# 1987 New York Giants season

The 1987 season was the New York Giants' 63rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their fifth under head coach Bill Parcells. The Giants entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champion but failed to qualify for the playoffs. They were the sixth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs. The Giants started the season 0–5, becoming the first defending Super Bowl champion to lose their first 5 games. Ultimately, the Giants never recovered from their dismal start and failed to improve on their 14–2 record from 1986 and finished at 6–9. They were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 1983. They also placed last in their division for the first time since that same season.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1987 New York Giants draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 28 | Mark Ingram | WR | Michigan State |
| 2 | 55 | Adrian White | DB | Florida |
| 3 | 83 | Stephen Baker | WR | Fresno State |
| 4 | 112 | Odessa Turner | WR | Northwestern State |
| 5 | 140 | Paul O'Connor | G | Miami (FL) |
| 6 | 160 | Tim Richardson | RB | Pacific |
| 6 | 168 | Doug Riesenberg | OT | California |
| 8 | 223 | Rod Jones | TE | Washington |
| 9 | 225 | Stan Parker | G | Nebraska |
| 9 | 251 | Dana Wright | RB | Findlay |
| 10 | 279 | Chuck Faucette | LB | Maryland |
| 11 | 307 | Dave Walter | QB | Michigan Tech |
| 12 | 321 | Bill Berthusen | DT | Iowa State |
| 12 | 329 | Chad Stark | RB | North Dakota State |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Personnel
### NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

### Roster
## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | August 15 | at New England Patriots | W 19–17 | 1–0 | Foxboro Stadium |
| 2 | August 22 | Cleveland Browns | W 24–10 | 2–0 | Giants Stadium |
| 3 | August 29 | New York Jets | L 23–30 | 3–0 | Giants Stadium |
| 4 | September 5 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 26–20 | 3–1 | Three Rivers Stadium |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | September 14 | at Chicago Bears | L 19–34 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | Recap |
| 2 | September 20 | Dallas Cowboys | L 14–16 | 0–2 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | — | at Miami Dolphins | Cancelled due to the 1987 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1987 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1987 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1987 NFL strike |
| 4 | October 5 | San Francisco 49ers | L 21–41 | 0–3 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 11 | Washington Redskins | L 12–38 | 0–4 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 18 | at Buffalo Bills | L 3–6 (OT) | 0–5 | Rich Stadium | Recap |
| 7 | October 25 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 30–7 | 1–5 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | November 2 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 24–33 | 1–6 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | November 8 | New England Patriots | W 17–10 | 2–6 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 15 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–17 | 3–6 | Veterans Stadium | Recap |
| 11 | November 22 | at New Orleans Saints | L 14–23 | 3–7 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap |
| 12 | November 29 | at Washington Redskins | L 19–23 | 3–8 | RFK Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | December 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 23–20 (OT) | 4–8 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 14 | December 13 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 24–27 | 4–9 | Busch Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 19 | Green Bay Packers | W 20–10 | 5–9 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 16 | December 27 | New York Jets | W 20–7 | 6–9 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| • Bears | 3 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 34 |

#### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cowboys | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Giants | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

#### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • 49ers | 3 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 41 |
| Giants | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |

#### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Redskins | 3 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
| Giants | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 12 |

#### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Bills | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |

#### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Giants | 14 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 30 |

#### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| • Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 33 |

#### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Patriots | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| • Giants | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |

#### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Giants | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Eagles | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

#### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Saints | 3 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 23 |

#### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| • Redskins | 0 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 23 |

#### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 20 |
| • Giants | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 23 |

#### Week 13

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| • Cardinals | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 27 |

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Packers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| • Giants | 0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 20 |

#### Week 15

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Giants | 0 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 20 |

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Washington Redskins$^{(3)}$ | 11 | 4 | 0 | .733 | 7–1 | 9–3 | 379 | 285 | W1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 340 | 348 | W2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 | 3–5 | 7–7 | 362 | 368 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 | 3–5 | 4–7 | 337 | 380 | W2 |
| New York Giants | 6 | 9 | 0 | .400 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 280 | 312 | W2 |

## Awards and honors

* Lawrence Taylor, NFC Pro Bowl selection
* Lawrence Taylor, Pro Football Weekly: 1st team all-conf.
* Lawrence Taylor, UPI: 2nd team all-conf.
* Lawrence Taylor, Associated Press: 2nd team all-NFL
* Lawrence Taylor, Pro Football Weekly: 1st team all-NFL