2004 New York Giants season

2004 New York Giants season
Head coach	Tom Coughlin
General manager	Ernie Accorsi
Owner	Wellington Mara Robert Tisch
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB Tiki Barber

The 2004 season was the New York Giants' 80th in the National Football League. After starting the season 5–2 the Giants lost eight games in a row before winning the final game of the season to finish 6–10, good enough for second place in the NFC East by tiebreaker.

Off-season

Former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin was hired to replace Jim Fassel, who was fired following the conclusion of the 2003 season. Departures: Kerry Collins, Brian Mitchell, Kenny Holmes, Brandon Short, Cornelius Griffin, Keith Hamilton, Michael Barrow, Matt Bryant.

NFL draft

Main article: Manning-Rivers trade

The Giants' poor record for 2003 resulted in their being tied with the San Diego Chargers, the Oakland Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals for the worst record in the league. By virtue of a series of tiebreakers, the Giants landed at the fourth pick in the draft and were forecast to select Robert Gallery, an offensive tackle from Iowa, or Ben Roethlisberger, a quarterback from Miami of Ohio, with the pick. Another scenario was also listed as a possibility, and would prove to be the move the Giants would make.

Entering the draft, the consensus top pick was Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning. However, Manning had said prior to the draft that he did not want to play for the Chargers and would not sign with them if he was drafted. The Chargers would strike a deal with the Giants before the draft that would shape the future of both franchises. The Chargers would select Manning first overall, as they had intended to. The Giants would then draft quarterback Philip Rivers of North Carolina State, and then swap him and two 2005 draft picks for Manning.

The Giants also selected former Boston College offensive guard Chris Snee, Auburn linebacker Reggie Torbor, and strong safety Gibril Wilson.

Main article: 2004 NFL Draft

2004 New York Giants draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	4	Philip Rivers *	QB	NC State	Traded to SD
2	34	Chris Snee	OG	Boston College
4	97	Reggie Torbor	DE	Auburn
5	136	Gibril Wilson	S	Tennessee
6	168	Jamaar Taylor	WR	Texas A&M
7	203	Drew Strojny	OT	Duke
7	253	Isaac Hilton	DL	Hampton
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

2004 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Curtis Deloatch	Cornerback	North Carolina A&T
Keylon Kincade	Running back	SMU

Roster

2004 New York Giants final roster
	Quarterbacks 10 Eli Manning 13 Kurt Warner Running backs 21 Tiki Barber 27 Ron Dayne 20 Jim Finn FB 34 Derrick Ward 30 Mike Cloud Wide receivers 87 Willie Ponder 81 Amani Toomer 85 David Tyree 88 Ike Hilliard 89 Mark Jones PR 84 Tim Carter Tight ends 82 Visanthe Shiancoe 80 Jeremy Shockey 83 Marcellus Rivers		Offensive linemen 66 David Diehl T 78 Jason Hilliard T 62 Wayne Lucier C 60 Shaun O'Hara C 75 Morgan Pears T 77 Luke Petitgout T 69 Rich Seubert G 76 Chris Snee G 73 Greg Walker T 65 Jason Whittle G Defensive linemen 95 Norman Hand DT 94 William Joseph DT 70 Lance Legree DT 98 Fred Robbins DT 92 Michael Strahan DE 72 Osi Umenyiora DE 99 Keith Washington DE		Linebackers 52 Barrett Green 54 Nick Greisen 55 T.J. Hollowell 59 Kevin Lewis 53 Reggie Torbor ILB 51 Carlos Emmons Defensive backs 27 Brent Alexander SS 25 Will Allen CB 29 Curry Burns FS 39 Curtis DeLoatch CB 24 Will Peterson CB 23 Omar Stoutmire FS 41 Frank Walker CB 36 Shaun Williams SS 28 Gibril Wilson FS Special teams  2 Steve Christie K 18 Jeff Feagles P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Regular season

Although the Giants had traded for Eli Manning, the season began with veteran quarterback and former league MVP Kurt Warner as the starter. After a season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Warner and the Giants enjoyed surprising success, starting a four-game winning streak that included road victories over the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. Following a Halloween rout of the Minnesota Vikings, 34–14, the Giants were 5–2, trailing the then-undefeated Philadelphia Eagles by just two games.

