2010 New York Giants season
Owner	John Mara Steve Tisch
General manager	Jerry Reese
Head coach	Tom Coughlin
Home stadium	New Meadowlands Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2ndNFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
All-Pros	SAntrel Rolle(2nd team) OGChris Snee(2nd team) DEJustin Tuck(2nd team) DEOsi Umenyiora(2nd team)
Pro Bowlers	CShaun O'Hara LSZak DeOssie SAntrel Rolle OGChris Snee DEJustin Tuck
Uniform
← 2009 Giants seasons 2011 →

The2010 season was theNew York Giants' 86th in theNational Football League (NFL) and their first season playing home games atNew Meadowlands Stadium. This was the Giants' seventh season under head coachTom Coughlin. The Giants were looking to improve on their 8–8 finish in 2009 and to return to the playoffs after missing the postseason. Although New York was able to improve on their record and finish 10–6, the team was eliminated from postseason contention on the regular season's final day. The Giants dedicated their 2010 season to the memory ofBob Sheppard, the team's public address announcer from 1956 to 2005, who died on July 11, 2010.^[1]

With the upcoming uncapped season in the NFL, several Giants players who expected to become unrestricted free agents will be restricted free agents. The first move of the team in the offseason was to renew some of the contracts of players who were on the practice squad. Also in the beginning of the offseason the team signed three new players: defensive backCourtney Brown, fullbackJerome Johnson and kickerSam Swank. Swank will provide competition forLawrence Tynes, the regular kicker of the team. On January 19 the team added tight endCarson Butler who was signed after being dismissed by theCincinnati Bengals. The Giants continued to add players when on February 8 the team was awarded offensive tackleHerb Taylor via waivers. They released starting inside linebacker and defensive team captainAntonio Pierce on February 11. The team began to offer tenders to theirrestricted free agents in late February when all of them with the exception of cornerbackKevin Dockery and tight endDarcy Johnson were offered them. On March 5 the Giants made the biggest free agency acquisition of the year so far with the signing of safetyAntrel Rolle to a five-year, 37 million dollar contract making him one of the highest paid safeties in NFL history. Following the signing of Rolle the team waived safetiesAaron Rouse andLonden Fryar. In early March the Giants lost their backup quarterbackDavid Carr to theSan Francisco 49ers and veteran defensive tackleFred Robbins to theSt. Louis Rams.

On March 9 the team signed quarterbackJim Sorgi to a one-year deal. Sorgi was the backup forEli Manning's brother,Peyton, inIndianapolis since 2004 and was released in early March. On March 18 the Giants signed Australian punterJy Bond. On March 22 the team lost another two players to the St. Louis Rams: tight endDarcy Johnson and cornerbackKevin Dockery signed with the team. On April 1, punterJeff Feagles signed a one-year deal with the Giants making this his 7th season with the Giants and his 23rd season in the NFL. On the same day the Giants signed free-agent safetyDeon Grant and because of it they withdrew the tender they offer to restricted free-agentC.C. Brown. On April 30, punter Jeff Feagles retired from the NFL as one of the greatest punters ever only after a month after renewing his contract. After the Rookie Minicamp, on early May, the Giants signed undrafted linebackerMicah Johnson to fill the 80-men roster for the offseason. On May 7 the team released undrafted quarterbackDominic Randolph and signedRiley Skinner to the spot as the fourth quarterback on the roster. On June 11 the team signed their first rookie, the safetyChad Jones, drafted in the third round of the Draft. To open space in the roster the team released the kicker Sam Swank.

After finishing the 2009 season with an 8–8 record, the Giants hold the 15th selection in the2010 NFL draft. The team wasn't awarded with any compensatory pick for the past offseason. In the first round of the Draft, after seeing his top targets being picked by other teams, the Giants selected DEJason Pierre-Paul with the 15th pick of the round, adding depth to the position. In the second day of the Draft the Giants bolstered even more his defensive line by drafting defensive tackleLinval Joseph with the 46th pick in the second round. Then in the third round, with the pick 76 the Giants drafted safetyChad Jones. In the third and final day of the Draft the team drafted four players. In the fourth round the Giants drafted linebackerPhillip Dillard, supplying the biggest need in the team after the departure ofAntonio Pierce. In the fifth round the Giants drafted offensive guardMitch Petrus, their only offensive player of the whole process. In the sixth round the Giants draftedAdrian Tracy, a versatile player who can play either as defensive end and linebacker. In the final round the team picked punterMatt Dodge after some reports saying that veteran punterJeff Feagles is in the verge of retiring himself.

