2005 New York Giants season 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 ) . ) , . Game summary . Week 14 .