Record 3–12–1 Playoff finish did not qualify Head coach Bill Parcells Home field Giants Stadium | Division place 5th NFC East Start date 1983 General manager George Young | |
Owners Wellington Mara, Timothy J. Mara People also search for 1982 New York Giants season | ||
The 1983 New York Giants season was the 59th season for the club in the National Football League (NFL). The Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 3–12–1 record, the team's worst record since 1976.
In the 1983 NFL draft, the Giants selected defensive back Terry Kinard in the first round, with the 10th overall pick. The 1983 season was the first for the Giants under Bill Parcells, who had been offered the position after previous head coach Ray Perkins resigned before succeeding Bear Bryant as the coach for the University of Alabama. Parcells named Scott Brunner the team's starting quarterback, ahead of Phil Simms and Jeff Rutledge; upset with the decision, Simms requested a trade at one point during the season. New York was 2–2 in their first four games of the season, before a three-game losing streak that left the club at 2–5. Against the Philadelphia Eagles in their sixth game, the Giants inserted Simms into their lineup in place of Brunner; shortly afterward, Simms suffered a season-ending injury.
The St. Louis Cardinals hosted the Giants in a matchup on October 24 that the New York Daily News' Gary Myers later called the worst game in the history of Monday Night Football. After the Giants lost a lead late in the fourth quarter, the game went into overtime. The Cardinals missed three field goal attempts in the extra period, including two in the final 1:06, and the contest ended in a 20–20 tie. The Giants lost the following three games before a victory in Philadelphia, which was their final win of the season. Losses to the Los Angeles Raiders, St. Louis, Seattle, and Washington left the team's final record at 3–12–1.
Four players from the Giants earned selection to the 1984 Pro Bowl: Harry Carson, Ali Haji-Sheikh, Mark Haynes, and Lawrence Taylor. Haji-Sheikh, the Giants' kicker, set a team record for points scored in a season; with 35 field goals and 22 conversions, he was responsible for 127 points. In addition, he set a team record for the longest field goal in a game versus Green Bay, with a 56-yard kick. Earnest Gray had 1,139 receiving yards, becoming the first Giants wide receiver in 15 years to exceed 1,000 yards.