Following the 2010 NFL Draft the New York Giants signed with twelveundrafted free agents. They were:

• On January 4, 2010, the Giants fired first-year defensive coordinatorBill Sheridan after the Giants defense slipped as the team dropped 8 of their last 11 games and allowed 40 points on five occasions. On January 14 the team signedPerry Fewell, former interim head coach of theBuffalo Bills.^[2]
• On January 6, 2010, the Giants fired defensive line coachMike Waufle, after a disappointing season by the Giants defensive line. On January 27 the team hiredRobert Nunn to the position. Nunn was working as co-defensive line coach at theTampa Bay Buccaneers.
• On January 29, 2010 the Giants quarterbacks coachChris Palmer retired from the NFL to become the new head coach of theHartford Colonials in theUFL. On February 12 the team moved wide receivers coachMike Sullivan to quarterbacks coach.
• On February 12, 2010 the Giants moved wide receivers coach Mike Sullivan to quarterbacks coach. With this the team promoted offensive quality control coachSean Ryan to the position.
• On February 22, 2010 the Giants hiredKevin Gilbride, Jr. to offensive quality control coach.

The Giants preseason schedule was announced on March 31, 2010.^[3] The exact dates and times of the remaining preseason games were announced on April 20, together with the regular season schedule.

The Giants' 2010 schedule was announced on April 20, 2010.^[4]

COLOR KEY & NOTES:

Bold indicates division games.

 **  Indicates that the game time was rescheduled from December 12 to December 13 and moved to Ford Field in Detroit due to inclement weather and the roof collapse of theHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

The Giants opened theirnew home in search of revenge against the Panthers, who had soundly defeated them in the last game atGiants Stadium. In the first quarter, Carolina scored the stadium's first points as kickerJohn Kasay got a 21-yard field goal. New York would answer with the stadium's first touchdown as quarterbackEli Manning found wide receiverHakeem Nicks from 26 yards out. The Panthers would retake the lead in the second quarter as Kasay made field goals from 52 and 43 yards. Manning found Nicks again on a 19-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left in the first half, but Carolina quarterbackMatt Moore completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverSteve Smith with six seconds remaining.

The Giants would get back on top in the third quarter as kickerLawrence Tynes nailed a 32-yard field goal, followed by Nicks' third touchdown of the game (a 6-yard catch). In the fourth quarter, the Giants added one more touchdown as running backAhmad Bradshaw ran for a 4-yard score. Carolina'sGreg Hardy blocked aMatt Dodge punt out of the end zone to round out the scoring with a safety.

The Giants' historic win had come with a price, however; tight endKevin Boss left the game in the first quarter with aconcussion, andWill Beatty, who filled in for Boss afterward, was benched with a broken foot. The Giants signed tight endBear Pascoe from their practice squad to play against the Colts.

The second "Manning Bowl" was only the second time in NFL history that two brothers started opposite each other at quarterback, in a game which was expected to be an offensive struggle between Eli and his older brotherPeyton. But the Giants didn't seem to have an answer for Peyton or the Colts' running game, which was led byJoseph Addai andDonald Brown.

The Giants were shut out at the half for the third time in their last four games (dating back tolast year) after the Colts scored the first 24 points of the night. Brown recorded a 7-yard scoring run, andDallas Clark andAustin Collie caught touchdown passes of 50 and 3 yards, respectively. The Colts defense held the Giants to 75 yards of offense in the first half, including just 17 passing yards for Eli. The Giants finally got on the board on the first drive of the second half, when Eli connected withMario Manningham for a 54-yard strike. But on the Giants' next drive, an Eli fumble was picked up in the end zone byFili Moala, effectively taking the Giants out of the game. Two additional scores occurred in the fourth quarter; Peyton connected withReggie Wayne for a 10-yard score, and Eli threw a 31-yard touchdown to Week 1 star Nicks.

On a night when almost nothing went right for the Giants,Brandon Jacobs caused a stir by throwing his helmet into the stands in the third quarter, which he later claimed was a botched expression of frustration.^[6] The NFL fined Jacobs $10,000 for the incident.^[7]

Giants miscues were the story of this game; as head coachTom Coughlin would later comment, "[T]he first thing you have to do is keep from beating yourself before you can beat the opponent and we didn't do that."^[8] The Giants accumulated 417 yards of offense, including 26 first downs, but scored only twice on 8 trips inside Tennessee territory.

New York quickly found themselves in a 10–0 hole after their first three possessions ended in two interceptions—one in the end zone—and a missed 53-yard field goal by Tynes. Toward the end of the first half, Tynes made a 50-yard field goal which the Giants followed up with a 10-yard Bradshaw touchdown run. But on their first drive of the second half, Bradshaw committed achop block penalty in the end zone for a Tennessee safety. Tennessee quarterbackVince Young connected withKenny Britt for a 13-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive, and the Titans never looked back. The Giants' next two possessions ended in a Bradshaw fumble and another Tynes miss, this one from 44 yards. The Titans added aRob Bironas field goal and aChris Johnson touchdown on their way to victory.

