On This Date in Sports November 25, 1982
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The New York Giants beat the Detroit Lions 13-6 at the Pontiac Silverdome on Thanksgiving. It is the first win of the year for the Giants, who were winless in their first three games in the strike-shortened season. The game turns into the Lawrence Taylor show, as L.T. single handily wins the game for the Giants, with a sack a forced fumble and a 97-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
It had been the darkest of days for the New York Giants, who had disappeared into the abyss after losing three straight NFL Championship Games and five in six years ending in 1963. For 18 years the Giants were a non-factor in the playoff chase as they were evicted from Yankee Stadium and ended up building their own stadium in the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Things hit rock bottom in 1978 when fans began burning their tickets in the parking lot. Still, the next two seasons were no better as the Giants finished 6-10 in 1979 and 4-12 in 1980. That’s when things began to change as they selected Linebacker Lawrence Taylor with the second overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft.
The 1981 season marked a new beginning for the Giants, as Lawrence Taylor became a dominating force right away, winning both Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year as the Giants won their last three games and beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Game, rejuvenating hopes for long-suffering fans of Big Blue. Anticipating bigger things, the following year, the Giants coached Ray Perkins lost a pair of tough games at home to the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers before the season was halted by a two-month players’ strike. When the season resumed the Giants again could not find their footing at home, as they lost to the Washington Redskins 27-17 to drop to 0-3.
Four days later the Giants faced the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, hoping to get back on track. The Lions coached by Monte Clark entered the game with a record of 2-1, winning their first two games before the strike before suffering a loss to the Chicago Bears in Jim McMahon’s first career start. A big reason for the Giants struggles was an injury to quarterback Phil Simms that sidelined him the entire season. His backup Scott Brunner struggled all season to get the Giants offense on track, and Thanksgiving was no different as they could not score in the first half. Meanwhile, the Giants defense kept them in the game as the Lions led 6-0 on a pair of field goals by Eddie Murray. The Giants defense began to take over the game in the third quarter as Lawrence Taylor who was benched in the first half came out like a caged tiger, sacking Lions quarterback Gary Danielson and later forcing him to throw an interception to Harry Carson. Taylor also forced the ball out of the hands of Billy Sims as the Giants tied the game with a pair of touchdowns by Joe Danelo. However, it looked like more heartbreak for the Giants as the Lions drove the ball to the goal line late in the fourth quarter. Once again it was L.T. making the big play as he picked off Danielson’s pass and ran it back 97 yards for a touchdown to win the game 13-6.
Lawrence Taylor would go on to be named Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight season, but Giants fell short in their quest to return to the playoffs, fishing at 4-5. The Giants would be stunned at season’s end when Coach Ray Perkins left to replace Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama. Defensive Coordinator Bill Parcells would take over as coach in 1983, as the Giants suffered major growing pains, going 3-12-1. Parcells and the Giants would turn things around and return to the playoffs in 1984 and won Super Bowl XXI a year later. Lawrence Taylor would add another Defensive Player of the Year that season and became a rare defensive player to win NFL MVP as he went become a Hall of Famer and considered by some to be the greatest Linebacker in NFL history.