# 1983 New York Giants season

The 1983 New York Giants season was the franchise's 59th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 3–12–1 record, the team’s worst record since 1976.
In the 1983 NFL draft, the Giants selected defensive back Terry Kinard in the first round, with the 10th overall pick. The 1983 season was the first for the Giants under Bill Parcells, who had been offered the position after previous head coach Ray Perkins resigned before succeeding Bear Bryant as the coach for the University of Alabama. Parcells named Scott Brunner the team’s starting quarterback, ahead of Phil Simms and Jeff Rutledge; upset with the decision, Simms requested a trade at one point during the season. New York was 2–2 in their first four games of the season, before a three-game losing streak that left the club at 2–5. Against the Philadelphia Eagles in their sixth game, the Giants inserted Simms into their lineup in place of Brunner; shortly afterward, Simms suffered a season-ending injury.
The St. Louis Cardinals hosted the Giants in a matchup on October 24 that the New York Daily News' Gary Myers later called the worst game in the history of Monday Night Football. After the Giants lost a lead late in the fourth quarter, the game went into overtime. The Cardinals missed three field goal attempts in the extra period, including two in the final 1:06, and the contest ended in a 20–20 tie. The Giants lost the following three games before a victory in Philadelphia, which was their final win of the season. Losses to the Los Angeles Raiders, St. Louis, Seattle, and Washington left the team’s final record at 3–12–1.
Ali Haji-Sheikh, the Giants' kicker, set a team record for points scored in a season; with 35 field goals and 22 conversions, he was responsible for 127 points. In addition, he set a team record for the longest field goal in a game versus Green Bay, with a 56-yard kick. Earnest Gray had 1,139 receiving yards, becoming the first Giants wide receiver in 15 years to exceed 1,000 yards.

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 4 | Los Angeles Rams | L 6–16 | 0–1 | Giants Stadium | 75,281 |
| 2 | September 11 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 16–13 | 1–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 58,075 |
| 3 | September 18 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 13–28 | 1–2 | Texas Stadium | 62,347 |
| 4 | September 26 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–3 | 2–2 | Giants Stadium | 75,308 |
| 5 | October 2 | San Diego Chargers | L 34–41 | 2–3 | Giants Stadium | 73,892 |
| 6 | October 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 13–17 | 2–4 | Giants Stadium | 73,291 |
| 7 | October 16 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 17–38 | 2–5 | Arrowhead Stadium | 55,449 |
| 8 | October 24 | at St. Louis Cardinals | T 20–20 | 2–5–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 45,630 |
| 9 | October 30 | Dallas Cowboys | L 20–38 | 2–6–1 | Giants Stadium | 76,142 |
| 10 | November 7 | at Detroit Lions | L 9–15 | 2–7–1 | Pontiac Silverdome | 68,985 |
| 11 | November 13 | Washington Redskins | L 17–33 | 2–8–1 | Giants Stadium | 71,482 |
| 12 | November 20 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 23–0 | 3–8–1 | Veterans Stadium | 57,977 |
| 13 | November 27 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 12–27 | 3–9–1 | Anaheim Stadium | 41,473 |
| 14 | December 4 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 6–10 | 3–10–1 | Giants Stadium | 25,156 |
| 15 | December 11 | Seattle Seahawks | L 12–17 | 3–11–1 | Giants Stadium | 48,945 |
| 16 | December 17 | at Washington Redskins | L 22–31 | 3–12–1 | RFK Stadium | 53,874 |

