The 1978 New York Giants season was the franchise's 54th season in the National Football League. In their first ever season that had a sixteen-game schedule, the Giants looked to improve on their 5–9 record from 1977. The season saw the Giants get off to a hot start. They beat newcomer Tampa Bay in Tampa 19–13, despite being a 1 point underdog. After a close loss to the rival Cowboys 34–24 the next week, the Giants beat the Kansas City Chiefs 26–10 and the San Francisco 49ers 27–10 to start the season 3–1, their first 3–1 start since 1969. However, the Giants then started to struggle, losing to the Atlanta Falcons 23–20 and the Cowboys again 24–3.
Following wins at home against the Buccaneers and Redskins, the Giants went on a downfall, which saw them lose their next 6 games and 7 of their last 8. In week 12, the Giants played their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, in a crucial game that saw the Giants fumble away the game on Joe Pisarcik’s fumble and Herm Edwards fumble recovery for a touchdown that won the game for Philadelphia, 19-17. The play was dubbed the Miracle at the Meadowlands. The Giants never recovered from this game, getting pummeled on the road to the Bills, 41–17, despite having a 10 point lead in the 3rd quarter. In their final game, a rematch with Philadelphia, the Giants lost 20–3 to end the season 6–10.
1978 New York Giants roster
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
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The Miracle at the Meadowlands is the term used by sportscasters and Philadelphia Eagles fans for a fumble recovery by cornerback Herman Edwards that he returned for a touchdown at the end of a November 19, 1978 NFL game against the New York Giants in Giants Stadium. It was seen as miraculous because it occurred at a point in the game when the Giants were easily capable of running out the game's final seconds. The Giants had the ball, and the Eagles had no timeouts left. Everyone watching expected quarterback Joe Pisarcik to take one more snap and kneel with the ball, thus running out the clock and preserving a 17–12 Giant upset. Instead, he attempted to hand it off to fullback Larry Csonka and botched it, allowing Edwards to pick up the ball and run 26 yards for the winning score.
Week
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Date
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Opponent
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Result
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Record
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Attendance
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1
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September 2
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at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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W 19–13
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1–0
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67,456
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2
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September 10
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Dallas Cowboys
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L 24–34
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1–1
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73,265
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3
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September 17
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Kansas City Chiefs
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W 26–10
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2–1
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70,546
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4
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September 24
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San Francisco 49ers
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W 27–10
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3–1
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71,536
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5
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October 1
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at Atlanta Falcons
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L 20–23
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3–2
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47,765
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6
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October 8
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at Dallas Cowboys
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L 3–24
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3–3
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63,420
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7
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October 15
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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W 17–14
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4–3
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68,025
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8
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October 22
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Washington Redskins
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W 17–6
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5–3
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76,192
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9
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October 29
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at New Orleans Saints
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L 17–28
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5–4
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59,807
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10
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November 5
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at St. Louis Cardinals
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L 10–20
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5–5
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48,820
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11
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November 12
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at Washington Redskins
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L 13–16
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5–6
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53,271
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12
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November 19
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Philadelphia Eagles
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L 17–19
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5–7
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70,318
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13
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November 26
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at Buffalo Bills
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L 17–41
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5–8
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28,496
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14
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December 3
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Los Angeles Rams
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L 17–20
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5–9
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62,629
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15
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December 10
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St. Louis Cardinals
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W 17–0
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6–9
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52,226
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16
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December 17
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at Philadelphia Eagles
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L 3–20
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6–10
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56,396
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Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Joe Pisarcik threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Al Dixon early in the game and Bobby Hammond set up two other touchdowns with long runs as the Giants are so far surprising the football world with a 3-1 record with a win over winless San Francsico. New York's Larry Csonka became the sixth player in NFL history to rush for 7,000 yards and he himself scored a 1-yard touchdown run in period 1 while Willie Spencer of the Giants scored a 1-yard touchdown run in period 3 while Joe Danelo kicked two field goals of 28 and 52 yards to provide the Giants scoring that day.
Game information
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First quarter
Second quarter
- NYG – Joe Danelo 27-yard field goal. Giants 10–7.
Third quarter
- NYG – Doug Kotar 19-yard pass from Joe Pisarcik (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 17–7.
- BUF – Roland Hooks 1-yard run (Tom Dempsey kick). Giants 17–14.
Fourth quarter
- BUF – Curtis Brown 1-yard run (Tom Dempsey kick). Bills 21–17.
- BUF – Lou Piccone 9-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Tom Dempsey kick). Bills 28–17.
- BUF – Terry Miller 39-yard run (Tom Dempsey kick). Bills 35–17.
- BUF – Terry Miller 13-yard run (kick failed). Bills 41–17.
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- Top passers
- Top rushers
- Top receivers
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