2012 New York Giants season

2012 New York Giants season
Head coach	Tom Coughlin
General manager	Jerry Reese
Owner	John Mara Steve Tisch
Home field	MetLife Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	QB Eli Manning DE Jason Pierre-Paul WR Victor Cruz G Chris Snee
AP All-Pros	David Wilson, RB – 2nd Team
Uniform

The 2012 New York Giants season was the franchise's 88th season in the National Football League, the ninth under head coach Tom Coughlin and the third playing their home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants began the 2012 season as defending Super Bowl Champions for the fourth time in their history, by virtue of their 21–17 victory in Super Bowl XLVI over the New England Patriots. The Giants finished 9–7 for the second straight year, but failed to make the playoffs.

Personnel changes

On February 10, Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan was hired as the new offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[1] Sullivan was with the Giants since the beginning of Tom Coughlin's tenure as head coach of the Giants, serving as the wide receivers coach from 2004–2009 and as quarterbacks coach from 2010–2011. No replacement has been announced yet.

The Giants offensive staff suffered another loss three days later (February 13) when assistant offensive line coach Jack Bicknell, Jr. was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs to be their offensive line coach.^[2] Bicknell was with the Giants the past three seasons.

Roster changes

Free agents

Position	Player	Tag	2012 Team	Notes and references
T/G	Stacy Andrews	UFA	TBD
TE	Jake Ballard	ERFA	New England Patriots	Released by Giants after failing physical, claimed off waivers by Patriots
DT	Rocky Bernard	UFA	New York Giants	Signed a new deal June 11, 2012
MLB	Chase Blackburn	UFA	New York Giants	Signed a one-year deal April 13, 2012
CB	Will Blackmon	UFA	TBD
QB	David Carr	UFA	New York Giants	Signed a One Year Deal in Mid March
WR	Michael Clayton	UFA	TBD
CB	Michael Coe	UFA	New York Giants	Signed an undisclosed deal in March
MLB	Jonathan Goff	UFA	TBD
FS	Deon Grant	UFA	TBD
WR	Domenik Hixon	UFA	New York Giants	Signed a new deal with the Giants on March 2[3]
RB	Brandon Jacobs	UFA	San Francisco 49ers	Signed a one-year deal on April 6, 2012 for a base of $950,000.
CB	Bruce Johnson	ERFA	TBD
DT	Jimmy Kennedy	UFA	TBD
SS	Derrick Martin	UFA	TBD
T	Kareem McKenzie	UFA	TBD
WR	Mario Manningham	UFA	San Francisco 49ers	Signed a two-year deal on March 18, 2012
TE/FB	Bear Pascoe	RFA	New York Giants	Signed a one-year contract on April 16, 2012
CB	Aaron Ross	UFA	Jacksonville Jaguars	Signed a three-year deal on March 20, 2012
DE	Dave Tollefson	UFA	Oakland Raiders	Signed a 2-year deal on April 6, 2012
WR	Devin Thomas	UFA	Chicago Bears	Signed a one-year contract on March 28, 2012
CB	Terrell Thomas	UFA	New York Giants	Signed a 4-year deal in March, 2012
CB	Justin Tryon	UFA	New York Giants	Re-signed in March
T	Tony Ugoh	UFA	none	announced retirement on July 30, 2012
P	Steve Weatherford	UFA	New York Giants	Signed a Five Year Deal on March 16, 2012

Player re-signed by the Giants

2012 draft class

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	32	David Wilson	Running Back	Virginia Tech
2	63	Rueben Randle	Wide Receiver	LSU
3	94	Jayron Hosley	Cornerback	Virginia Tech
4	127	Adrien Robinson	Tight End	Cincinnati
	131	Brandon Mosley	Offensive Tackle	Auburn
6	201	Matt McCants	Offensive Tackle	UAB
7	239	Markus Kuhn	Defensive Tackle	NC State

NOTES:

The Giants traded its fifth-round selection (#167 overall) to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for linebacker Keith Rivers.^[4]

The Giants were awarded an additional fourth-round pick (#131 overall) as a compensatory selection.^[5]