This Sunday night featured the introduction of the Giants'Ring of Honor, which included 30 historic players, coaches, and administrators.^[9] The presence of such defensive greats asJessie Armstead andMichael Strahan in the stadium that night is credited with inspiringPerry Fewell's struggling defensive squad.^[10]

The New York defense held the Bears to zero points, two first downs, and 22 yards of total offense in the first half, and sackedJay Cutler nine times before knocking him out of the game with a concussion. In total, the Bears put together only six first downs (one by penalty) and finished with the lowest final score of any Giants visitor sincethe Eagles in 2007. The Bears went on to lose backup quarterbackTodd Collins to a hardMichael Boley tackle; third-string quarterbackCaleb Hanie was called upon to play the fourth quarter.Justin Tuck andOsi Umenyiora were each responsible for three sacks on the night.

Manning and the Giants offense had their own difficulties putting points on the board, but second-half touchdowns by Bradshaw and Jacobs proved enough to win this defensive struggle. Nicks also had a notable day, catching eight passes for 110 yards.

The upstart 3–1 Texans were slightly favored in this matchup, but the Giants took control of the game right away. They scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the first half, including two Nicks receptions of 6 and 12 yards. This was Nicks' second consecutive 100-yard receiving game, and he was now among the top 10 receivers league-wide in receptions, receiving yards, receptions of 20+ yards, and receiving touchdowns for the season. Jacobs also contributed a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. In the third quarter, former GiantDerrick Ward provided Houston with their first touchdown of the day, but the newly dominant Giants defense did not allow any further damage. Smith's 4-yard reception late in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for the Giants.

Hoping to increase their winning streak the Giants played at home ground for an NFC duel with the Lions. In the first quarter the Giants trailed early as quarterbackShaun Hill made a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverNate Burleson. They replied when running backBrandon Jacobs got a 4-yard touchdown run. They took the lead with quarterbackEli Manning making a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverMario Manningham. The lead was cut when kickerJason Hanson nailed a 50-yard field goal. The Giants continued to score in the third quarter with Manning finding tight endTravis Beckum on a 1-yard touchdown pass. The Lions responded in the fourth quarter with quarterbackDrew Stanton completing an 87-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverCalvin Johnson, but the Giants pulled away with Jacobs making a 6-yard touchdown run. The Lions tried to rally but only came away with another 50-yard field goal by Hanson giving the Giants the win.

With the win, the Giants improved to 4–2.

Turnovers had been a nagging problem for the Giants all year, and it seemed their first division game of 2010 would be no exception; their first two drives ended in interceptions off receivers' hands, giving the struggling Cowboys an early 10–0 lead. The Giants finally got on the board late in the first quarter courtesy of a 7-yard Nicks reception. Following a Giants fumble in the second quarter, Dallas quarterbackTony Romo was hit hard by linebackerMichael Boley and left the game with aclavicle fracture (Notably, Romo was the fifth quarterback the Giants defense knocked out of a game this year, after Moore, Cutler, Collins, and Hill). After Cowboys kick returnerDez Bryant returned a Dodge punt 93 yards for a touchdown, the Giants scored two consecutive touchdowns; an 8-yard pass to Nicks and a 14-yard pass to Smith.

The Giants opened the second half with two more back-to-back touchdowns; a 25-yard pass to Manningham and a 30-yard Jacobs run. The Dallas offense, now led by veteran quarterbackJon Kitna, showed signs of life in the fourth quarter as Bryant caught two 15-yard touchdown passes. But two failed onside kicks allowed the Giants to log their third straight win over their divisional foes and the fourth win of their current streak. New York went into their bye week tied for the best record in the NFC.

Seattle quarterbackCharlie Whitehurst's first career start was one to forget; the Giants defense heldMatt Hasselbeck's backup to just 113 passing yards in New York's biggest win of the year to this point. The Giants scored 38 unanswered points in the first three-quarters, including touchdowns by four players; two Bradshaw runs, a 46-yard pass to Nicks, and short touchdown passes to Smith and Boss. Whitehurst finally recorded his first NFL touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, connecting on a 36-yard pass to receiverBen Obomanu. But the Giants put together a 13-minute drive, in which all snaps were taken bySage Rosenfels, to take nearly all the remaining time off the clock. The Giants had earned their first win at Seattle since 1981, and extended their winning streak to five games.

A power outage that disrupted play in the third quarter served as a fitting metaphor for the Giants' general lack of power on the field this night. Smith was sidelined by a tornpectoral muscle suffered during practice, and backup receiverRamses Barden saw his season come to an end during this game by way of a tornAchilles tendon. Former GiantJason Garrett was making his head coaching debut for a Cowboys team revitalized by the firing of head coachWade Phillips one week earlier.

