The New York Giants (12-2) defeated the St. Louis Cardinals ( Yes..St. Louis)  27-7 to clinch the NFC EAST for the first time in history.  In front of the usual 75,000 plus fans Joe Morris ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns.  It was one of those true Giants days in that the offense gained 252  of their 313 yards on the ground.  Northeast Football at it’s Best!  The defense controlled the game in their usual fashion.  The Cardinals on their first four possessions suffered third down sacks on all of them. The defense set a franchise record that day recording nine sacks.  The Giants also continued their impressive run of lowering their penalty total per game.  They committed only two penalties for a total of ten yards on this day.

This machine was well oiled, running on most, if not all cylinders, and was poised for their historic playoff run.  One more tune-up against the outmanned Packers and it was home field advantage throughout the Playoffs.  An advantage that was very key to the Giants because of their ability to control a game in any weather.

After three amazing weeks in a row The Giants (11-2) took a trip down to D.C. to face the Washington Redskins(11-2) with the NFC East up for grabs.  Sounds a little bit like what’s happening this week in Dallas, except for the stellar records. So, on Friday that week I boarded the Trump Shuttle…leaving every 30 minutes to D.C. for $50.  Ah, the good old days.

The Giants  had two home games scheduled after this contest against the lowly St. Louis Cardinals and Green bay Packers.  This game was clearly for all the marbles.  The Giants had defeated the Redskins earlier in the year on a Monday Night in October, that being the night the New York Mets won the World Series.  With Joe Morris being held to just 62 yards on 22 carries, much different than the 181 yards he had gained against them earlier in the year, it was up to Phil Simms and the Defense to take charge.  And take charge they did. Lawrence Taylor had three of the four sacks recorded that day, and under heavy pressure, Jay Schroeder threw 6 interceptions, while fumbling once.  Phil Simms completed TD passes to Mark Bavaro, Bobby Johnson, and Phil McConkey. (more…)