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]
[ 7]
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
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. 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 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 [ edit ] 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
^ "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