The high-water mark of the Giants season came on November 7, when the Giants led the Bears 14–0 at the end of the first quarter. Over the rest of the game, though, the Giants turned the ball over five times, allowed the Bears to score 28 unanswered points (20 in the second quarter) and lost by a score of 28–21. After another loss, this time on the road against the Arizona Cardinals, Giants coach Tom Coughlin decided to replace Warner with Manning. The decision did not show immediate success, as the Giants turned the ball over ten times in the next four games, scoring a total of 37 points.

Close losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Bengals followed, dropping the Giants to 5–10. The season did end with a slight possibility of succeeding, as the Giants rallied from a 16–7 fourth quarter deficit to end the season with a 28–24 victory over division rival Dallas Cowboys. Manning threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, and Tiki Barber scored the game winner.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 12	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–31	67,532
2	September 19	Washington Redskins	W 20–14	78,767
3	September 26	Cleveland Browns	W 27–10	78,521
4	October 3	at Green Bay Packers	W 14–7	70,623
5	October 10	at Dallas Cowboys	W 26–10	64,018
6	Bye
7	October 24	Detroit Lions	L 13–28	78,841
8	October 31	at Minnesota Vikings	W 34–13	64,012
9	November 7	Chicago Bears	L 21–28	78,786
10	November 14	at Arizona Cardinals	L 14–17	42,297
11	November 21	Atlanta Falcons	L 10–14	78,793
12	November 28	Philadelphia Eagles	L 6–27	78,830
13	December 5	at Washington Redskins	L 7–31	87,872
14	December 12	at Baltimore Ravens	L 14–37	69,856
15	December 18	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 30–33	78,836
16	December 26	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 22–23	64,606
17	January 2	Dallas Cowboys	W 28–24	78,500

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 7 3 0 7 17 • Eagles 14 10 7 0 31 Date: September 12 Location: Lincoln Financial Field Game start: 4:21 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:14 Game attendance: 67,532 Game weather: 78 °F (25.6 °C); wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn) Referee: Johnny Grier TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa

Scoring summary Q1 8:17 NYG Dayne 3 yard rush (Christie kick) NYG 7-0 Q1 6:18 PHI Owens 20 yard pass from McNabb (Akers kick) Tie 7-7 Q1 2:17 PHI Owens 3 yard pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 14-7 Q2 6:15 PHI Smith 14 yard pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 21-7 Q2 2:14 PHI Akers 45 yard field goal PHI 24-7 Q2 1:14 NYG Christie 53 yard field goal PHI 24-10 Q3 5:22 PHI Owens 12 yard pass from McNabb (Akers kick) PHI 31-10 Q4 2:25 NYG Barber 72 yard rush (Christie kick) PHI 31-17

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 7 0 0 7 14 • Giants 0 20 0 0 20 Date: September 19 Location: Giants Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:11 Game attendance: 78,767 Game weather: 62 °F (16.7 °C); wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn) Referee: Tom White TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Cris Collinsworth, and Pam Oliver

Scoring summary Q1 7:24 WSH Cooley 7 yard pass from Brunell (Hall kick) WSH 7–0 Q2 12:53 NYG Carter 38 yard pass from Warner (Christie kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 6:21 NYG Green 16 yard fumble return (Christie kick) NYG 14–7 Q2 4:34 NYG Christie 38 yard field goal NYG 17–7 Q2 :37 NYG Christie 22 yard field goal NYG 20–7 Q4 12:01 WSH Portis 13 yard pass from Ramsey (Hall kick) NYG 20–14

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) Philadelphia Eagles	13	3	0	.813	6–0	11–1	386	260	L2
New York Giants	6	10	0	.375	3–3	5–7	303	347	W1
Dallas Cowboys	6	10	0	.375	2–4	5–7	293	405	L1
Washington Redskins	6	10	0	.375	1–5	6–6	240	265	W1

See also

• List of New York Giants seasons