1966 New York Giants season

1966 New York Giants season
Head coach	Allie Sherman
Owner	Wellington Mara
Home field	Yankee Stadium
Results
Record	1–12–1
Division place	8th NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1966 New York Giants season was the 42nd season for the club in the National Football League. The Giants finished in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 1–12–1 record, the worst in franchise history.^[1][2]

The 1966 Giants surrendered the most points in NFL history for a 14-game season.^[3][4] They allowed 501 points in 14 games, or an average of 35.8 points per game.^[2] This total broke the league record for the most points given up in a season.^[5] The next most points allowed by a Giants team was 427 in the 2009 season, which was 16 games.^[2] The Giants allowed opponents to score more than 30 points in eight of the 14 games, and gave up over 50 points three times.^[1] They are the only team in history to give up 500 points in a 14-game season.^[3][4]

On November 27, the Giants played the highest-scoring game in NFL history, losing to the Washington Redskins, 72–41.^[6] It was the first of three straight games in which the Giants gave up more than 40 points; they allowed 49 points against the Cleveland Browns and 47 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.^[1]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 11	at Pittsburgh Steelers	T 34–34	0–0–1	37,693
2	September 18	at Dallas Cowboys	L 52–7	0–1–1	60,010
3	September 25	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 35–17	0–2–1	60,177
4	October 2	Cleveland Browns	L 28–7	0–3–1	62,916
5	October 9	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 24–19	0–4–1	43,893
6	October 16	Washington Redskins	W 13–10	1–4–1	62,865
7	October 23	Philadelphia Eagles	L 31–3	1–5–1	63,018
8	October 30	Bye
9	November 6	St. Louis Cardinals	L 20–17	1–6–1	62,967
10	November 13	at Los Angeles Rams	L 55–14	1–7–1	34,746
11	November 20	Atlanta Falcons	L 27–16	1–8–1	62,746
12	November 27	at Washington Redskins	L 72–41	1–9–1	50,439
13	December 4	at Cleveland Browns	L 49–40	1–10–1	61,651
14	December 11	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 47–28	1–11–1	62,658
15	December 18	Dallas Cowboys	L 17–7	1–12–1	62,735

With the addition of the expansion Atlanta Falcons, the NFL had an odd number (15) of teams.^[7] This necessitated the use of bye weeks. The Giants received the most centrally located bye, in Week 8, thus perfectly dividing their season into two 7-game halves. They lost all seven games after the break.^[1] (In contrast, the expansion Falcons were 0–8 before they got their bye in Week 9, but 3–3 afterwards.)^[8]

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 7 10 0 17 34 Steelers 7 7 17 3 34 Date: September 11 Location: Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C); wind 5 mph (8 km/h)

Scoring summary Q1 NYG Jones 75 yard pass from Morrall (Gogolak kick) NYG 7–0 Q1 PIT Ballman 9 yard pass from Nelsen (Clark kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 NYG Crespino 19 yard pass from Morrall (Gogolak kick) NYG 14–7 Q2 PIT Asbury 6 yard run (Clark kick) Tie 14–14 Q2 NYG Gogolak 26 yard field goal NYG 17–14 Q3 PIT Simmons 21 yard pass from Nelsen (Clark kick) PIT 21–17 Q3 PIT Clark 25 yard field goal PIT 24–17 Q3 PIT Hilton 31 yard pass from Nelsen (Clark kick) PIT 31–17 Q4 NYG Gogolak 14 yard field goal PIT 31–20 Q4 NYG Jones 98 yard pass from Morrall (Gogolak kick) PIT 31–27 Q4 NYG Harris 72 yard fumble return (Gogolak kick) NYG 34–31 Q4 PIT Clark 41 yard field goal Tie 34–34

^[9]

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	10	3	1	.769	9–3–1	445	239	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	9	5	0	.643	8–5	326	340	W4
Cleveland Browns	9	5	0	.643	9–4	403	259	W1
St. Louis Cardinals	8	5	1	.615	7–5–1	264	265	L3
Washington Redskins	7	7	0	.500	7–6	351	355	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	8	1	.385	4–8–1	316	347	W2
Atlanta Falcons	3	11	0	.214	2–5	204	437	L1
New York Giants	1	12	1	.077	1–11–1	263	501	L8

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

See also

• List of New York Giants seasons

References

1. "1966 New York Giants". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
2. "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
3. "Team Game Finder Query Results: In a single season, from 1960 to 1977, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points Allowed". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
4. Pasquarelli, Len (May 18, 2009). "Schedule expansion gaining momentum". ESPN. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
5. Whittingham, Richard (2005). Illustrated History of the New York Giants. Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. p. 143. ISBN 1-57243-641-7.
6. "Redskins Set Mark In 72–41 Win Over Giants". Park City Daily News. Associated Press. November 25, 1966. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
7. "Atlanta Falcons: Team History". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
8. "1966 Atlanta Falcons". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
9. "New York Giants 34 at Pittsburgh Steelers 34". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 15, 2014.