2005 New York Giants season

The 2005 New York Giants season was the franchise's 81st season in the National Football League. The Giants finished the regular season with 11 wins and 5 losses and came in first place of the NFC East. However, they would lose to the Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

2005 New York Giants season
Head coach	Tom Coughlin
General manager	Ernie Accorsi
Owner	Wellington Mara Bob Tisch
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st NFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Panthers) 0–23
Pro Bowlers	RB Tiki Barber TE Jeremy Shockey DE Michael Strahan DE Osi Umenyiora ST David Tyree[1][2]

Offseason

In the 2005 offseason the Giants acquired former Steelers’ wide receiver Plaxico Burress as a free agent. Also, during the 2005 Draft, the Giants used their first pick on Louisiana State cornerback Corey Webster. They then used their next pick on Notre Dame defensive end Justin Tuck. The rest of their picks included Southern Illinois running back Brandon Jacobs and Florida State defensive end Eric Moore.

Draft

Main article: 2005 NFL Draft

2005 New York Giants draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	43	Corey Webster	CB	LSU
3	74	Justin Tuck *	DE	Notre Dame
4	110	Brandon Jacobs	RB	Southern Illinois
6	186	Eric Moore	DE	Florida State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

2005 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Chase Blackburn	Linebacker	Akron
James Butler	Safety	Georgia Tech
Ryan Grant	Running back	Notre Dame
Matt LoVecchio	Quarterback	Indiana
Cameron Wake	Linebacker	Penn State

Roster

2005 New York Giants final roster

	Quarterbacks 8 Tim Hasselbeck 12 Jared Lorenzen 10 Eli Manning Running backs 21 Tiki Barber 20 Jim Finn FB 27 Brandon Jacobs 29 Chad Morton KR/PR 34 Derrick Ward Wide receivers 17 Plaxico Burress 84 Tim Carter 87 Willie Ponder 81 Amani Toomer 85 David Tyree Tight ends 83 Matt Kranchick 82 Visanthe Shiancoe 80 Jeremy Shockey		Offensive linemen 66 David Diehl G 61 Lewis Kelly G 67 Kareem McKenzie T 60 Shaun O'Hara C 77 Luke Petitgout T 69 Rich Seubert T 76 Chris Snee G 71 Bob Whitfield T 65 Jason Whittle G Defensive linemen 70 Kendrick Clancy DT 99 Damane Duckett DT 94 William Joseph DT 93 Eric Moore DE 98 Fred Robbins DT 92 Michael Strahan DE 91 Justin Tuck DE 72 Osi Umenyiora DE		Linebackers 57 Chase Blackburn ILB 51 Carlos Emmons 96 Jay Foreman 54 Nick Greisen 44 Kevin Lewis 55 Roman Phifer 58 Antonio Pierce ILB 53 Reggie Torbor ILB Defensive backs 26 Brent Alexander SS 25 Will Allen CB 22 Terrell Buckley CB 39 Curtis DeLoatch CB 41 Frank Walker CB 23 Corey Webster CB 28 Gibril Wilson FS Special teams 18 Jeff Feagles P  2 Jay Feely K		Reserve lists 88 Sean Berton TE (IR) 52 Barrett Green LB (IR) 24 Will Peterson CB (IR) 36 Shaun Williams SS (IR) Practice squad 78 Jonathan Doty T 47 Ryan Grant RB 15 Michael Jennings WR 46 Marcus Lawrence LB 75 Jonas Seawright DT Rookies in italics active, inactive, practice squad

Regular season

The Giants won their first two games of the season, against the Arizona Cardinals (42–19)[3] and a second game at the Meadowlands against the New Orleans Saints. The game was originally slated to be a home game for the Saints but had to be moved since the city of New Orleans was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, and the Louisiana Superdome was untenable after being used as an emergency shelter for locals displaced by the hurricane.[4] Despite the Saints wearing their home colors and the Saints colors and logo being painted in one of the end zones, the game was a de facto home game for the Giants who won easily, 27–10.[3] The Giants lost to the Chargers the following week, 45–23,[3] in a game which was marked by Chargers fans booing and jeering Eli Manning for refusing to play for the Chargers. Manning and the Giants rebounded the following week however, and beat the St. Louis Rams by a score of 44–24.[3]

Through eight games, Burress, in a bid to become the first Giant wideout to make the Pro Bowl in 37 years, had 45 catches and five scores. Jeremy Shockey, who had not been as effective as he was in his rookie season, also was beginning to re-emerge with 32 catches and over 500 yards receiving after eight weeks.