Staff

2012 New York Giants staff
	Front office President/CEO – John Mara Chairman/Executive Vice President – Steve Tisch Senior Vice President/General Manager – Jerry Reese Senior Vice President of Player Personnel – Chris Mara Assistant General Manager – Kevin Abrams Director of Pro Personnel – Ken Sternfeld Director of College Scouting – Marc Ross Director of Football Operations – Matt Harriss Head coaches Head Coach – Tom Coughlin Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Kevin Gilbride Quarterbacks – Sean Ryan Running Backs – Jerald Ingram Wide Receivers – Kevin Gilbride, Jr. Tight Ends – Mike Pope Offensive Line – Pat Flaherty Assistant Offensive Line – Matt Rhule Offensive Assistant – Lunda Wells			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Perry Fewell Defensive Line – Robert Nunn Linebackers – Jim Herrmann Secondary/Cornerbacks – Peter Giunta Secondary/Safeties – David Merritt Defensive Assistant – Al Holcomb Special teams coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Tom Quinn Assistant Special Teams – Larry Izzo Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Jerry Palmieri Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Markus Paul

Final roster

2012 New York Giants final roster
	Quarterbacks  8 David Carr (American football) 10 Eli Manning Running backs 44 Ahmad Bradshaw 45 Henry Hynoski FB 38 Kregg Lumpkin 41 Ryan Torain 22 David Wilson KR Wide receivers 13 Ramses Barden 80 Victor Cruz 87 Domenik Hixon 12 Jerrel Jernigan 88 Hakeem Nicks 82 Rueben Randle PR Tight ends 85 Martellus Bennett 86 Bear Pascoe FB 81 Adrien Robinson		Offensive linemen 64 David Baas C 65 Will Beatty T 77 Kevin Boothe G 73 James Brewer T 60 Selvish Capers G/T 63 Jim Cordle C 66 David Diehl T 76 Chris Snee G Defensive linemen 96 Marvin Austin DT 95 Rocky Bernard DT 99 Chris Canty DT 97 Linval Joseph DT 71 Adewale Ojomo DE 90 Jason Pierre-Paul DE 98 Adrian Tracy DE 91 Justin Tuck DE 72 Osi Umenyiora DE		Linebackers 93 Chase Blackburn MLB 59 Michael Boley OLB 58 Mark Herzlich MLB 94 Mathias Kiwanuka OLB 52 Spencer Paysinger OLB 55 Keith Rivers OLB 57 Jacquian Williams OLB Defensive backs 20 Prince Amukamara CB 27 Stevie Brown SS 36 Terrence Frederick CB 31 Will Hill FS 28 Jayron Hosley CB 26 Antrel Rolle FS 39 Tyler Sash FS 30 Justin Tryon CB 23 Corey Webster CB Special teams 51 Zak DeOssie LS  9 Lawrence Tynes K  5 Steve Weatherford P		Reserve lists 47 Travis Beckum TE 35 Andre Brown RB (IR-DFR) 25 Bruce Johnson CB (IR) 78 Markus Kuhn DT (IR) 75 Sean Locklear OT (IR) 67 Brandon Mosley G/T (IR) 79 Martin Parker DT (IR) 21 Kenny Phillips SS (IR) 73 Shaun Rogers DT (IR) 33 Da'Rel Scott RB (IR) 24 Terrell Thomas CB (IR) 69 Justin Trattou DE (IR) 29 Brian Witherspoon CB (IR) Practice squad 64 Levy Adcock OT 31 Brandon Bing CB 54 Matt Broha DE 15 Dan DePalma WR 46 Larry Donnell TE 79 Stephen Goodin G 74 Matt McCants OT 34 Laron Scott CB Rookies in italics 52 Active, 13 Inactive, 8 Practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	August 10	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 31–32	0–1	EverBank Field	Recap
2	August 18	at New York Jets	W 26–3	1–1	MetLife Stadium	Recap
3	August 24	Chicago Bears	L 17–20	1–2	MetLife Stadium	Recap
4	August 29	New England Patriots	W 6–3	2–2	MetLife Stadium	Recap

