cardinals 5 11 0 .313 1–7 3–9 278 414 L2

Playoffs

Wild card
1 234Total
49ers 0 300 3
• Giants 3 770 17

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
1 234Total
Giants 0 000 0
• Bears 7 0140 21
  • Date: January 5
  • Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
  • Game start: 11:30 a.m.
  • Game weather: 18 °F (−7.8 °C); wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerrall & John Madden

The Giants lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears.

Awards and honors
  • Phil Simms, Pro Bowl MVP [18]

References
  1. "1985 New York Giants starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  2. Shapiro, Leonard (November 18, 2005). "The Hit That Changed a Career". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
  3. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  5. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  7. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  8. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  9. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  10. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  11. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  12. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  13. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  14. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  15. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  16. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  17. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  18. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 202
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