Wellington Mara's gravesite

On October 25, 2005, beloved Giants patriarch Wellington Mara died after a brief illness, at the age of 89.[5] Mara had been involved with the Giants since he was 9 years old, when he was a ball boy for the Giants. Except a tour of duty in the military during World War II, Mara spent his entire adult life with the Giants. The New York Giants dedicated their next game to Mara, and shut out the Washington Redskins 36–0.[3] Afterwards, the Giants went on the road and defeated the San Francisco 49ers 24–6, but when they got home, lost to the Minnesota Vikings 24–21.[3] Just twenty days after Mara's death, on November 15, 2005, the other Giants Executive Officer and well-known businessman Bob Tisch died at the age of 79. He was diagnosed in 2004 with inoperable brain cancer. Tisch was a philanthropist all his life and donated considerable sums of money to charitable causes. After his diagnosis, he donated money to institutions aimed towards the research of drugs and treatments to control brain tumors.

Tiki Barber set Giants single season and single game rushing records in 2005.

The Giants then travelled to Seattle to play the Seahawks. With the score tied at 21, kicker Jay Feely missed three field goals that would have given the Giants the lead.[6] The Giants lost 24–21 when Seahawks kicker Josh Brown kicked a 36-yard field goal.[6] The Giants then defeated the Cowboys 17–10.[7] the Giants defense made opposing QB Drew Bledsoe go 15 of 39 for 146 yards with only one touchdown pass and two interceptions.[7] The Giants then traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and defeated the defending NFC champion Eagles 26–23.[3]

During the season, the Giants and their stadium mates, the New York Jets, announced plans for a new stadium to replace Giants Stadium for both teams. Construction of said stadium began in 2007 and continued for two years, and the venue opened in 2010 as New Meadowlands Stadium. In 2011 naming rights would be bought by MetLife.

On December 17, 2005, in their 27–17 home victory against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tiki Barber set the team's single game rushing yard record with 220 yards, breaking the previous record of 218 yards, which had been set by Gene Roberts on November 12, 1950.[8]

The Giants were able to clinch at least a wild card berth without playing when the Minnesota Vikings fell to the Baltimore Ravens 30–23 in week 16. The Giants then won the NFC East title for the first time since 2000 with a 30–21 win against the Oakland Raiders. The team's appearance in the 2005 postseason was their 27th, tied with the Cowboys and the Rams for the most ever by an NFL team.

Playoffs

While the Giants exceeded expectations in 2005, it came at the cost of key players suffering injuries over the course of the long season. An underwhelmed Giants squad lost 23–0 to the Carolina Panthers in the wild card round.[3]

Schedule

In addition to their regular games with NFC East rivals, the Giants played teams from the NFC West and AFC West as per the schedule rotation, and also played intraconference games against the Vikings and the Saints based on divisional positions from 2004.

