The 1991

1991 NFL season

The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills....

 New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 season was the 67th season for the club in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The Giants entered the season as the defending Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

 champion but failed to qualify for the playoffs. They were the eighth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs. This was the second time the Giants had failed to make the playoffs after winning a Super Bowl, having done so in 1987.

New York businessman Robert Tisch purchased half of the interest in the club. He purchased it from Mrs. Helen Mara Nugent, and her children, Tim Mara and Maura Mara Concannon on February 2.

Offseason

During the offseason, the Giants lost several members of their coaching staff. Bill Parcells

Bill Parcells

Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...

 retired while defensive coordinator Bill Belichick became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Tom Couglin left the club to become the head coach at Boston College.

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	27	Jarrod Bunch Jarrod Bunch Jarrod Ray Bunch is a former American football running back in the National Football League who played for the New York Giants from 1991 to 1993 and the Los Angeles Raiders in 1994...	Running Back	Michigan
2	55	Kanavis McGhee Kanavis McGhee Kanavis McGhee is a former college football linebacker and National Football League defensive end. He is a former defensive linemen coach with the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europa...	Linebacker	Colorado
3	83	Ed McCaffrey Ed McCaffrey Edward Thomas McCaffrey is a former American football wide receiver who played for the New York Giants , San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos of the National Football League...	Wide Receiver	Stanford
4	111	Clarence Jones	Tackle	Maryland
5	139	Anthony Moss	Linebacker	Florida State
6	167	Corey Miller	Linebacker	South Carolina
7	195	Simmie Carter	Defensive Back	Southern Miss
8	223	Lamar McGriggs	Defensive Back	Western Illinois
9	250	Jerry Bouldin	Wide Receiver	Mississippi State
10	278	Luis Cristobal	Guard	Miami
11	306	Ted Popson Ted Popson Theodore Paul "Ted" Popson is a former professional American football tight end in the World League of American Football and the National Football League. In 1992, Popson played for the WLAF's London Monarchs...	Tight End	Portland
12	334	Larry Wanke	Quarterback	John Carroll

Regular season

During the summer of 1991, new Giants’ head coach Ray Handley

Ray Handley

Ray Handley is a former American football player and coach who is best remembered for his stormy two seasons as head coach of the National Football League's New York Giants in the early 1990s.-Collegiate career:...

 allowed Hostetler to compete with Simms for the starting job. Coach Ray Handley's choice of Jeff Hostetler to open the 1991 season for the season-opening Monday Night rematch with the 49ers over Phil Simms created controversy.

Hostetler led the Giants to 6 wins in his eleven starts, but broke his back during a week 13 win against Tampa Bay. Simms returned to finish the game, but went 2–3 as Giants starter the remainder of the year and the Giants fell out of the playoffs.

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Giants points	Opponents	Record	Attendance
1	Sept. 2	San Francisco 49ers 1991 San Francisco 49ers season The 1991 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 42nd year with the National Football League. The franchise did not qualify for the postseason for the first time since the 1982 season...	Win	16	14	1–0	76,319
2	Sept. 8	Los Angeles Rams 1991 Los Angeles Rams season The 1991 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 54th year with the National Football League and the 46th season in Los Angeles.-NFL Draft:-Staff:-Regular season:...	Loss	13	19	1–1	76,541
3	Sept. 15	at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	Loss	17	20	1–2	64,829
4	Sept. 22	Cleveland Browns 1991 Cleveland Browns season The 1991 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 42nd season with the National Football League. On August 5, Browns founder Paul Brown died at the age of 82.-NFL Draft:The following were selected in the 1991 NFL Draft.-Staff:-Schedule:-References:...	Win	13	10	2–2	75,891
5	Sept. 29	at Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...	Loss	16	21	2–3	64,010
6	Oct. 6	Phoenix Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	Win	20	9	3–3	75,891
7	Oct. 14	at Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...	Win	23	20	4–3	57,608
8	Bye Week
9	Oct. 27	Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...	Loss	13	17	4–4	76,627
10	Nov. 4	at Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	Loss	7	30	4–5	65,816
11	Nov. 10	at Phoenix Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	Win	21	14	5–5	50,048
12	Nov. 17	Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...	Win	22	9	6–5	76,410
13	Nov. 24	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...	Win	21	14	7–5	63,698
14	Dec. 1	at Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...	Loss	24	27	7–6	45,063
15	Dec. 8	Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	Loss	14	19	7–7	76,099
16	Dec. 15	at Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...	Loss	17	34	7–8	54,722
17	Dec. 22	Houston Oilers 1991 Houston Oilers season -Regular season:* October 13, 1991 – Warren Moon threw for 423 yards against the New York Jets.* November 10, 1991 – Warren Moon threw for 432 yards against the Dallas Cowboys...	Win	24	20	8–8	63,421