Every NY Giants starting QB in team history
The New York Giants first entered the football scene in 1925 and since that time have had a lot of talented quarterbacks taking the snaps. The biggest names at the position for the Giants are Eli Manning, Phil Simms, and Y.A. Tittle, but there have been plenty of other notable names at the position as well.
Unfortunately, there have also been plenty of duds to play quarterback for the G-Men and you'll see that reflected on this list. The past decade alone has given Giants fans nightmares when it comes to the position.
Before we dive in, I do want to note that it's harder to pin down quarterback stats in the early decades of Giants football since quarterback wasn't the same position it is now and a lot of tailbacks and halfbacks played the role of QB back then. With that in mind, let's get this show on the road.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 1920 to 1929
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Jack McBride (1925-1928, 1932-1934) | 12 (18) | 0 (0) |
Hinkey Haines (1925-1927) | 33 (33) | 0 (0) |
Bruce Caldwell (1928) | 6 (6) | 0 (0) |
Benny Friedman (1929-1931) | 15 (41) | 0 (0) |
As mentioned in the intro, it's more difficult to assess the starting quarterback position in the 1920s because the position wasn't what it is now. Jack McBride was the first-ever player to throw passes for the Giants.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 1930 to 1939
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Benny Friedman (1921-1931) | 26 (41) | 0 (0) |
Hap Moran (1928-1933) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Red Smith (1928, 1931) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Jack McBride (1925-1928, 1932-1934) | 6 (18) | 0 (0) |
Harry Newman (1933-1935) | 27 (27) | 1 (1) |
Ed Danowski (1934-1941) | 50 (50) | 4 (4) |
Tory Sarausky (1935-1937) | 7 (7) | 0 (0) |
Seven different guys started games for the Giants at quarterback (or at least in the quarterback role of throwing passes). The Giants made it to the playoffs for the first time in 1933 and Harry Newman started their first playoff game at QB.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 1940 to 1949
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Eddie Miller (1939-1940) | 11 (11) | 0 (0) |
Tuffy Leemans (1936-1943) | 26 (26) | 2 (2) |
Emery Nix (1943, 1946) | 5 (5) | 0 (0) |
Arnie Herber (1944-1945) | 20 (20) | 1 (1) |
Frank Filchock (1946) | 11 (11) | 1 (1) |
Paul Governali (1947-1948) | 12 (12) | 0 (0) |
Charlie Conerly (1948-1961) | 16 (105) | 0 (2) |
Tuffy Leemans started the most games for the Giants in the 1940s with 26 starts under his belt and two playoff starts on his résume as well. Charlie Conerly ended the decade as the starting signal-caller and stayed with the G-Men until the early 1960s.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 1950 to 1959
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Charlie Conerly (1948-1961) | 78 (105) | 2 (2) |
Travis Tidwell (1950-1951) | 4 (4) | 1 (1) |
Tom Landry (1949-1955) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Arnie Galiffa (1953) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Bob Clatterbuck (1954-1957) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Don Heinrich (1954-1959) | 32 (32) | 3 (3) |
George Shaw (1959-1960) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) |
Charlie Conerly started the most games for New York in the 1950s and it isn't particularly close. Conerly started 78 regular-season games and two playoff games and Don Heinrich had the second-most starts with 32. Heinrich did have more playoff starts than Conerly, however, with three postseason starts to his name in the 50s.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 1960 to 1969
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Charlie Conerly (1948-1961) | 11 (105) | 0 (2) |
George Shaw (1959-1960) | 5 (6) | 0 (0) |
Y.A. Tittle (1961-1964) | 48 (48) | 3 (3) |
Gary Wood (1964-1966, 1968-1969) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Earl Morrall (1965-1967) | 21 (21) | 0 (0) |
Tom Kennedy (1966) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Fran Tarkenton (1967-1971) | 42 (69) | 0 (0) |
Conerly spent two years in the 1960s still quarterbacking the Giants before the team eventually moved on to Y.A. Tittle, who started 48 regular-season games and made three playoff starts. Fran Tarkenton closed the decade out as the Giants starting quarterback.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 1970 to 1979
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Fran Tarkenton (1967-1971) | 27 (69) | 0 (0) |
Randy Johnson (1971-1973) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Norm Snead (1972-1974, 1976) | 26 (26) | 0 (0) |
