| NY GIANTS HISTORY 1990- 1999 | | | | 1990 | ●The Giants started the season by winning its first ten games, and eventually won the division with a 13-3 record despite losing Phil Simms late in the year. With Jeff Hostetler at the helm, the club surged through the playoffs to win their second Super Bowl title with a stirring 20-19 win over the Buffalo Bills.
●Seven Giant players were named to the Pro Bowl, including Lawrence Taylor for a record-setting 10th straight year. Veteran running back Ottis Anderson won Super Bowl MVP honors after rushing for 102 yards.
●At season’s end, the Mara family’s sole ownership ended when Tim Mara sold his 50% share of the club to Preston Robert Tisch, who became Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer.
●In May, 1991, head coach Bill Parcells resigned after a career mark of 85-52-1 and was succeeded by offensive coordinator Ray Handley.
| 1991
| ●In Ray Handley’s first year as head coach, the Giants were in contention for another playoff spot late in the year with a 7-5 record, then dropped three straight to finish at 8-8 and out of the playoffs.
●Jeff Hostetler became the starting quarterback, but was injured late in the season and Phil Simms finished the campaign. Simms added his 15th club record when he passed Charlie Conerly for career TD passes with 179.
●Rodney Hampton became the fourth back in club history to rush for 1,000 yards when he finished the year with 1,059. Center Bart Oates was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl.
| 1992
| ●Ray Handley’s team struggled through a 6–10 season as injuries to key players hurt the team.
●Phil Simms regained his starting quarterback spot, but was limited to starting the first four games before an elbow injury forced him to miss the rest of the season. Before his injury, Simms became just the 14th player in NFL history to surpass 30,000 passing yards.
●Jeff Hostetler started the next nine games before being forced to the sidelines with a concussion. In the ninth game of the season against Green Bay, Lawrence Taylor injured his Achilles tendon that placed his career in jeopardy.
●After announcing plans to retire following the season, Taylor re-considered and decided to re-join the Giants.
●RB Rodney Hampton turned in another outstanding season, rushing for 1,141 yards and earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl.
●After dismissing Handley, George Young hired former Denver Broncos head coach Dan Reeves to lead the team in 1993.
| 1993
| ●Dan Reeves and a rejuvenated Phil Simms led the Giants to an 11-5 regular season record. The Giants finished second to Dallas in the NFC East race, a race that was decided on the final Sunday of the regular season when Dallas defeated the Giants, 16-13, in overtime at Giants Stadium.
●Reeves became the first Giants head coach to lead his team to the playoffs in his initial campaign since Allie Sherman in 1963. Reeves was selected as NFL Coach of the Year by several organizations, including the Associated Press, which bases its honor on voting by coaches around the league.
●The Giants earned a wild card berth in the playoffs and defeated the Minnesota Vikings at Giants Stadium, 17-10, in the Wild Card game. San Francisco defeated the Giants, 44-3, at Candlestick Park in an NFC divisional playoff game. Following the San Francisco game, LB Lawrence Taylor announced his retirement, capping a 13-year career that altered the nature of the game.
●Taylor was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the conclusion of the 1998 season.
| 1994
| ●After a 3-7 start, the Giants climbed back into playoff contention with a six-game winning streak that resulted in a 9-7 record. The Giants came into Week 16 needing a victory over the World Champion Dallas Cowboys, combined with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers victory over the Green Bay Packers, to win a wild card berth. The Giants defeated Dallas, 15-10, but the season ended when the Bucs lost to the Packers, 34-19.
●Dave Brown won the starting quarterback job in training camp and responded by leading the team to a 9-6 record in games that he started.
●Rodney Hampton finished the season with 1,075 yards to become the first Giant in history to record four career 1,000-yard seasons.
●The 1994 season was the first in many years that the Giants roster did not include Lawrence Taylor or Phil Simms. Taylor’s jersey number 56 was officially retired at halftime of the Giants-Minnesota Monday Night game on Oct. 10.
●Simms was released on June 15, prior to the start of training camp.
| 1995
| ●The Giants concluded the 1995 season with a 5-11 record, their worst mark since 1983 when they were 3-12-1. The Giants lost seven games that were decided on the final drive of the game. In six of those games, the Giants were either tied or leading at some point in the fourth quarter.
●A highlight of the 1995 season was the play of Rodney Hampton, who turned in the best season of his six-year career with 1,182 yards rushing on 306 carries. Hampton became the Giants all-time leading rusher (5,989) on 10-29 at Washington on his third carry of the game, a workmanlike two-yard run for a first down.
●Phil Simms jersey number 11 was officially retired at halftime of the Giants-Dallas Monday Night Game,
Sept. 4, 1995
| | 1996 | ●For the first time since 1982-83, the Giants finished with a losing record in consecutive seasons as they closed out the 1996 campaign with a 6-10 record. Following the 23-22 defeat to New England in the season finale, the Giants dismissed head coach Dan Reeves.
●On January 15, the Giants hired Jim Fassel as the 15th head coach in the team’s history.
