1996 New York Giants season

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1996 New York Giants season
Head coachDan Reeves
Home fieldGiants Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place5th NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers

The 1996 New York Giants season was the franchise's 72nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth and final under head coach Dan Reeves. The team was looking to improve on its 5-11 finish from the year before.[1][2]

In the 1996 NFL Draft, the Giants selected defensive end Cedric Jones with the fifth overall pick.[3] The Giants' first game of the season was at home against the Buffalo Bills, and resulted in a 23–20 loss in overtime. After being shut out by the Dallas Cowboys, New York fell to 0–3 with a 31–10 defeat to the Washington Redskins.[2] Against the New York Jets, the Giants earned their first victory of the season; a 15–10 win over the Minnesota Vikings left them with a 2–3 record heading into their bye week. The team then lost four of its next six games.[2] After defeating the Cowboys, the Giants' record entering December stood at 5–7.[4] They ended the season by losing three of their last four games. With a 6–10 record, the Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division.[2] After the season, the Giants fired Reeves and hired Jim Fassel as his replacement.[5]

Quarterback Dave Brown started all 16 games for the Giants in 1996, throwing for 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. New York's leading running back was Rodney Hampton, who had 254 carries for 827 yards. Wide receivers Chris Calloway and Thomas Lewis led the Giants with four touchdowns and 53 receptions each; Calloway had a team-high 739 receiving yards.[2] Defensively, Chad Bratzke and Michael Strahan had the most sacks among Giants players with five apiece, while Jason Sehorn had five interceptions to lead the team.[2]

Offseason[edit]

NFL Draft[edit]

1996 New York Giants draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 5 Cedric Jones  DE Oklahoma
2 34 Amani Toomer  WR Michigan
3 66 Roman Oben  T Louisville
4 130 Danny Kanell  QB Florida State
6 171 Doug Colman  LB Nebraska
6 182 Scott Galyon  LB Tennessee
7 214 Conrad Hamilton  CB Eastern New Mexico
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[6]

Personnel[edit]

Staff[edit]

1996 New York Giants staff

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Al Miller
  • Asst. strength and conditioning – Kerry Goode

Roster[edit]

1996 New York Giants final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
52 active, 7 inactive, 2 practice squad


Preseason[edit]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue
1 August 2 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 24–17 1–0 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
2 August 10 Baltimore Ravens L 27–37 1–1 Giants Stadium
3 August 17 at New York Jets L 6–13 2–1 Giants Stadium
4 August 23 Carolina Panthers L 7–34 2–2 Giants Stadium

Regular season[edit]

Schedule[edit]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 1 Buffalo Bills L 20–23 (OT) 0–1 Giants Stadium Recap
2 September 8 at Dallas Cowboys L 0–27 0–2 Texas Stadium Recap
3 September 15 Washington Redskins L 10–31 0–3 Giants Stadium Recap
4 September 22 at New York Jets W 13–6 1–3 Giants Stadium Recap
5 September 29 Minnesota Vikings W 15–10 2–3 Giants Stadium Recap
6 Bye
7 October 13 Philadelphia Eagles L 10–19 2–4 Giants Stadium Recap
8 October 20 at Washington Redskins L 21–31 2–5 RFK Stadium Recap
9 October 27 at Detroit Lions W 35–7 3–5 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
10 November 3 Arizona Cardinals W 16–8 4–5 Giants Stadium Recap
11 November 10 at Carolina Panthers L 17–27 4–6 Ericsson Stadium Recap
12 November 17 at Arizona Cardinals L 23–31 4–7 Sun Devil Stadium Recap
13 November 24 Dallas Cowboys W 20–6 5–7 Giants Stadium Recap
14 December 1 at Philadelphia Eagles L 0–24 5–8 Veterans Stadium Recap
15 December 8 at Miami Dolphins W 17–7 6–8 Pro Player Stadium Recap
16 December 15 New Orleans Saints L 3–17 6–9 Giants Stadium Recap
17 December 21 New England Patriots L 22–23 6–10 Giants Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries[edit]

Week 1: vs. Buffalo Bills[edit]

Week 1: Buffalo Bills at New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Bills 0 7 103323
Giants 3 14 30020

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys[edit]

Week 2: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 0 000
Cowboys 14 7 3327

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

  • Date: September 8
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT/3:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 91 °F (33 °C)
  • Game attendance: 63,069
  • Referee: Ron Blum
  • TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall and John Madden
Game information

Week 3: vs. Washington Redskins[edit]

Week 3: Washington Redskins at New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Redskins 3 14 01431
Giants 0 7 3010

