# 1989 New York Giants season

The 1989 New York Giants season was the franchise's 65th season in the National Football League (NFL). After going 10–6 and suffering a heartbreaking final-day elimination from playoff contention in 1988, the team went 12–4 and won the NFC East. This was the team's first postseason berth since winning Super Bowl XXI. The Giants were upset by the Los Angeles Rams 19–13 in the NFC Divisional playoffs.
Pro Bowl selections for the team were Dave Meggett and Lawrence Taylor. Ottis Anderson rushed for over 1,000 yards and was winner of the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1989 New York Giants draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 18 | Brian Williams | C | Minnesota |
| 3 | 64 | Bob Kratch | G | Iowa |
| 3 | 78 | Greg Jackson | S | LSU |
| 4 | 93 | Lewis Tillman | RB | Jackson St |
| 4 | 105 | Brad Henke | DT | Arizona |
| 5 | 132 | Dave Meggett * | RB | Towson |
| 6 | 158 | Howard Cross | TE | Alabama |
| 7 | 175 | Dave Popp | T | Eastern Illinois |
| 8 | 218 | Myron Guyton | S | Eastern Kentucky |
| 9 | 245 | A.J. Greene | DB | Wake Forest |
| 10 | 272 | Rodney Lowe | DE | Ole Miss |
| 11 | 299 | Jerome Rinehart | DE | Tennessee-Martin |
| 12 | 326 | Eric Smith | LB | UCLA |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | August 12 | at New England Patriots | W 20–17 | 1–0 | Foxboro Stadium |
| 2 | August 20 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 45–7 | 2–0 | Arrowhead Stadium |
| 3 | August 26 | New York Jets | W 21–17 | 3–0 | Giants Stadium |
| 4 | September 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–13 | 3–1 | Giants Stadium |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | September 11 | at Washington Redskins | W 27–24 | 1–0 | RFK Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 17 | Detroit Lions | W 24–14 | 2–0 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 24 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 35–7 | 3–0 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | October 1 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 30–13 | 4–0 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 8 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 19–21 | 4–1 | Veterans Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 15 | Washington Redskins | W 20–17 | 5–1 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 7 | October 22 | at San Diego Chargers | W 20–13 | 6–1 | Jack Murphy Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | October 30 | Minnesota Vikings | W 24–14 | 7–1 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | November 5 | at Phoenix Cardinals | W 20–13 | 8–1 | Sun Devil Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 12 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 10–31 | 8–2 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap |
| 11 | November 19 | Seattle Seahawks | W 15–3 | 9–2 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 27 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 24–34 | 9–3 | Candlestick Park | Recap |
| 13 | December 3 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–24 | 9–4 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 14 | December 10 | at Denver Broncos | W 14–7 | 10–4 | Mile High Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 16 | Dallas Cowboys | W 15–0 | 11–4 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 16 | December 24 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 34–17 | 12–4 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 7 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 27 |
| Redskins | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
* Date: Monday, September 11
* Game time: 9:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 83 °F (28.3 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
* Referee: Dick Hantak
* TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
First quarter
NYG – Odessa Turner 30-yard pass from Phil Simms (Raúl Allegre kick) – Giants 7–0
Second quarter
NYG – Dave Meggett 62-yard pass from Phil Simms (Raúl Allegre kick) – Giants 14–0
WSH – Chip Lohmiller 24-yard field goal – Giants 14–3
Third quarter
WSH – Ricky Sanders 48-yard pass from Mark Rypien (Chip Lohmiller kick) – Giants 14–10
Fourth quarter
NYG – Ottis Anderson 14-yard run (Raúl Allegre kick) – Giants 21–10
WSH – Art Monk 6-yard pass from Mark Rypien (Chip Lohmiller kick) – Giants 21–17
WSH – Monte Coleman 24-yard interception return (Chip Lohmiller kick) – Redskins 24–21
NYG – Raúl Allegre 32-yard field goal – Tie 24–24
NYG – Raúl Allegre 52-yard field goal – Giants 27–24
Giants
Phil Simms 11/19, 255 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Ottis Anderson 23 Rush, 93 Yds, TD
Odessa Turner 3 Rec, 99 Yds, TD
Redskins
Mark Rypien 22/32, 349 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Gerald Riggs 24 Rush, 111 Yds
Ricky Sanders 6 Rec, 143 Yds, TD :

#### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Giants | 3 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 24 |

#### Week 7

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

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| New York Giants$^{(2)}$ | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 348 | 252 | W3 |
| Philadelphia Eagles$^{(4)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 7–1 | 8–4 | 342 | 274 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–4 | 8–4 | 386 | 308 | W5 |
| Phoenix Cardinals | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 258 | 377 | L6 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 1–7 | 1–13 | 204 | 393 | L7 |

## Playoffs

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| Giants | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 37 °F or 2.8 °C, relative humidity 52%, wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn), wind chill 29 °F or −1.7 °C
* Game attendance: 76,325
* Referee: Bob McElwee
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
The Rams upset the Giants with quarterback Jim Everett's 30-yard touchdown pass to Flipper Anderson with 1:06 gone in overtime. New York jumped to a 6–0 lead in the first quarter with two field goals by kicker Raúl Allegre. With 17 seconds left in the first half, Anderson caught a 20-yard touchdown reception from Everett to take a 7–6 lead. In the third quarter, Giants running back Ottis Anderson scored on a 2-yard touchdown. But in the fourth period, Los Angeles kicker Mike Lansford made two field goals to tie the game, the second one coming with 3:01 left in regulation.

## Awards and honors

* David Meggett, NFC Pro Bowl selection
* Lawrence Taylor, NFC Pro Bowl selection