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	September 5	Dallas Cowboys	L 17–24	0–1	MetLife Stadium	Recap
2	September 16	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 41–34	1–1	MetLife Stadium	Recap
3	September 20	at Carolina Panthers	W 36–7	2–1	Bank of America Stadium	Recap
4	September 30	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–19	2–2	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
5	October 7	Cleveland Browns	W 41–27	3–2	MetLife Stadium	Recap
6	October 14	at San Francisco 49ers	W 26–3	4–2	Candlestick Park	Recap
7	October 21	Washington Redskins	W 27–23	5–2	MetLife Stadium	Recap
8	October 28	at Dallas Cowboys	W 29–24	6–2	Cowboys Stadium	Recap
9	November 4	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–24	6–3	MetLife Stadium	Recap
10	November 11	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 13–31	6–4	Paul Brown Stadium	Recap
11	Bye
12	November 25	Green Bay Packers	W 38–10	7–4	MetLife Stadium	Recap
13	December 3	at Washington Redskins	L 16–17	7–5	FedEx Field	Recap
14	December 9	New Orleans Saints	W 52–27	8–5	MetLife Stadium	Recap
15	December 16	at Atlanta Falcons	L 0–34	8–6	Georgia Dome	Recap
16	December 23	at Baltimore Ravens	L 14–33	8–7	M&T Bank Stadium	Recap
17	December 30	Philadelphia Eagles	W 42–7	9–7	MetLife Stadium	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Dallas Cowboys

NFL Kickoff game

With their Super Bowl XLVI title to defend, the Giants began its 2012 campaign at home in the Annual Kickoff Game against their NFC East foe, the Dallas Cowboys. After a scoreless first quarter, New York struck first in the second quarter with a 22-yard field goal from kicker Lawrence Tynes. The Cowboys would close out the half with quarterback Tony Romo completing a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kevin Ogletree.

Dallas added onto its lead in the third quarter as Romo completed a 40-yard touchdown to Ogletree. New York struck back with running back Ahmad Bradshaw's 10-yard touchdown run, but the Cowboys answered with kicker Dan Bailey making a 33-yard field goal. Dallas came right back in the fourth quarter with Romo completing a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Miles Austin. The Giants tried to rally as Super Bowl XLVI MVP quarterback Eli Manning completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Martellus Bennett, but the Cowboys' offense ran out the clock and preserved the win.

With the loss, New York began its season at 0–1 and became the first defending Super Bowl Champion team to lose a regular season opener since the Broncos in 1999.

Week 2: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After a season-opening home loss to the Cowboys, the Giants were looking to win their first game of the season. Although Tampa Bay led the Giants 24–13 at halftime, the Giants rallied in the fourth quarter to score 25 points and win their first game, improving to a 1–1 home record and a 1–1 overall record. A mild controversy erupted on the Giants' final kneel in the closing seconds of the game when Tampa Bay head coach Greg Schiano ordered his defensive linemen to blitz Giants' quarterback Eli Manning, presumably in the hope that this would lead to a forced fumble and subsequent touchdown to steal the victory. However, this did not happen.

Week 3: at Carolina Panthers

The Giants' first road game came against a Carolina Panthers team led by second-year quarterback Cam Newton. It was both teams' only Thursday Night Football appearance of the season. The Giants had no trouble with the Panthers, leading 20–0 at halftime and 36–7 at the end of the game. With the win, the Giants improved to 2–1 and reclaimed a share of the NFC East title with the Philadelphia Eagles, who they would play the following week.

Week 4: at Philadelphia Eagles

The Giants traveled to Philadelphia for a Sunday Night Football showdown against the Eagles. After a defensive first quarter in which neither offense scored any points, the Eagles took a 7–3 lead into halftime. The Giants came back with two touchdowns in the second half, but ultimately lost by two points after a failed long field goal by Lawrence Tynes in the closing seconds of the game. With the loss, the Giants fell to 2–2, the Eagles claimed sole possession of the NFC East title, and the Giants record against the Eagles worsened to 1–8 in their last nine meetings, dating back to the 2008 NFL Season.

