1970 New York Giants season | |
---|---|
Owner | Wellington Mara |
Head coach | Alex Webster |
Home field | Yankee Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 9–5 |
Division place | 2nd NFC East |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | QB Fran Tarkenton RB Ron Johnson |
The 1970 New York Giants season was the franchise's 46th season in the NFL. This was the first season for the Giants after the AFL–NFL merger, in which ten American Football League teams joined the NFL. The team was led by second-year head coach Alex Webster. The Giants finished the season 9–5 for their first winning season since 1963, but they missed the playoffs after losing their season finale against the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 31–3. The Giants finished second in the NFC East, a game behind the Dallas Cowboys. They also finished only one game out of a wild-card playoff spot, won by the Detroit Lions.
Probably more damaging to the Giants' playoff hopes than the loss to the Rams were losses to two of the NFL's weakest teams:
The Saints finished with the NFL's second-worst record at 2–11–1 (the Giants beat the NFL's worst team of 1970, the 2–12 Boston Patriots); the Eagles were barely better at 3–10–1. The Giants also lost at home to the 6-8 Chicago Bears.
This was the closest the Giants came to qualifying for the playoffs in the 1970s. The franchise enjoyed only one other winning season in the decade, going 8–6 in 1972. Big Blue did not return to the playoffs until 1981, ending a drought which dated back to the 1963 NFL Championship.