## Game summaries
### Week 5: San Diego Chargers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chargers | 13 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
| Giants | 0 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
* Date: October 2
* Game time: 4:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
* Referee: Gene Barth
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
SD: Rolf Benirschke 40 yard field goal
SD: Rolf Benirschke 37 yard field goal
SD: Chuck Muncie 1 yard rush (Rolf Benirschke kick)
Second quarter
NYG: Ali Haji-Sheikh 20 yard field goal
SD: Charlie Joiner 13 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)
NYG: Earnest Gray 51 yard pass from Scott Brunner (Ali Haji-Sheikh kick)
SD: Kellen Winslow 16 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)
NYG: Danny Pittman 40 yard pass from Scott Brunner (Ali Haji-Sheikh kick)
Third quarter
NYG: Rob Carpenter 1 yard rush (Ali Haji-Sheikh kick)
SD: Chuck Muncie 2 yard rush (Rolf Benirschke kick)
Fourth quarter
NYG: Tom Mullady 21 yard pass from Scott Brunner (Ali Haji-Sheikh kick)
NYG: Ali Haji-Sheikh 37 yard field goal
SD: Chuck Muncie 34 yard rush (Rolf Benirschke kick)
Passing
SD: Dan Fouts 15/28, 215 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, Ed Luther 9/13, 94 yards, INT
NYG: Scott Brunner 31/51, 395 yards, 3 TDs, INT
Rushing
SD: Chuck Muncie 17–87, James Brooks 3–25, Wes Chandler 1–23, Dan Fouts 1–0, Ed Luther 5–(−15)
NYG: Rob Carpenter 18–35, Butch Woolfolk 6–18, Scott Brunner 3–12, Joe Morris 1–-11
Receiving
SD: Kellen Winslow 8–99, Charlie Joiner 5–83, Eric Sievers 4–49, Wes Chandler 4–41, Chuck Muncie 2–33, Sherman Smith 1–4
NYG: Earnest Gray 9–159, John Mistler 8–91, Danny Pittman 2–49, Butch Woolfolk 5–39, Tom Mullady 3–37, Rob Carpenter 4–20 :
Gill Byrd had an interception for San Diego.

### Week 13: Los Angeles Raiders

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants (3–9–1) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 12 |
| Raiders (10–3) | 0 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
* Date: November 27, 1983
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. (ET)/1:00 p.m. (PT)
* Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), relative humidity 41%, wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
* Game attendance: 41,473
* Referee: Fred Silva
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall (play-by-play), John Madden (color commentator)
* Pro-Football-Reference.com Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
NYG – Safety, Marshall tackled Plunkett in end zone – Giants 2–0
Second quarter
LA – Hasselback 13-yard pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick) – Raiders 7–2
LA – Bahr 47-yard field goal – Raiders 10–2
NYG – Haji-Sheikh 31-yard field goal – Raiders 10–5
LA – Bahr 38-yard field goal – Raiders 13–5
Third quarter
LA – Barnwell 36-yard pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick) – Raiders 20–5
Fourth quarter
LA – Allen 11-yard run (Bahr kick) – Raiders 27–5
NYG – Williams 43-yard pass from Brunner (Haji-Sheikh kick) – Raiders 27–12
Vegas Odds
Vegas Line=LA -10.0 (Won)
Over/Under=41.0 (Under)
Giants
Scott Brunner 19/41, 346 Yds, TD, 3 INTs
Butch Woolfolk 23 Rush, 52 Yds
Earnest Gray 5 Rec, 134 Yds Byron Williams 5 Rec, 119 Yds, TD
Raiders
Jim Plunkett 19/32, 243 Yds, 2 TDs
Marcus Allen 13 Rush, 64 Yds, TD
Cliff Branch 5 Rec, 83 Yds Malcolm Barnwell 5 Rec, 82 Yds, TD :

## Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Washington Redskins$^{(1)}$ | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 7–1 | 10–2 | 541 | 332 | W9 |
| Dallas Cowboys$^{(4)}$ | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 7–1 | 10–2 | 479 | 360 | L2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 3–4–1 | 5–6–1 | 374 | 428 | W3 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–7 | 4–10 | 233 | 322 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 3 | 12 | 1 | .219 | 1–6–1 | 3–8–1 | 267 | 347 | L4 |