Craig Morton (1974-1976) | 33 (33) | 0 (0) |
Jim Del Gaizo (1974) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Joe Pisarcik (1977-1979) | 27 (27) | 0 (0) |
Jerry Golsteyn (1977-1978) | 5 (5) | 0 (0) |
Randy Dean (1977-1979) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Phil Simms (1979-1993) | 11 (159) | 0 (10) |
Nine different quarterbacks started games for the Giants in the 1970s and four of them made over 20 regular-season starts. Fran Tarkenton began the decade as the starter, Norm Snead eventually took over, then it was Craig Morton, and Joe Pisarcik also had 20+ starts on his résume. By the end of the decade, a soon-to-be star named Phil Simms took over as the starter.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 1980 to 1989
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Phil Simms (1979-1993) | 110 (159) | 8 (10) |
Scott Brunner (1980-1983) | 30 (30) | 2 (2) |
Jeff Rutledge (1983-1989) | 8 (8) | 0 (0) |
Mike Busch (1987) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Jim Crocicchia (1987) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Jeff Hostetler (1985-1992) | 2 (25) | 0 (3) |
The 1980s were mostly dominated by Phil Simms at quarterback, as the No. 7 overall pick in the 1979 draft started 110 regular season games and made eight postseason starts. Scott Brunner had the second-most starts with 30 and made two starts in the playoffs.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 1990 to 1999
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Phil Simms (1979-1993) | 38 (159) | 2 (10) |
Jeff Hostetler (1985-1992) | 23 (25) | 3 (3) |
Kent Graham (1992-1994, 1998-1999) | 19 (19) | 0 (0) |
Dave Brown (1992-1997) | 53 (53) | 0 (0) |
Danny Kanell (1996-1998) | 20 (20) | 1 (1) |
Kerry Collins (1999-2003) | 7 (68) | 0 (4) |
Simms continued quarterbacking the Giants in the early 1990s and made two playoff starts. Injuries led to Jeff Hostetler starting 23 regular-season games and three playoff starts. Dave Brown had the most starts of the decade with 53.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 2000 to 2009
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Kerry Collins (1999-2003) | 61 (68) | 4 (4) |
Jesse Palmer (2002-2003) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Kurt Warner (2004) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Eli Manning (2004-2019) | 87 (234) | 7 (12) |
The Giants had four different starting quarterbacks in the new millennium and Kerry Collins kicked things off for them, making 61 starts in the early 2000s. Collins started four playoff games, including Super Bowl XXXV. Jesse Palmer and Kurt Warner didn't do much for the Giants during their time with the team and eventually, it was Eli Manning's time to shine, as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 draft made 87 starts and seven playoff starts (including Super Bowl XLII) for the Giants in the 2000s.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 2010 to 2019
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Eli Manning (2004-2019) | 147 (234) | 5 (12) |
Geno Smith (2017) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Daniel Jones (2019-Present) | 12 (59) | 0 (2) |
The 2010s belonged to Manning. He made 147 starts for the Giants during the decade and he started five postseason games for them, including Super Bowl XLVI. The one start made by Geno Smith in 2017 was frustrating because it snapped Manning's consecutive starts streak of 210 games.
The Giants spent a first-round pick on Duke quarterback Daniel Jones in 2019 and he made 12 starts as a rookie, which was also Manning's final year in the league before he retired.
Giants starting quarterbacks from 2020 to Present
Name (Time spent with NY) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Giants) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Giants) |
|---|---|---|
Daniel Jones (2019-Present) | 47 (59) | 2 (2) |
Colt McCoy (2020) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Mike Glennon (2021) | 4 (4) | 0 (0) |
Jake Fromm (2021) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Davis Webb (2022) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Tyrod Taylor (2022-2023) | 5 (5) | 0 (0) |
Tommy DeVito (2023-Present) | 6 (6) | 0 (0) |
The 2020s have not been kind to the Giants at the quarterback position (or overall, really), as they've had seven different starting signal-callers. Jones has started the most games with 47 and has made the only playoff starts of the decade.
Unfortunately, Jones has been injury-prone during his career, leading to the rest of the guys listed here getting opportunities to show what they can do. Funny enough, Tommy DeVito has the second-most starts of the 2010s with six.
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