What If The New York Giants Successfully Claimed Cris Carter Off Waivers in 1990?
By Neal Lynch
1996
The ’96 draft yielded franchise receiving leader Amani Toomer and starting offensive lineman Roman Oben, but was also known for whiffing on Cedric Jones in the first. The Carter-less Giants finished last in the NFC East with a 6-10 record. It would be Dan Reeves’ last season as head coach.
In Minnesota, Carter totaled 96 catches (5th in the NFL) for 1,163 yards (10th in the NFL) and 10 touchdowns. For his efforts, Cris was named 2nd Team All-Conference by the UPI.
Even with Carter, the Giants probably would’ve only won 2 more games (listed below), putting their record at 8-8, still not good enough to clinch a playoff spot
- Week 1 September 1st L OT 0-1 Buffalo Bills 20-23
- Week 17 December 21st L 6-10 New England Patriots 22-23
1997
After Dan Reeves was fired, the Giants hired former offensive coordinator from their ’92 season, Jim Fassel. Big Blue had a fairly fruitful draft, selecting franchise rushing leader Tiki Barber, tough wide receiver Ike Hilliard, safety Sam Garnes, linebacker Ryan Phillips, and punter Brad Maynard.
The G-Men would end up with a 10-5-1 record, winning the NFC East and hosting the NFC Wild Card game against Cris Carter and the Minnesota Vikings. The Giants defense didn’t give up a lot of points. They did allow a lot of passing yards, but hardly any passing touchdowns. They didn’t give up a lot of rushing yards, but were near the bottom of the league in allowing rushing touchdowns.
In ’97, Carter had 89 receptions (4th in the NFL), 1,069 receiving yards, and 13 receiving touchdowns (1st in the NFL / 57th all-time) with Minnesota.
There were three games that the Giants could’ve won with Carter in the lineup:
- Week 3 September 14th L 1-2 Baltimore Ravens 23 24
- Week 11 November 9th L 6-4 @ Tennessee Oilers 6 10
- Week 13 November 23rd T OT 7-4-1 @ Washington Redskins 7-7
With those three wins, the Giants would’ve gone 13-3 and secured the #3 seed due to losing tiebreakers with the 49ers and Packers.
NFC WILD CARD ROUND
Vikings (9-7) #6 at Giants (13-3) #3 – Giants win
Lions (9-7) #5 at Buccaneers (10-6) #4 – Bucs win
Packers (13-3) #2 & 49ers (13-3) #1 – bye
NFC DIVISIONAL ROUND
Giants (13-3) #3 at Packers (13-3) #2 – Packers win
Buccaneers (10-6) #4 at 49ers (13-3) #1 – 49ers win
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Packers (13-3) #2 at 49ers (13-3) #1 – Packers win
1998
The ’98 draft brought the Giants safety Shaun Williams and wide receiver joe Jurevicius. The team finished third in the division with an 8-8 record with another stingy defense, but a subpar offense.
Carter had another stellar season with the Vikings and Randall Cunningham, taking rookie sensation Randy Moss under his wing on his way to snagging 78 balls for 1,011 yards and 12 receiving touchdowns (4th in the NFL/98th all-time). Minnesota would go 15-1 and was one missed field goal away from the Super Bowl.
If Carter’s on the Giants, they should be able to win this game…
- Week 2 September 13th L 1-1 @ Oakland Raiders 17-20
That would’ve pushed their record to 9-7 and Big Blue would’ve won the tiebreaker with the Arizona Cardinals based on having the better divisional record. Sans Cris Carter, Minnesota probably loses the game against Chicago early in the season. They would then lose the tiebreaker with Atlanta and fall to the #2 seed.
NFC WILD CARD ROUND
Giants (9-7) #6 at Cowboys (10-6) #3 – Giants win
Packers (11-5) #5 at 49ers (12-4) #4 – 49ers win
Vikings (14-2) #2 & Falcons (14-2) #1 – bye
NFC DIVISIONAL ROUND
Giants (9-7) #6 at Falcons (14-2) #1 – Falcons win
49ers (12-4) #4 at Vikings (14-2) #2 – Vikings win
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: Vikings at Falcons – Falcons win
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