1988 New York Giants season

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. Although the Philadelphia Eagles also finished 10-6, Philadelphia's season sweep of New York gave the Eagles the NFC East title, while the Giants lost the conference tiebreaker to the Los Angeles Rams for the final wild card berth. 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.

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

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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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

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Staff

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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


Roster

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1988 New York Giants roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

None

47 active, 15 inactive Reserve


Rookies in italics

[2]

Preseason

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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

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Schedule

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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

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Week 1

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1 234Total
Redskins 6 707 20
• Giants 0 31014 27

[3]

Week 3

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

Week 9

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1 234OTTotal
• Giants 0 3703 13
Lions 0 7030 10

[4]

Week 13

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1 234Total
• Giants 0 706 13
Saints 3 603 12

[5]

Standings

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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

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  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.
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