2005 New York Giants season

2005 New York Giants season
Head coach	Tom Coughlin
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st NFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Panthers) 23–0
Timeline
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This article chronicles the New York Giants 2005 season.

Offseason

In the 2005 off–season the Giants acquired former Steelers' wide receiver Plaxico Burress as a free agent. Also, during the 2005 Draft, the Giants used their first pick on Louisiana St. Cornerback Corey Webster. They then used their next pick on Notre Dame Defensive End Justin Tuck. The rest of their picks included Southern Illinois Running Back Brandon Jacobs and Florida St. Defensive End Eric Moore.

Draft Class

Main article: 2005 NFL Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
2	43	Corey Webster	Cornerback	LSU
3	74	Justin Tuck	Defensive End	Notre Dame
4	110	Brandon Jacobs	Running Back	Southern Illinois
6	186	Eric Moore	Defensive End	Florida St.

Regular season

The Giants won their first two games of the season, against the Arizona Cardinals (42–19) and a second game at the Meadowlands against the New Orleans Saints. The game was originally slated to be a home game for the Saints but had to be moved since the city of New Orleans was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, and the Louisiana Superdome was untenable after being used as an emergency shelter for locals displaced by the hurricane. Despite the Saints wearing their home colors and the Saints colors and logo being painted in one of the end zones, the game was a de facto home game for the Giants who won easily, 27–10. The Giants lost to the Chargers the following week, 45–23, in a game which was marked by Chargers fans booing and jeering Eli Manning for refusing to play for the Chargers. Manning and the Giants rebounded the following week however, and beat the St. Louis Rams by a score of 44–24.

Through eight games, Burress, in a bid to become the first Giant wideout to make the Pro Bowl in 37 years, had 45 catches and five scores. Jeremy Shockey, who had not been as effective as he was in his rookie season, also was beginning to re-emerge with 32 catches and over 500 yards receiving after eight weeks.

Wellington Mara's gravesite

On October 25, 2005, beloved Giants patriarch Wellington Mara died after a brief illness, at the age of 89. Mara had been involved with the Giants since he was 9 years old, when he was a ball boy for the Giants. Except a tour of duty in the military during World War II, Mara spent his entire adult life with the Giants. The New York Giants dedicated their next game to Mara, and shut out the Washington Redskins 36–0. Afterwards, the Giants went on the road and defeated the San Francisco 49ers 24–6, but when they got home, lost to the Minnesota Vikings 24–21. Just twenty days after Mara's death, on November 15, 2005, the other Giants Executive Officer and well-known businessman Bob Tisch died at the age of 79. He was diagnosed in 2004 with inoperable brain cancer. Tisch was a philanthropist all his life and donated considerable sums of money to charitable causes. After his diagnosis, he donated money to institutions aimed towards the research of drugs and treatments to control brain tumors.

Tiki Barber set Giants single season and single game rushing records in 2005.

The Giants then travelled to Seattle to play Seahawks. With the score tied at 21, kicker Jay Feely missed three field goals that would have given the Giants the lead. The Giants lost 24–21 when Seahawks kicker Josh Brown kicked a 36-yard field goal. The Giants then defeated the Cowboys 17–10. the Giants defense made opposing QB Drew Bledsoe go 15 of 39 for 146 yards with only one touchdown pass and two interceptions. The Giants then traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and defeated the defending NFC champion Eagles 26–23.

During the season, the Giants and their stadium mates, the New York Jets, announced plans for a new stadium to replace Giants Stadium for both teams. Construction of said stadium began in 2007 and continued for two years, and the venue opened in 2010 as New Meadowlands Stadium. In 2011 naming rights would be bought by MetLife.

On December 17, 2005, in their 27–17 home victory against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tiki Barber set the team's single game rushing yard record with 220 yards, breaking the previous record of 218 yards, which had been set by Gene Roberts on November 12, 1950.