Week 5: vs. Cleveland Browns

After a disappointing loss to the Eagles, the Giants returned home for an afternoon game against the Cleveland Browns. Led by rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden, the Browns quickly amassed a 14–0 lead early in the first quarter. However, the Giants retook the lead before halftime and did not sacrifice it again. With the win, the Giants improved to 3–2 and began what would ultimately be a four-game winning streak throughout October.

Week 6: at San Francisco 49ers

The Giants traveled to San Francisco for a rematch of last season's NFC Championship game, in which the Giants won in overtime to advance to Super Bowl XLVI. The San Francisco 49ers were looking to avenge their playoff loss against the Giants, and had just come off back-to-back landslide victories against the Jets and Bills. However, the Giants defense allowed only one field goal and the Giants ultimately won the game 26–3, sending the 49ers to their first and only home loss of the season.

With the win, the Giants improved to 4–2. Also, with the Eagles' loss to the Lions earlier in the day, the Giants gained sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

Week 7: vs. Washington Redskins

The Giants returned home for another divisional battle, this time against the Washington Redskins. Washington had swept the Giants last year, and drafter quarterback Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Redskins took a three-point lead late in the game, but a 77-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Victor Cruz in the last minutes of the game allowed the Giants to claim the victory. With the win, the Giants improved to 5–2 and won their first NFC East game of the season.

Week 8: at Dallas Cowboys

The Giants visited the Dallas Cowboys, where they hoped to avenge their Week 1 home loss. Although the Giants quickly amassed a 23-point lead, the Cowboys responded with 24 unanswered points to take the lead in the 3rd quarter. The Giants ultimately scored a pair of field goals and held on to win 29–24. With the win, the Giants improved to 6–2 and continued to be unwelcome visitors at Cowboys Stadium, where they are now 4–0.

The game, who's viewing area consisted of much of the northeast coast of the United States, was frequently interrupted by updates on the approach of Hurricane Sandy - a storm that was expected to directly impact the northeast United States that night and the following day.

Week 9: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

At the time of this game, northern New Jersey (and, indeed, a vast majority of the BosWash area) was recovering from the widespread damage and power outages caused by Hurricane Sandy. Played just days after the storm made landfall on the east coast, the blackouts and flooding even affected the visiting Steelers' travel schedule, and the team would be forced to fly into the area on the morning of the contest as opposed to the usual day beforehand.

Both teams traded possessions through the first quarter before Steelers' wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger three minutes into the second period. A Shaun Suisham extra point gave the Steelers a 7–0 lead. The hometown Giants answered, tying up the game with a 1-yard run by Andre Brown. Shortly after, with around five minutes remaining in the half, New York's Osi Umenyiora was able to knock the ball from Roethlisberger's hand as the quarterback was attempting a pass. Giants linebacker Michael Boley took full advantage of the turnover, scooping up the fumble and giving the Giants a 14–7 lead on a 70-yard touchdown return. The Steelers were able to put together a final drive of the half, and a 30-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham narrowed the Giants' lead to four points at the half.

Seven minutes into the third quarter, Giants' kicker Lawrence Tynes extended the home team's lead by three via a 50-yard field goal. With a minute to go in the period, Tynes would successfully convert a 23-yard attempt and give the Giants a ten-point lead with a quarter to play.

A 51-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace would cut into the Giants' lead less than a minute into the fourth. New York would fail to accumulate any further points in the contest and, despite a botched fake field goal attempt by the Steelers, a 1-yard touchdown run by Pittsburgh back Isaac Redman gave the Steelers the lead and, eventually, the win.

With the loss, the Giants fell to 6–3.

Week 10: at Cincinnati Bengals

The Giants travelled to a cloudy Cincinnati to face the Bengals. The Bengals, who were in the midst of a losing streak, came out strong and handily defeated the Giants 31–13. With the loss, the Giants fell to 6–4 and entered their bye week.