●The Giants stood at 5-7 on December 1 after a 20-6 upset of the defending world champion Dallas Cowboys and headed into a game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a chance at the NFC playoff field. In one of the lowest moments of the year, the Giants were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 24-0 loss to the Eagles. The Giants improved to 6-8 but dropped two consecutive home contests and secured a last place finish in the NFC East for the first time in a non-strike season since 1983.
●The Giants defense played solid all season, but the offense struggled, finishing last in the National Football League. The Giants ground game failed to generate a 100-yard rushing performer and averaged just 100.3 yards per game, the lowest non-strike total since the Giants had 100.3 in 1964. The Giants defense held the opposition to 10 points or less in six games and had a streak of 7.5 straight games (30 quarters) without allowing the opponent’s offense a touchdown pass. | | 1997 | ●In his first season as head coach of the Giants, Jim Fassel led his team to a 10-5-1 record and the team’s first NFC East Championship since the 1990 Super Bowl season. The Giants started the year with a 1-3 record before rebounding to become the 15th team in NFL history to finish in first place in their division the season after finishing in last place. The Giants finished the 1997 season with a 7-0-1 Division record to become the first team ever to go undefeated in NFC East Division play.
●Second-year QB Danny Kanell filled in for an injured Dave Brown and led the Giants to a victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week Six. Kanell was eventually named the new starting quarterback and finished with a 7-2-1 record. His season was highlighted by a three-touchdown performance at Philadelphia in a key NFC East victory on December 7.
●The Giants defense blossomed into one of the NFL’s strongest, finishing first in the league with a franchise-record 44 takeaways. The Giants defense led the league in interceptions with 27 and finished third in the NFL with 54 sacks. The season ended when the Minnesota Vikings overcame a 19-3 second half deficit to pull out a 23-22 victory at Giants Stadium in a Wild Card game.
●Fassel was named NFL Coach of the Year by numerous publications, including The Sporting News, which is determined by a vote of NFL coaches.
●Jessie Armstead set a team-record with 134 total tackles and was named a starter on the NFC Pro Bowl squad.
●DE Michael Strahan set a career-mark in sacks, finishing tied for third in the NFL with 14. Strahan was also named a starter for the NFC Pro Bowl squad.
●At the end of the season, George Young announced that he was leaving the Giants to become Vice President of Football Operations in the National Football League office.
●Ernie Accorsi was named the team’s new General Manager.
| | 1998 |  ●After overcoming a 3-7 start, the Giants remained in the hunt for a playoff berth until the final week and finished with an 8-8 record. The Giants won five out of their last six games, including a 20-16 victory over the previously undefeated (13-0) and eventual Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos.
●Entering the final game, the Giants needed a victory over Philadelphia, combined with a Tampa Bay loss and an Arizona loss, to qualify as the third wild card participant in the NFC playoff field.
●The Giants beat the Eagles at Veterans Stadium, but the Buccaneers and Cardinals were victorious to spoil the Giants playoff hopes.
●Kent Graham replaced Danny Kanell at quarterback after the team fell to 3-7 and finished with a 5-1 record in the starting role.
●Gary Brown emerged as the Giants top running back, reaching the 1,000-yard mark with a career-best 1,063 yards that included six 100-yard games. J
●Jessie Armstead and Michael Strahan were selected to represent the NFC in the Pro Bowl for the second straight season. Armstead eclipsed the 100-tackle mark for the third straight year with 101 tackles (75 solos). Strahan set a career-high with 15 sacks as he triggered a Giants defense that led the league with 54 sacks.
| | 1999 | ●For the second straight year, the Giants entered the final week of the regular season with a chance to make the NFL's postseason field. The difference between the two seasons is that in 1998 the Giants won five of their last six games. In 1999, victories over the Jets and at Buffalo raised the Giants' record to 7-6; however, the Giants dropped their last three games to finish 7-9. It was the team's first losing season in three years under head coach Jim Fassel. The final blow was a 26-18 loss at Dallas, a game that followed the Giants' elimination from the playoff race with Green Bay's victory over Arizona earlier in the day.
●In spite of the obvious disappointment, a few bright spots emerged for the Giants in 1999. The Giants set records on offense, led by Amani Toomer, who established a team single-season record with 79 receptions (breaking Earnest Gray's record of 78 receptions set in 1983). Toomer fell 26 yards shy of the team record of 1,209 receiving yards, set by Homer Jones in 1967.
●Also, for the first time in the 75-year history of the team, the Giants had four receivers record over 50 receptions in a season: Toomer (79), Ike Hilliard (72), Tiki Barber (66), and Pete Mitchell (58). Jessie Armstead and Michael Strahan were selected to represent the NFC in the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive season. Armstead surpassed the 100-tackle mark for the fourth straight year with 124 tackles (97 solos) and recorded a career-high 9.0 sacks. Strahan recorded 56 tackles (41 solos) and posted 5.5 sacks. QB Kerry Collins started the final six games of the season after replacing Kent Graham in the lineup following the 10th game.
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