The Giants were able to clinch at least a wild card berth without playing when the Minnesota Vikings fell to the Baltimore Ravens 30–23 in week 16. The Giants then won the NFC East title for the first time since 2000 with a 30–21 win against the Oakland Raiders. The team's appearance in the 2005 postseason was their 27th, tied with the Dallas Cowboys and the St. Louis Rams for the most ever by an NFL team.

Playoffs

The Giants lost 23–0 to the Carolina Panthers in the first round. After the game, Tiki Barber expressed his displeasure about Tom Coughlin's gameplan. However, the two looked at game film together and worked out their differences.

The Giants sent five players to the Pro Bowl. Barber and Shockey went representing the offense, while Strahan and Osi Umenyiora represented the defense and David Tyree was voted as the NFC's special teams player (non-kicker).), .

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Channel	Attendance
1	September 11, 2005	Arizona Cardinals	W 42–19	FOX 4:15	78,387
2	September 19, 2005	at New Orleans Saints	W 27–10	ABC 7:30	68,031
3	September 25, 2005	at San Diego Chargers	L 45–23	ESPN 8:30	65,373
4	October 2, 2005	St. Louis Rams	W 44–24	FOX 1:00	78,453
5	Bye
6	October 16, 2005	at Dallas Cowboys	L 16–13	FOX 1:00	62,278
7	October 23, 2005	Denver Broncos	W 24–23	CBS 4:15	78,516
8	October 30, 2005	Washington Redskins	W 36–0	FOX 1:00	78,630
9	November 6, 2005	at San Francisco 49ers	W 24–6	FOX 4:15	63,820
10	November 13, 2005	Minnesota Vikings	L 24–21	FOX 1:00	78,637
11	November 20, 2005	Philadelphia Eagles	W 27–17	FOX 1:00	78,626
12	November 27, 2005	at Seattle Seahawks	L 24–21	FOX 4:15	67,102
13	December 4, 2005	Dallas Cowboys	W 17–10	FOX 1:00	78,645
14	December 11, 2005	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 26–23	FOX 1:00	67,443
15	December 17, 2005	Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–17	CBS 4:15	78,625
16	December 24, 2005	at Washington Redskins	L 35–20	FOX 1:00	90,477
17	December 31, 2005	at Oakland Raiders	W 30–21	ESPN 8:30	44,594
Playoffs
Wild Card	January 8, 2006	Carolina Panthers	L 23–0	FOX 1:00	79,378

Game summary

Week 14

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Giants 7 10 3 3 3 26 Eagles 7 10 0 6 0 23 Date: December 11 Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 4:05 p.m. EST Game weather: 32°F, wind 7 mph Referee: Gerald Austin Television network: Fox

Scoring summary 1 NYG Tiki Barber 4 yard pass from Eli Manning (Jay Feely kick) Giants 7-0 1 PHI Ryan Moats 40 yard run (David Akers kick) Tie 7-7 2 NYG Eli Manning 1 yard run (Jay Feely kick) Giants 14-7 2 NYG Jay Feely 24 yard field goal Giants 17-7 2 PHI Ryan Moats 18 yard run (David Akers kick) Giants 17-14 2 PHI David Akers 42 yard field goal Tie 17-17 3 NYG Jay Feely 21 yard field goal Giants 20-17 4 NYG Jay Feely 27 yard field goal Giants 23-17 4 PHI David Akers 36 yard field goal Giants 23-20 4 PHI David Akers 50 yard field goal Tie 23-23 OT NYG Jay Feely 36 yard field goal Giants 26-23

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	422	314	W1
Washington Redskins	10	6	0	.625	5–1	10–2	359	293	W5
Dallas Cowboys	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	325	308	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	6	10	0	.375	0–6	3–9	310	388	L2

See also

• History of the New York Giants (1994-present)

See also

• List of New York Giants seasons

External links

• espn.com 2005 New York Giants results page