On This Date in Sports December 18, 1988: Giant Killers
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The New York Jets stunned the New York Giants 27-21 in the final game of the season at the Meadowlands. Heading into the final game, the Giants needed to win their final game to win the division and make the playoffs. With the Jets' win, the Giants missed the playoffs despite finishing with a 10-6 record as the Jets finished 8-7-1.
After winning Super Bowl XXI, the New York Giants had a tumultuous 1987 season, as they finished in last place with a record of 5-9 as they lost all three scab games, as part of a 0-5 start. The Giants also began 1988 in a hole, as Lawrence Taylor was suspended the first four games for testing positive for cocaine. Led by Bill Parcells, the Giants went 2-2 in those four games and 3-3 in their first six games but finished strong and sat 10-5, needing a win to secure a playoff spot in the final game of the season.
It was another mediocre year for the New York Jets under Coach Joe Walton. The season was full of ups and downs for the Jets, who were stunned early in the year with the sudden retirement of Mark Gastineau. The Jets at 7-7-1 just wanted to win their final game to avoid a losing season, which would have likely cost Joe Walton his job. However, more intriguing was a chance to play spoilers for the Giants and knock them out of the playoff hunt.
It was an emotional game for the Giants, as two longtime stalwarts Harry Carson and George Martin, were retiring. The Jets playing as the home team at Giants Stadium got off to a strong start, as Pat Leahy kicked a 41-yard field goal and Ken O’Brien connected with Mickey Shuler on a five-yard touchdown pass to make it 10-0 in the first quarter. The Jets had a chance to take a stranglehold in the second quarter but settled for a 20-yard chip shot from Leahy to make it 13-0. The Giants' offense finally got going late in the second quarter as Stephen Baker, the touchdown maker, caught a five-yard pass from Phil Simms to get Big Blue back in the game. In the third quarter, Gang Green answered with O’Brien hitting Freeman McNeil on a six-yard touchdown to make it 20-7 in favor of the Jets. The Jets offense would sputter the rest of the way as the Giants took over, with Baker making another touchdown catch for nine yards in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Giants knew the Philadelphia Eagles were on the verge of beating the Dallas Cowboys 23-7, used a long drive to take their first lead, with Lionel Manuel hauling in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Simms. Down 21-20, the Jets got a big kickoff return from Bobby Humphrey to spark their drive. The Jets methodically marched down the field and regained the lead, with Al Toon catching a five-yard scoring pass with 34 seconds left in the game.
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The Giants, with no timeouts, were unable to answer, losing 2721. Combined with a 23-7 win by the Eagles over the Cowboys in Tom Landry’s final game lost a chance to win the NFC East as they lost both games in the season to Philadelphia and lost the tiebreaker at 10-6. The Giants would miss the playoffs altogether as just five teams made it to the postseason at the time, and the Giants lost a key tiebreaker to the Rams for the fifth seed.