1988 New York Giants season

The 1988 New York Giants season was the franchise's 64th season in the National Football League. The team would finish with 10 wins and 6 losses, 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.

1988 New York Giants season
Owner	Wellington Mara
Head coach	Bill Parcells
General manager	George Young
Home field	Giants Stadium
Local radio	WNEW–AM 1130
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	2 LB Lawrence Taylor FS Terry Kinard

Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	10	Eric Moore

Personnel

Staff

1988 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 – Tom Coughlin 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

1988 New York Giants roster

	Quarterbacks 15 Jeff Hostetler 17 Jeff Rutledge 11 Phil Simms Running backs 33 George Adams 24 Ottis Anderson 44 Maurice Carthon FB 20 Joe Morris 22 Lee Rouson FB Wide receivers 85 Stephen Baker 82 Mark Ingram 86 Lionel Manuel 80 Phil McConkey 81 Stacy Robinson 83 Odessa Turner Tight ends 89 Mark Bavaro 88 Brad Beckman 84 Zeke Mowatt 87 Tim Sherwin		Offensive linemen 67 Billy Ard G 76 Jumbo Elliott T 69 Joe Fields C/G 68 Damian Johnson G 60 Eric Moore G 63 Karl Nelson T 65 Bart Oates C 72 Doug Riesenberg T 66 William Roberts T Defensive linemen 64 Jim Burt NT 77 Eric Dorsey DE 74 Erik Howard NT 70 Leonard Marshall DE 75 George Martin DE 73 John Washington DE 71 Robb White DE		Linebackers 58 Carl Banks OLB 53 Harry Carson ILB 98 Johnie Cooks 54 Andy Headen 57 Byron Hunt 52 Pepper Johnson ILB 55 Gary Reasons ILB 51 Ricky Shaw 56 Lawrence Taylor OLB Defensive backs 25 Mark Collins CB 28 Tom Flynn 41 Neal Guggemos 37 Wayne Haddix 48 Kenny Hill SS 43 Terry Kinard FS 46 Greg Lasker 36 Adrian White 39 Sheldon White CB 23 Perry Williams CB Special teams  2 Raul Allegre K  8 Maury Buford P  5 Sean Landeta P  6 Paul McFadden K		Reserve lists {{{reserve_lists}}} Practice squad Rookies in italics

[1]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 5, 1988	Washington Redskins	W 27–20	76,417
2	September 11, 1988	San Francisco 49ers	L 20–17	75,943
3	September 18, 1988	at Dallas Cowboys	W 12–10	55,325
4	September 25, 1988	Los Angeles Rams	L 45–31	75,617
5	October 2, 1988	at Washington Redskins	W 24–23	54,601
6	October 10, 1988	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 24–13	63,736
7	October 16, 1988	Detroit Lions	W 30–10	74,813
8	October 23, 1988	at Atlanta Falcons	W 23–16	45,092
9	October 30, 1988	at Detroit Lions	W 13–10	38,354
10	November 6, 1988	Dallas Cowboys	W 29–21	75,826
11	November 13, 1988	at Phoenix Cardinals	L 24–17	65,324
12	November 20, 1988	Philadelphia Eagles	L 23–17	43,621
13	November 27, 1988	at New Orleans Saints	W 13–12	66,526
14	December 4, 1988	Phoenix Cardinals	W 44–7	73,438
15	December 11, 1988	Kansas City Chiefs	W 28–12	69,807
16	December 18, 1988	at New York Jets	L 27–21	69,770

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 6 7 0 7 20 • Giants 0 3 10 14 27 Date: September 5 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 8:00 p.m. Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C), wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn) Referee: Dick Jorgensen TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf

Scoring summary 1 WSH Chip Lohmiller 26 yard field goal Redskins 3–0 1 WSH Chip Lohmiller 25 yard field goal Redskins 6–0 2 WSH Ricky Sanders 29 yard pass from Doug Williams (Chip Lohmiller kick) Redskins 13–0 2 NYG Raul Allegre 23 yard field goal Redskins 13–3 3 NYG Joe Morris 9 yard run (Raul Allegre kick) Redskins 13–10 3 NYG Raul Allegre 32 yard field goal Tie 13–13 4 NYG Tom Flynn 27 yard blocked punt return (Raul Allegre kick) Giants 20–13 4 NYG Jim Burt 39 yard fumble return (Raul Allegre kick) Giants 27–13 4 WSH Kelvin Bryant 19 yard pass from Doug Williams (Chip Lohmiller kick) Giants 27–20

[2]

Week 9

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Giants 0 3 7 0 3 13 Lions 0 7 0 3 0 10 Date: October 30 Location: Pontiac Silverdome Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 38,354 Game weather: Indoors (dome) TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Dan Jiggetts

Scoring summary Q2 DET Chadwick 15 yard pass from Hilger (Murray kick) DET 7–0 Q2 NYG McFadden 42 yard field goal DET 7–3 Q3 NYG Morris 1 yard run (McFadden kick) NYG 10–7 Q4 DET Murray 37 yard field goal Tie 10–10 OT NYG McFadden 33 yard field goal NYG 13–10

[3]

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total • Giants 0 7 0 6 13 Saints 3 6 0 3 12 Date: November 27 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana Game start: 7:00 p.m. Game attendance: 66,526 Game weather: Indoors (dome) Referee: Fred Silva TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann

Scoring summary Q1 NO Morten Andersen 27 yard field goal NO 3–0 Q2 NO Morten Andersen 41 yard field goal NO 6–0 Q2 NYG Stephen Baker 85 yard pass from Jeff Hostetler (Paul McFadden kick) NYG 7–6 Q2 NO Morten Andersen 26 yard field goal NO 9–7 Q4 NYG Paul McFadden 46 yard field goal NYG 10–9 Q4 NO Morten Andersen 45 yard field goal NO 12–10 Q4 NYG Paul McFadden 35 yard field goal NYG 13–12

[4]

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

External links

• 1988 New York Giants at Pro-Football-Reference.com