1974 New York Giants season
NFL team season
The 1974 New York Giants season was the franchise's 50th season in the National Football League . The Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 2–12 record, the team's worst since 1966 .[ 1] [ 2]
The Giants’ home venue in 1974 was the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut ,[ 3] and they were winless at home in seven games. They won only one of twelve games at the Yale Bowl in 1973 and 1974. The Giants played at Shea Stadium in Queens in 1975 and opened Giants Stadium in New Jersey in October 1976 .[ 3] [ 4]
The 1974 Giants hold the distinction of being the first team to lose a regular season game in overtime.[ 5] In week nine, the 2–6 Giants welcomed the cross-town rival Jets to the Yale Bowl. With the Giants leading 20–13 in the fourth quarter, Joe Namath faked a handoff to Emerson Boozer , then ran into the end zone for a touchdown which tied the score at 20–20, forcing overtime;[ 6] previously, a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos had ended in a 35–35 tie.[ 5] The Giants were denied a game-winning score when Pete Gogolak missed a 42-yard field goal attempt, despite protests from Gogolak that he had made the kick. The Jets subsequently won 26–20 on a five-yard pass from Namath to Boozer after 6:53 of play in the extra period.[ 6]
Offseason
Draft
[ 7]
Roster
1974 New York Giants roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
Recap
1
September 15
Washington Redskins
L 10–13
0–1
Yale Bowl
49,849
Recap
2
September 22
New England Patriots
L 20–28
0–2
Yale Bowl
44,082
Recap
3
September 29
at Dallas Cowboys
W 14–6
1–2
Texas Stadium
45,841
Recap
4
October 6
Atlanta Falcons
L 7–14
1–3
Yale Bowl
42,379
Recap
5
October 13
at Philadelphia Eagles
L 7–35
1–4
Veterans Stadium
64,801
Recap
6
October 20
at Washington Redskins
L 3–24
1–5
RFK Stadium
53,879
Recap
7
October 27
Dallas Cowboys
L 7–21
1–6
Yale Bowl
57,381
Recap
8
November 3
at Kansas City Chiefs
W 33–27
2–6
Arrowhead Stadium
61,437
Recap
9
November 10
New York Jets
L 20–26 (OT)
2–7
Yale Bowl
64,327
Recap
10
November 17
at Detroit Lions
L 19–20
2–8
Tiger Stadium
40,431
Recap
11
November 24
St. Louis Cardinals
L 21–23
2–9
Yale Bowl
40,615
Recap
12
December 1
at Chicago Bears
L 13–16
2–10
Soldier Field
18,802
Recap
13
December 8
Philadelphia Eagles
L 7–20
2–11
Yale Bowl
21,170
Recap
14
December 15
at St. Louis Cardinals
L 14–26
2–12
Busch Memorial Stadium
47,414
Recap
Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 3 at Cowboys
New York Giants (1–1) at Dallas Cowboys (1–1)
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Giants
0
14
0 0 14
Cowboys
0
0
0 6 6
at Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas
Date : September 29Game time : 2:00 p.m.Game weather : 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)Game attendance : 45,841[ 8] Box Score
Week 9 vs Jets
Week Nine: New York Jets (1–7) at New York Giants (2–6)
Period
1
2
3 4 OT Total
Jets
7
3
3 7 6 26
Giants
3
10
7 0 0 20
at Yale Bowl , New Haven, Connecticut
Date : November 10, 1974Game time : 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather : 50 °F (10 °C)Game attendance : 64,327[ 9] Box Score
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
NYG – Bob Tucker 2-yard pass from Craig Morton (Pete Gogolak kick). Giants 10–7. Drive:
NYJ – Pat Leahy 34-yard field goal. Tie 10–10. Drive:
NYG – Pete Gogolak 22-yard field goal. Giants 13–10. Drive:
Third quarter
NYJ – Pat Leahy 22-yard field goal. Tie 13–13. Drive:
NYG – Bob Grim 12-yard pass from Craig Morton (Pete Gogolak kick). Giants 20–13. Drive:
Fourth quarter
NYJ – Joe Namath 3-yard run (Pat Leahy kick). Tie 20–20. Drive:
Overtime
Top passers
Top rushers
NYJ – Robert Burns – 21 rushes, 101 yards
NYG – Joe Dawkins – 11 rushes, 49 yards
Top receivers
Week 11 vs Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals (8–2) at New York Giants (2–8)
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Cardinals
6
0
7 10 23
Giants
0
7
7 7 21
at Yale Bowl • New Haven, Connecticut
Date : November 24Game time : 1:00 p.m.Game weather : 45 °F (7 °C) • Wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)Game attendance : 40,615[ 9] Box Score
Standings
See also
References
^ "1974 New York Giants" . Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009 .
^ "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia" . Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009 .
^ a b Malafronte, Chip (October 8, 2012). "New Haven 200: New York Giants called Yale Bowl home from 1973–74" . New Haven Register . Retrieved October 22, 2014 .
^ Canavan, Tom (January 1, 2010). "Giants Stadium was symbol of sports in New Jersey" . The Seattle Times . Retrieved October 24, 2014 .
^ a b "NFL's First Experiment With OT" . Pro Football Hall of Fame . Retrieved October 20, 2020 .
^ a b Gross, Andrew (September 6, 2018). "Giants vs. Jets at Yale Bowl: Namath's bootleg a keepsake" . Newsday . Retrieved October 20, 2020 .
^ "1974 New York Giants Draftees" . Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 13, 2022 .
^ 75 Cowboys . Dallas Cowboys . 1975. p. 72. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2021 .
^ a b "The Yale Bowl and the Giants" . Newsday . September 5, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2019 .
Franchise History Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Key personnel Division championships (22) Conference championships (11) League championships (8) Retired numbers Media Current league affiliations