Giants Country

Ranking the New York Giants' Five Super Bowl Appearances

The New York Giants have appeared in five Super Bowls, winning four. How does each game stack up? Here's one person's opinion.

Patricia Traina

Ranking the New York Giants' Five Super Bowl Appearances
Ranking the New York Giants' Five Super Bowl Appearances /
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There's nothing better than waking up on Super Bowl Sunday knowing that the team you support will be in the NFL's biggest game of the year.

Giants fans know all about that. The team has appeared in the Super Bowl five times (1986, 1990, 2000, 2007, and 2011), winning all but one appearance.

In honor of the upcoming big game, let's go back and rank the Giants' five Super Bowl appearances from worst to first.

Jan 28, 2001; Tampa, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Baltimore Ravens running back (31) Jamal Lewis score on a 3-yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter against the New York Giants during Super Bowl XXXV at Raymond James Stadium. The Ravens defeated the Giants 34-7 / Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY NETWORK

No. 5: Super Bowl XXXV, Ravens 34, Giants 7, Tampa, FL

Super Bowl XXXV was the Giants' only loss in five appearances, so naturally, it comes in last in our ranking. In that game, the Ravens defense completely stifled the Giants, whose only score came on a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Ron Dixon to make it a 17-7 game.

Ravens running back Jamal Lewis recorded 102 of the Ravens 111 rushing yards, and quarterback Trent Dilfer connected with eight different receivers. Lewis also had a kickoff return for a touchdown, and Ravens defensive back Duane Starks had a pick-six on one of Giants quarterback Kerry Collins' four interceptions on the day.

The Giants' rushing game was held to 66 yards on 11 carries. Collins completed 15 of 39 pass attempts for 112 yards and four interceptions, finishing with a career-worst 7.1 passer rating in one of the team's worst modern-era postseason performances at the time.

Feb 5, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham (82) makes a catch along the sideline in front of New England Patriots free safety Sterling Moore (29) and free safety Patrick Chung (25) in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium :: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

No. 4: Super Bowl XLVI, New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17, Indianapolis, Indiana

You know how sometimes there is a movie made that goes on to become so much of a blockbuster that the studio immediately rushes out a sequel only to have the sequel not live up to the original?

That's how the Giants' second straight Super Bowl against the New England Patriots felt to me. From the outcome to certain aspects of the game, the entire day felt like deja vu.

In the first Super Bowl meeting, the Giants outscored the Patriots in the fourth quarter to take the lead. The game featured a miraculous type of catch: the tightrope, 38-yard reception by receiver Mario Manningham on the Giants game-winning drive.

The Giants defense, as it had done in 2007, harassed Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to the tune of eight hits and two sacks. 

There was even a similar type of final play of the game by the Giants defense in which a safety--in this one, Kenny Phillips--broke up a last-ditch deep pass attempt to seal the deal for the Giants. (Gibril Wilson was credited with the honors in the first meeting.)

Jan 25, 1987; Pasadena, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants quarterback (11) PHIL SIMMS in action against the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XXI at the Rose Bowl. Simms passed for 268 yards on 22 of 25 attempts and three touchdowns and was named the games most valuable player. The Giants defeated the Broncos 39-20 in their first Super Bowl Title / Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY NETWORK

No. 3: Super Bowl XXI, New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20, Pasadena, California

This was the only Giants Super Bowl I didn't attend in person as a fan or working media member since I was in my early years of college. But I remember this one very well, including the hype leading up to the game.

All week long, the talk was about John Elway, the Broncos quarterback, being the golden boy. Not many critics gave the Giants much of a chance in this one.

Ah, but they showed them a thing or two. Phil Simms set a Super Bowl passing record by completing 22 out of 25 pass attempts for 268 yards and three touchdowns. But the Giants defense- the Big Blue Wrecking Crew- helped turn the tide.

On Denver's first possession of the second quarter, Elway moved his team from their own 20 to the Giants' 1-yard line. But that was as far as the Giants were going to let Elway and company go.