Week 12: vs. Green Bay Packers

The Giants hosted the Packers on Sunday Night Football, as quarterbacks Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers faced each other for the fourth time in three seasons. Although the Packers were expected to avenge their playoff loss from last season, the Giants took a 31–10 lead into halftime and ultimately won the game 38–10, snapping a two-game losing streak and improving to a 7–4 record.

Week 13: at Washington Redskins

Coming off a huge victory over the Packers, the Giants traveled to Washington for their only Monday Night Football appearance of the season. Although the Giants led at halftime, the Redskins scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to take a one-point lead. The Giants' offense failed to score any points and the Redskins held on to win 17–16. With the loss, the Giants fell to 7–5 and 2–3 within the NFC East. Coincidentally, the Giants lost to the Redskins last December after a statement victory on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.

Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints

The Giants returned home to face Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, in a game that would turn out to be a breakout game for rookie David Wilson. The first-round draft pick (32nd overall) rushed for a touchdown on a kickoff return and ran for two more scores in a huge win over the Saints. The Giants won 52–27, handing the Saints their eighth loss of the season. With the win, the Giants improved to 8–5 and secured their eighth consecutive non-losing season.

Week 15: at Atlanta Falcons

The Giants traveled to Atlanta to visit the Falcons in their third and final rematch of last season's playoffs. The game took place only two days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, just an hour's drive from the Giants' practice facility. The Giants honored the victims by wearing "SHES" decals on their helmets, and wide receiver Victor Cruz played in honor of six-year-old Jack Pinto, one of the victims.

The Giants ultimately lost 34–0 and fell to 8–6 overall. However, the loss did not eliminate them from either playoff contention or the NFC East title.

The embarrassing loss was one of three shutouts on the same day, the other two being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Week 16: at Baltimore Ravens

The Giants visited Baltimore, where they were defeated by the Ravens 33–14. With the loss, the Giants fell to 8–7 and were eliminated from contention for the NFC East title. The Giants can still obtain a wild-card berth with a victory against the Eagles and Week 17 victories by the Packers, Lions and Redskins.

Week 17: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Despite the win, The Giants were eliminated from playoff contention due to the Bears 26–24 victory over the Lions. Also this marks the first time since 2006 that the Giants started this season 6–2 and finished 2–6 ending with a record of 8–8, although the Giants made the playoffs that year in 2006 as a Wild Card Contender, but only this time around they started off 6–2, wind up finishing 3–5 but fail to make the playoffs this season finishing 9–7, and thereby became the eighth consecutive team to be dethroned from their World Championship. However, they took their current trend against their longtime rivals to 2–8 in the last 10 games between the teams.

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(4) Washington Redskins	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	436	388	W7
New York Giants	9	7	0	.563	3–3	8–4	429	344	W1
Dallas Cowboys	8	8	0	.500	3–3	5–7	376	400	L2
Philadelphia Eagles	4	12	0	.250	1–5	2–10	280	444	L3

Statistics

Team leaders

	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Eli Manning	3948 Yards
Passing Touchdowns	Eli Manning	26TDs
Rushing Yards	Ahmad Bradshaw	1015 Yards
Rushing Touchdowns	Andre Brown	8 TDs
Receiving Yards	Victor Cruz	1092 Yards
Receiving Touchdowns	Victor Cruz	10 TDs
Points	Lawrence Tynes	145 Points
Kickoff Return Yards	David Wilson	1533Yards
Punt Return Yards	Rueben Randle	108 Yards
Tackles	Chase Blackburn	98 Tackles
Sacks	Jason Pierre-Paul	6.5 Sacks
Interceptions	Stevie Brown	8 INTs

stats values are correct. '

League rankings

• Total Offense (YPG): 371.2 (10th)
• Passing (YPG): 256 (9th)
• Rushing (YPG): 114.8 (15th)
• Total Defense (YPG): 366.9 (22nd)
• Passing (YPG): 245 (22nd)
• Rushing (YPG): 121.8 (21st)

Stats correct through week 14.

References

External links

• Official website

Media related to 2012 New York Giants season at Wikimedia Commons