The Giants’ 2005 schedule was unique in that each of the team’s final 3 games were played on Saturdays.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Channel	Attendance
1	September 11, 2005	Arizona Cardinals	W 42–19	FOX 4:15	78,387
2	September 19, 2005	at New Orleans Saints	W 27–10	ABC 7:30	68,031
3	September 25, 2005	at San Diego Chargers	L 23–45	ESPN 8:30	65,373
4	October 2, 2005	St. Louis Rams	W 44–24	FOX 1:00	78,453
5	Bye
6	October 16, 2005	at Dallas Cowboys	L 13–16	FOX 1:00	62,278
7	October 23, 2005	Denver Broncos	W 24–23	CBS 4:15	78,516
8	October 30, 2005	Washington Redskins	W 36–0	FOX 1:00	78,630
9	November 6, 2005	at San Francisco 49ers	W 24–6	FOX 4:05	63,820
10	November 13, 2005	Minnesota Vikings	L 21–24	FOX 1:00	78,637
11	November 20, 2005	Philadelphia Eagles	W 27–17	FOX 1:00	78,626
12	November 27, 2005	at Seattle Seahawks	L 21–24	FOX 4:15	67,102
13	December 4, 2005	Dallas Cowboys	W 17–10	FOX 1:00	78,645
14	December 11, 2005	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 26–23	FOX 1:00	67,443
15	December 17, 2005	Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–17	CBS 4:15	78,625
16	December 24, 2005	at Washington Redskins	L 20–35	FOX 1:00	90,477
17	December 31, 2005	at Oakland Raiders	W 30–21	ESPN 8:30	44,594
Playoffs
Wild Card	January 8, 2006	Carolina Panthers	L 0–23	FOX 1:00	79,378

Game summary

Week 14

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Giants 7 10 3 3 3 26 Eagles 7 10 0 6 0 23 Date: December 11 Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 4:05 p.m. EST Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C), wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn) Referee: Gerald Austin TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver

Scoring summary 1 NYG Tiki Barber 4-yard pass from Eli Manning (Jay Feely kick) Giants 7–0 1 PHI Ryan Moats 40-yard run (David Akers kick) Tie 7–7 2 NYG Eli Manning 1-yard run (Jay Feely kick) Giants 14–7 2 NYG Jay Feely 24-yard field goal Giants 17–7 2 PHI Ryan Moats 18-yard run (David Akers kick) Giants 17–14 2 PHI David Akers 42-yard field goal Tie 17–17 3 NYG Jay Feely 21-yard field goal Giants 20–17 4 NYG Jay Feely 27-yard field goal Giants 23–17 4 PHI David Akers 36-yard field goal Giants 23–20 4 PHI David Akers 50-yard field goal Tie 23–23 OT NYG Jay Feely 36-yard field goal Giants 26–23

[9]

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(4) New York Giants	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	422	314	W1
^(6) Washington Redskins	10	6	0	.625	5–1	10–2	359	293	W5
Dallas Cowboys	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	325	308	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	6	10	0	.375	0–6	3–9	310	388	L2

Images

• 
  Players line up at Washington, December 24
• 
  Game action at Washington in week 16
• 
  New York at Washington (the game ended 35-20 to the home team)
• 
  The Giants on offense at Washington
• 
  The Giants near Washington's goal line
• 
  New York's offense lines up

See also

• History of the New York Giants (1994-present)

See also

• List of New York Giants seasons

References

1. Tiki Barber plans to stay busy after retirement Archived 2007-04-03 at the Wayback Machine, NFL.com, accessed March 22, 2007.
2. 2005 New York Giants, pro-football-reference.com, accessed March 21, 2007.
3. 2005 New York Giants Archived 2007-02-09 at the Wayback Machine, databasefootball.com, accessed March 16, 2007.
4. Maske, Mark. Saints to Play Home Opener at Giants Stadium, The Washington Post, September 3, 2005, accessed March 23, 2007.
5. Goldstein, Richard. Wellington Mara, the Patriarch of the N.F.L., Dies at 89, The New York Times, October 26, 2005, accessed April 17, 2007.
6. Associated Press, Three missed FGs doom Giants in OT loss to Seahawks, November 27, 2005, accessed March 21, 2007.
7. Associated Press, Giants alone atop NFC East after narrow win vs. 'Boys, December 4, 2005, accessed March 21, 2007.
8. Associated Press, Tiki torches Chiefs in Giants’ win, December 17, 2005, accessed March 21, 2007.
9. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 21, 2013.

External links

• espn.com 2005 New York Giants results page