If you want to understand the 1987 New York Giants, you have to look at the Gatorade. Not the orange stuff Bill Parcells got showered in at the end of Super Bowl XXI, but the empty, sticky residue left over after the party ended. Most people remember the Giants as a 1980s juggernaut because of the 1986 and 1990 rings. But 1987? That was the year the wheels didn't just fall off; they basically disintegrated on the highway.
It was weird.
One year you are the undisputed kings of the world, having just dismantled the Denver Broncos. The next, you are losing to replacement players while your Hall of Fame roster watches from a picket line. It’s arguably the most frustrating season in the history of the franchise. Honestly, if you ask a Giants fan who lived through it, they won't talk about Phil Simms' completion percentage. They’ll talk about the strike.
From World Champs to 0-5
The hangover was literal. The Giants started the 1987 season with a sluggish loss to the Chicago Bears. Then they lost to the Dallas Cowboys. Suddenly, the defending champions were 0-2 and the NFL Players Association called a strike.
This is where things got surreal.
The NFL decided to keep playing with "replacement players." These were guys who were working as longshoremen, high school coaches, or just hanging out at the gym a week prior. For the 1987 New York Giants, this was a catastrophe. Bill Parcells, a man who famously valued loyalty and "his guys," suddenly had to coach a roster of strangers. While Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson were walking the picket line outside Giants Stadium, guys like quarterback Todd Russell were taking snaps inside.
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The "Scab Giants" were bad. Really bad.
They lost all three strike games. They were the only team in the league to have their replacement squad go winless while their regulars were also winless. By the time the strike ended and the real Giants came back, the team was 0-5. You can't fix that. Even in a 15-game season (one game was cancelled), starting 0-5 is a death sentence. It’s kind of incredible when you think about it: a roster featuring Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks, Leonard Marshall, and Phil Simms started a season with five straight losses.
The Lawrence Taylor Factor
Even in a nightmare year, LT was still LT. After he crossed the picket line—which was a huge controversy at the time because he needed the money—he played like a man possessed. He ended the season with 12 sacks in just 12 games.
The defense wasn't the problem.
The problem was a mix of complacency and the psychological toll of the strike. There’s a famous story from that year about Parcells trying to light a fire under the team, but the chemistry was just... off. The locker room was divided between the guys who stayed out on strike and the few who crossed early. That kind of friction doesn't just disappear because you put on a helmet.
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Why the Offense Stalled
Phil Simms had a decent year statistically, throwing for over 3,000 yards, but the run game evaporated. Joe Morris, who had been a titan in 1986, found no room to breathe. The offensive line, the "Jumbo Elliott" era in its infancy, struggled with consistency. They weren't hitting people the same way.
- The Giants finished 6-9.
- They missed the playoffs entirely.
- They were the first defending Super Bowl champ to miss the postseason since the '82 Raiders.
It felt like a fluke, but it was also a warning. The NFL was changing. The 1987 New York Giants proved that talent alone isn't enough when the organizational culture gets fractured by outside forces.
The Scab Games Nobody Wants to Remember
If you look at the box scores from October 1987, it reads like a fever dream. The Giants lost to San Francisco, Washington, and Buffalo using players that mostly never played another down in the NFL.
People often forget that the Redskins (now Commanders) won the Super Bowl that year largely because their replacement players went 3-0. The Giants' replacements went 0-3. That gap was the difference between a repeat title run and a losing season. Parcells was reportedly miserable. He hated the replacement games. He felt it cheapened the sport, and his lack of enthusiasm probably didn't help a bunch of semi-pros try to win games in the Meadowlands.
What We Can Learn From the '87 Collapse
You've got to wonder what would have happened if the strike never occurred. Most experts, including those at Sports Illustrated at the time, picked the Giants to repeat. They had the best defense in football. They had a veteran QB in his prime.
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But sports aren't played on paper.
The 1987 New York Giants are a case study in how momentum is a fragile thing. When you break the rhythm of a championship team, it’s almost impossible to get it back. They finished the season winning six of their last ten games, showing flashes of that '86 brilliance, but the hole was too deep. They even beat the playoff-bound Cardinals and the Jets late in the year, proving they were still "better" than their record, but it was too little, too late.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you're looking back at this season to understand the broader context of the NFL, keep these points in mind:
- Check the Strike Impact: Always look at the 1987 records with an asterisk. The "Replacement Giants" played 20% of the season.
- Evaluate the Comeback: Look at the 1988 and 1989 seasons. The Giants didn't stay down. They went 10-6 and 12-4 in the following years. 1987 was a blip, not a decline.
- The LT Lesson: Even in a "lost" season, elite talent performs. Taylor's 1987 tape is still a masterclass in outside linebacker play despite the chaos around him.
- Roster Depth Matters: The teams that survived 1987 were those whose regular players stayed unified or whose front offices scouted better "street" talent. The Giants failed both tests that year.
To truly appreciate the 1990 championship, you have to sit with the failure of the 1987 New York Giants. It was the grit developed during that losing season that allowed the core of the team to stay together for one last run at the end of the decade. They learned that being the "Defending Champs" meant everyone was coming for them, and they weren't ready for the fight—until they were.