On 1st-and-goal, Elway tried to run it in himself only to be met with a big bear hug by future Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who stopped him for a 1-yard loss. That was followed by a stuff by another future Hall of Fame Giants linebacker, Harry Carson, who threw fullback Gerald Willhite for no gain.

Facing 3rd-and-goal, running back Sammy Winder, the Broncos leading rusher that season, was denied entry into the end zone by yet another Giants linebacker who, while not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, should be, that being Carl Banks. Banks stuffed Winder for a loss of four yards.  

When the dust settled, the Giants had claimed their first-ever Super Bowl championship, bringing joy to scores of Giants fans who suffered through the franchise's lean years starting in the mid-1960s through the start of the 1980s.

Jan 27, 1991; Tampa, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood (11) after attempting a field goal under the hold of quarterback Frank Reich (14) against the New York Giants during Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium. The Giants defeated the Bills 19-20 / Bob Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

No. 2: Super Bowl XXV, New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19, Tampa, Florida

This Giants victory, the second of their four championships, may forever be associated with "wide right," the dramatic missed field goal attempt by kicker Scott Norwood that gave the Giants the win as time expired. 

But several other facets of this game made it so thrilling to watch, starting with the brilliance of then-defensive coordinator Bill Belichick. Belichick's game plan was to allow Bills running back Thurman Thomas to have his way on the ground but stop quarterback Jim Kelly and that K-gun offense from gashing them through the air.

To accomplish that, Belichick often played extra defensive backs, instructing them to be physical at every opportunity. While Thomas rushed for 135 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown, the Giants defense held Kelly to 18 completions on 30 attempts for 212 yards and no touchdowns. Moreover, not one of Buffalo's receivers, including Andre Reed and James Lofton, recorded more than 62 yards receiving.

Meanwhile, on offense, running back Ottis Anderson, the game's MVP, finished with 102 rushing yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. However, one of the most underrated aspects of the game came at the start of the third quarter when the Giants took the opening drive 75 yards on 14 plays, chewing up 9:29 off the clock en route to Anderson's lone rushing touchdown of the day.

That lengthy drive, which for years was a record, kept Kelly and the Bills offense on the bench for well over a half hour in real time--this after they were idle for the long halftime show. The Bills offense managed 153 yards on 22 plays in the second half, passing for just 50 yards.  

And last but not least, give credit to quarterback Jeff Hostetler, who stepped in for Phil Simms after Simms suffered a season-ending leg injury during the regular season. Hostetler finished 20 of 32 for 222 yards and one touchdown.

Giants receiver David Tyree catches a pass while in the clutches of Patriots safety Rodney Harrison en route to New York's 17-14 victory over New England in Super Bowl XLII.
Giants receiver David Tyree catches a pass while in the clutches of Patriots safety Rodney Harrison en route to New York's 17-14 victory over New England in Super Bowl XLII :: Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

No. 1: Super Bowl XLII, New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14, Phoenix, Arizona

Playing the role of spoiler to perfection, the underdog Giants not only won a game that many "experts" claimed they had no business winning, but they also made history. 

How? The Giants thwarted the undefeated Patriots' quest to deliver the first perfect season since the 1972 Dolphins went 14-0, and they did it on the game's biggest stage.

The key for the Giants defense was to get after quarterback Tom Brady, whom they hit nine times and sacked five. Brady finished 29 of 48 (60.4 percent) for 266 yards and a touchdown for a mortal 82.5 rating.

Meanwhile, MVP Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes and delivered one of the greatest plays ever seen in Supe rBowl history when he somehow wriggled out of the grasp of several Patriots defenders trying to drag I'm to the ground. Manning heaved the ball to receiver David Tyree, who, in the week of practice leading up to the game, couldn't catch a cold, let alone catch a football. 

Tyree trapped the ball against his helmet, making a 32-yard reception in the middle of the field against safety Rodney Harrison in what became known as the "Helmet Catch." The Giants went on to fulfill defensive end Michael Strahan's score prediction, and New York finished with a 17-14 victory and upset of perfection.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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