NY Giants Schedule: Top-10 season openers of all-time

4. September 9, 1990 – Philadelphia Eagles 20, NY Giants 27

The season prior, the NY Giants went 12-4 and despite an early exit from the playoffs, the entire NFL was put on notice that Bill Parcells had rebuilt this team as a contender following three straight disappointing seasons.

It was a lackluster day on the offensive side of the ball for the G-Men, registering just 227 yards of offense and 79 yards on the ground. New York ran only 52 plays compared to Philadelphia’s 70 and was just 2-12 on 3rd down.

After being down 10-6 at halftime, two Phil Simms touchdown passes and a 68-yard punt return touchdown in between gave the Giants a 27-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. Randall Cunningham and the Eagles would score 10 straight and cut the lead to 27-20 with under two minutes left in the game.

New York was able to hang on, and though ugly, the win re-emphasized where the best defense in the NFL resided and who the catalyst of that defense was. Big Blue allowed only 81 rushing yards, forced four fumbles, brought in three interceptions, and sacked Cunningham four times.

Despite sitting out training camp and the preseason in a contract dispute, Lawrence Taylor recorded three sacks and a forced fumble and set the tone for a defense that would go on to allow just 13 points/game that season.

The win was the first of ten straight to start the year en route to the franchise’s second Super Bowl victory in four years.