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.

1985 New York Giants season
Owner	Wellington Mara
General manager	George Young
Head coach	Bill Parcells
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. 49ers) 17–3 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Bears) 0–21
Pro Bowlers	5 QB Phil Simms RB Joe Morris DE Leonard Marshall LB Lawrence Taylor LB Harry Carson

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.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1985 NFL draft

Round #	Pick #	Player	Position	College
1	19	George Adams	Running back	Kentucky
2	46	Stacy Robinson	Wide receiver	North Dakota State
3	58	Tyrone Davis	Defensive back	Clemson
3	73	Brian Johnston	Center	North Carolina
4	100	Mark Bavaro	Tight end	Notre Dame
5	132	Tracy Henderson	Wide receiver	Ohio State
6	159	Jack Oliver	Guard	Memphis State
8	213	Lee Rouson	Running back	Colorado
9	240	Frank Wright	Defensive tackle	South Carolina
10	272	Gregg Dubroc	Linebacker	LSU
11	299	Al Young	Defensive back	Virginia Tech
12	326	Herb Welch	Defensive back	UCLA

Personnel

Staff

1985 New York Giants staff

Front office President – Wellington Mara General manager – George Young Director of pro personnel – Tim Rooney Head coaches Head coach – Bill Parcells Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Ron Erhardt Offensive backfield – Ray Handley Receivers – Pat Hodgson Tight ends – Mike Pope Offensive line – Fred Hoaglin

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 (QB) 15 Jeff Hostetler 17 Jeff Rutledge 11 Phil Simms Running backs (RB) 33 George Adams 26 Rob Carpenter 44 Maurice Carthon 30 Tony Galbreath 22 Lee Rouson 20 Joe Morris Wide receivers (WR) 88 Bobby Johnson 86 Lionel Manuel 80 Phil McConkey 81 Stacy Robinson 87 Byron Williams Tight ends (TE) 89 Mark Bavaro 85 Don Hasselbeck 82 Vyto Kab

Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Billy Ard G 60 Brad Benson T 61 Chris Godfrey G 62 Conrad Goode C 69 David Jordan G 72 Gordon King T 63 Karl Nelson T 65 Bart Oates C Defensive linemen (DL) 64 Jim Burt NT 79 Dee Hardison DE 70 Leonard Marshall DE 75 George Martin DE 76 Curtis McGriff DE 71 Casey Merrill DE 78 Jerome Sally NT

Linebackers (LB) 58 Carl Banks OLB 53 Harry Carson ILB 54 Andy Headen OLB 57 Byron Hunt OLB 51 Robbie Jones ILB 55 Gary Reasons ILB 56 Lawrence Taylor OLB Defensive backs (DB) 29 Bill Currier SS 39 Tyrone Davis CB 37 Larry Flowers FS 36 Mark Haynes CB 48 Kenny Hill SS 43 Terry Kinard FS 34 Elvis Patterson CB 21 Ted Watts CB 27 Herb Welch CB 23 Perry Williams CB Special teams 12 Jess Atkinson K  6 Ali Haji-Sheikh K  5 Sean Landeta P  3 Eric Schubert K

Reserve 67 William Roberts G (IR) 84 Zeke Mowatt TE (IR) Rookies in italics

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.

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.

Results

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 0 0 0 0 • Giants 14 0 0 7 21 Date: September 8 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 78 °F (25.6 °C); wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn) Referee: Fred Wyant TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and John Madden

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 6 7 7 20 • Packers 10 7 0 6 23 Date: September 15 Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Game start: 3:00 p.m. Game weather: 56 °F (13.3 °C); wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn) Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 7 3 0 7 17 • Giants 7 3 10 7 27 Date: September 22 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C); wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn) Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Week 4

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Giants 0 0 10 0 6 16 Eagles 0 0 3 7 0 10 Date: September 29 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 61 °F (16.1 °C); wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn) Referee: Tom Dooley TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall John Madden

Week 5

1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 7 7 7 9 30 Giants 3 3 20 3 29 Date: October 6 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 9:00 p.m. Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C); wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn) Referee: Chuck Heberling TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, O. J. Simpson, Joe Namath

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 3 17 10 30 • Bengals 14 7 7 7 35 Date: October 13 Location: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C); wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn) Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 0 0 0 3 3 • Giants 0 7 7 3 17 Date: October 20 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 60 °F (15.6 °C); wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn) Referee: Gene Barth TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total • Giants 0 7 0 14 21 Saints 3 0 0 10 13 Date: October 27 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana Game start: 3:00 p.m. Game weather: Indoors (dome) Referee: Bob Frederic TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall John Madden

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total Buccaneers 3 10 0 7 20 • Giants 3 3 10 6 22 Date: November 3 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 53 °F (11.7 °C); wind 21 miles per hour (34 km/h; 18 kn) Referee: Dick Jorgensen TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total Rams 7 6 3 3 19 • Giants 0 7 10 7 24 Date: November 10 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 63 °F (17.2 °C); wind 18 miles per hour (29 km/h; 16 kn) Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers (CBS): Jack Buck and Hank Stram

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 7 0 14 0 21 • Redskins 7 0 7 9 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 TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Joe Namath, and O.J. Simpson

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total • Giants 0 10 10 14 34 Cardinals 3 0 0 0 3 Date: November 24 Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri Game start: 3:00 p.m. Game weather: 30 °F (−1.1 °C); wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn) Referee: Red Cashion

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total • Browns 7 14 0 14 35 Giants 7 13 3 10 33 Date: December 1 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 43 °F (6.1 °C); wind 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn) Referee: Tom Dooley TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bob Griese

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total • Giants 14 21 0 0 35 Oilers 0 14 0 0 14 Date: December 8 Location: Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: Indoors (dome) Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Wayne Walker

Week 15

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 14 0 7 21 • Cowboys 7 14 0 7 28 Date: December 15 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: 36 °F (2.2 °C); wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn) Referee: Fred Silva TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 3 7 0 10 • Giants 7 21 0 0 28 Date: December 21 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 12:30 p.m. Game weather: 27 °F (−2.8 °C); wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn) Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

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 2 3 4 Total 49ers 0 3 0 0 3 • Giants 3 7 7 0 17 Date: December 29 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 75,842 Game weather: Mostly cloudy; 36 °F or 2.2 °C; wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn) Referee: Red Cashion TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

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 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 0 0 0 0 • Bears 7 0 14 0 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

External links

• 1985 New York Giants at Pro-Football-Reference.com