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: September 15
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 73 °F (23 °C)
  • Game attendance: 71,693
  • Referee: Tom White
  • TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall and John Madden
Game information

Week 4: at New York Jets[edit]

Week 4: New York Giants at New York Jets – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 7 0613
Jets 3 0 306

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: September 22
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Light rain, 63 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 58,339
  • Referee: Johnny Grier
  • TV announcers (FOX): Mike Breen and Bill Maas
Game information

Both New York teams were seeking to rebound from 0–3 starts to the season.[7] The Jets got on the scoreboard first with Nick Lowery kicking a 46-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the Giants responded with Chris Calloway catching a 17-yard touchdown pass from Dave Brown. In the third quarter, the Jets cut the Giants' lead to one point thanks to a 39-yard field goal, once again coming from Lowery. The Giants increased the lead in the fourth quarter thanks to two 20-yard field goals from Brad Daluiso, helping them secure their first win of the season by a score of 13–6.[8]

Week 5: vs. Minnesota Vikings[edit]

Week 5: Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 7 0310
Giants 3 3 6315

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Week 7: vs. Philadelphia Eagles[edit]

Week 7: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 3 31319
Giants 3 7 0010

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: October 13
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 62 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 72,729
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton and Matt Millen
Game information

Week 8: at Washington Redskins[edit]

Week 8: New York Giants at Washington Redskins – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 0 14721
Redskins 7 21 0331

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

  • Date: October 20
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Partly sunny, 50 °F (10 °C)
  • Game attendance: 52,684
  • Referee: Dick Hantak
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton and Matt Millen
Game information

Week 9: at Detroit Lions[edit]

Week 9: New York Giants at Detroit Lions – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 2 23 01035
Lions 7 0 007

at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan

  • Date: October 27
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 63,501
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • TV announcers (Fox): Mike Breen and Bill Maas
Game information

Week 10: vs. Arizona Cardinals[edit]

Week 10: Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 0 088
Giants 3 0 31016

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Week 11: at Carolina Panthers[edit]

Week 11: New York Giants at Carolina Pantherss – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 14 0 3017
Panthers 7 3 10727

at Ericcson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Game information

Week 12: at Arizona Cardinals[edit]

Week 12: New York Giants at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 6 71023
Cardinals 14 7 7331

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

  • Date: November 17
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny, 70 °F (21 °C)
  • Game attendance: 34,924
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Harlan and Jerry Glanville
Game information

Week 13: vs. Dallas Cowboys[edit]

Week 13: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 3 0 036
Giants 0 13 0720

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: November 24
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Overcast, 44 °F (7 °C)
  • Game attendance: 77,081
  • Referee: Tom White
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton and Matt Millen
Game information

Week 14: at Philadelphia Eagles[edit]

Week 14: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 0 000
Eagles 10 14 0024

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: December 1
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Rain, 60 °F (16 °C)
  • Game attendance: 51,468
  • Referee: Howard Roe
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Harlan and Jerry Glanville
Game information

Week 15: at Miami Dolphins[edit]

Week 15: New York Giants at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 7 7 3017
Dolphins 7 0 007

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: December 8
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny, 73 °F (23 °C)
  • Game attendance: 63,889
  • Referee: Bernie Kukar
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton and Matt Millen
Game information

Week 16: vs. New Orleans Saints[edit]

Week 16: New Orleans Saints at New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Saints 0 7 01017
Giants 0 0 303

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: December 15
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Light rain, 42 °F (6 °C)
  • Game attendance: 52,530
  • Referee: Johnny Grier
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton and Matt Millen
Game information

Week 17: vs. New England Patriots[edit]

Week 17: New England Patriots at New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Patriots 0 0 32023
Giants 2 20 0022

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Standings[edit]

NFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Dallas Cowboys 10 6 0 .625 286 250 L1
(5) Philadelphia Eagles 10 6 0 .625 363 341 W2
Washington Redskins 9 7 0 .563 364 312 W1
Arizona Cardinals 7 9 0 .438 300 397 L1
New York Giants 6 10 0 .375 242 297 L2

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "1996 New York Giants". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  3. ^ "1996 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Whittingham, Richard (2005). Illustrated History of the New York Giants. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 277. ISBN 1-57243-641-7.
  5. ^ Whittingham, pp. 277–278.
  6. ^ "New York Giants NFL Draft History". National Football League. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  7. ^ Sandomir, Richard (September 17, 1996). "Jets and Giants with a Mellow Tone". The New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  8. ^ "New York Giants at New York Jets – September 22nd, 1996". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2024.