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1985 New York Giants season
Head Coach Bill Parcells
Home Field Giants Stadium
Results
Record 10–6
Place 2nd NFC East
Playoff Finish Lost NFC Divisional Playoff
Timeline
Previous season Next season
1984 1986

The 1985 New York Giants season was the 61st season for the club in the National Football League. At the time, the team set a record for most rushing yards in one season by a Giants team.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Regular season[]

In a game against the Washington Redskins, Joe Theismann's career ended on November 18, 1985, when he suffered a gruesome comminuted compound fracture of his leg while being sacked by New York Giants linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson during a Monday Night Football game telecast. The injury was voted the NFL's "Most Shocking Moment in History" by viewers in an ESPN poll, and the tackle was dubbed "The Hit That No One Who Saw It Can Ever Forget" by The Washington Post.[1]

At the time, the Redskins had been attempting to run a "flea-flicker" play. The Giants' defense, however, was not fooled, and they tried to blitz Theismann. Taylor sandwiched Theismann into Carson and inadvertently landed his hip on Theismann's lower right leg, fracturing both the tibia and the fibula.

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 8, 1985 Philadelphia Eagles W 21–0
76,141
2 September 15, 1985 at Green Bay Packers L 23–20
56,145
3 September 22, 1985 St. Louis Cardinals W 27–17
74,987
4 September 29, 1985 at Philadelphia Eagles W 16–10
66,696
5 October 6, 1985 Dallas Cowboys L 30–29
74,981
6 October 13, 1985 at Cincinnati Bengals L 35–30
53,112
7 October 20, 1985 Washington Redskins W 17–3
74,389
8 October 27, 1985 at New Orleans Saints W 21–13
54,082
9 November 3, 1985 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 22–20
72,031
10 November 10, 1985 Los Angeles Rams W 24–19
74,663
11 November 18, 1985 at Washington Redskins L 23–21
53,371
12 November 24, 1985 at St. Louis Cardinals W 34–3
41,248
13 December 1, 1985 Cleveland Browns L 35–33
66,482
14 December 8, 1985 at Houston Oilers W 35–14
36,576
15 December 15, 1985 at Dallas Cowboys L 28–21
62,310
16 December 21, 1985 Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–10
66,785

Standings[]

NFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys 10 6 0 .625 357 333 L-1
New York Giants 10 6 0 .625 399 283 W-1
Washington Redskins 10 6 0 .625 297 312 W-3
Philadelphia Eagles 7 9 0 .438 286 310 W-1
St. Louis Cardinals 5 11 0 .313 278 414 L-2

Roster[]

1985 New York Giants

* Hall of Fame

Head Coach: Bill Parcells

To be listed, a player must have played at least one game for the team during this season.

RB George Adams

G Billy Ard

K Jess Atkinson

LB Carl Banks

TE Mark Bavaro

T/G/C Brad Benson

NT/DT Jim Burt

RB Rob Carpenter

LB Harry Carson

RB Maurice Carthon

DB Bill Currier

DB Tyrone Davis

DB Larry Flowers

RB Tony Galbreath

G/T/DE/DT Chris Godfrey

T/G/C Conrad Goode

K Ali Haji-Sheikh

DE/NT/DT Dee Hardison

TE Don Hasselbeck

DB Mark Haynes

LB Andy Headen

DB Kenny Hill

QB Jeff Hostetler

LB Byron Hunt

WR Bobby Johnson

LB Robbie Jones

G David Jordan

TE Vyto Kab

DB Terry Kinard

T/G Gordon King

P Sean Landeta

WR Lionel Manuel

DT Leonard Marshall

DE/TE George Martin

WR Phil McConkey

DE/NT Curtis McGriff

DE/DT Casey Merrill

RB Joe Morris

T Karl Nelson

C Bart Oates

S Elvis Patterson

LB Gary Reasons

WR Stacy Robinson

RB Lee Rouson

QB Jeff Rutledge

NT Jerome Sally

K Eric Schubert

QB Phil Simms

LB * Lawrence Taylor

DB Ted Watts

DB Herb Welch

WR Byron Williams

CB Perry Williams

[1]

Playoffs[]

NFC Wild Card[]

New York Giants 17, San Francisco 49ers 3
1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 0 3 0 0

3

Giants 3 7 7 0

17

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Even though the 49ers recorded 362 yards of total offense, with receiver Dwight Clark catching 8 passes for 120 yards, the Giants limited San Francisco to only one field goal. Meanwhile, New York running back Joe Morris rushed for 141 yards.

NFC Divisional Playoff[]

Awards and honors[]

  • Phil Simms, Pro Bowl MVP Pro Bowl MVP Award [2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. Shapiro, Leonard (2005-11-18). "The Hit That Changed a Career". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701635.html. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 202
AFC East Central West East Central West NFC
Buffalo Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Indianapolis Cleveland Kansas City NY Giants Detroit LA Rams
Miami Houston LA Raiders Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans
New England Pittsburgh San Diego St. Louis Minnesota San Francisco
NY Jets Seattle Washington Tampa Bay
1985 NFL DraftNFL PlayoffsPro BowlSuper Bowl XX
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