The Dallas defense held the Giants to just 6 points in the first half, aided by cornerbackBryan McCann's 101-yard"pick 6" from his own end zone. In a dimly lit third quarter, after a bank of lights went dark,Felix Jones extended the Cowboys' lead to 20 points on a 71-yard touchdown reception. Only after a total blackout caused an eight-minute play stoppage did Manning finally put the Giants' first touchdown on the board, in the form of a 5-yard pass to Manningham. The teams continued to trade touchdowns; a 24-yard pass from Kitna to Austin was followed by a 35-yard reception by Boss. But the Giants' turnover problem resurfaced in the fourth quarter, where a fumble and an interception ended up costing them any chance at a comeback.

The Eagles were coming off their highest-scoring game of the year, having put up 59 points against the Redskins on Monday night. By contrast, this Sunday night game was a defensive struggle in which the Giants held the normally speedyMichael Vick to 34 rushing yards and no passing touchdowns.

After Vick scored the first points of the game on a 4-yard run, the focus moved to the defenses and the kicking games. The Giants defense saved their offense from two-second-quarter turnovers by forcing severalDavid Akers field goal attempts, blocking one to end the first half. After losingEllis Hobbs to a neck injury sustained on the second-half kickoff, Philadelphia put together a drive that consumed more than eight minutes of clock, but were still held to another Akers field goal. The Giants' offense finally came to life on the next drive, as Manning connected with Beckum for a short touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Umenyiora forced the Eagles' first turnover of the year, stripping the ball away from Vick to set up backup receiverDerek Hagan's first touchdown catch of the year (Hagan had been cut by the Giants prior to the season, but was re-signed the week before, after the extent of Barden's injury became apparent). Later, on a fourth down play, Eagles rusherLeSean McCoy ran for a 50-yard touchdown, which wide receiverJason Avant followed with a two-point conversion catch. Unfortunately, as was the case last week in East Rutherford, the Giants thwarted their own comeback attempt with turnovers, committing three in the last five minutes of the game (including an interception which Philadelphia'sAsante Samuel fumbled right back to the Giants). The crusher was a fourth-down play on which Manning successfully rushed for the first down but fumbled while sliding headfirst; by rule, had he slid feet-first, the play would have been over and no fumble could have occurred. The Eagles turned the gift fumble into a game-clinching field goal.

Coach Coughlin's former team dominated the Giantsin 2006, when he faced them for the first time. For this rematch, the Giants were without their two star receivers; Smith's pectoral injury caused him to miss his third game, while Nicks underwent treatment forcompartment syndrome caused by a leg injury in Philadelphia.^[11] The Giants had signedMichael Clayton during the week to bolster their receiving situation, but he saw little action in this game.

For the first three-quarters, the Jaguars' defense held the Giants to three Tynes field goals; this was now the third straight game in which the Giants were held to 6 points or fewer in the first half.Rashad Jennings andDavid Garrard provided Jacksonville with two rushing touchdowns to take a 17–6 lead at halftime. The offense finally came to life at the end of the third quarter, when big plays by Jacobs and Boss set up a 26-yard Manningham touchdown reception followed by a two-point Bradshaw run. Later in the fourth quarter, Manning led the Giants down the field on a 6-play, 61-yard drive, culminating in a go-ahead 32-yard touchdown catch by Boss. The Jaguars threatened a comeback, and even made it into New York territory after the two-minute warning. ButJustin Tuck,Antrel Rolle,Jason Pierre-Paul, andTerrell Thomas combined to sack Garrard on three consecutive plays, the last of which resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Rolle. The Giants had won their first turnover-free game of 2010, and tied the Eagles for the division lead.

The Giants needed this division win to keep pace with the Eagles, and they had no trouble getting it. The rushing duo of Bradshaw and Jacobs combined for 200 yards and all four touchdowns (two each) as high winds discouraged Manning's passing game. For the first time this year, the Giants scored on each of their first two drives, taking a 14-point lead before the Redskins even managed a first down. From that point, the New York defense dominated, forcing six fumbles, recovering four, and intercepting twoDonovan McNabb passes. Former RedskinDevin Thomas made an impact in his Giants debut by blocking aHunter Smith punt to set up Tynes' field goal and wrap up a crucial win. Notably, the Giants now were 3–1 all-time against potentialHall of Fame coachMike Shanahan.

Originally scheduled for 1 pm. EST on Sunday, December 12, this game was moved to Monday night after severe blizzard conditions in theMinneapolis-St. Paul area that forced the Giants to spend the night inKansas City after their flight was diverted, while the operators of theHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome asked for more time to clear all the snow from the stadium's bubbled roof. The roof later collapsed, forcing the NFL to useFord Field inDetroit as an alternate site.^[12] The game aired onWNYW inNew York City,WXXA-TV inAlbany, andKMSP-TV inMinneapolis-St. Paul, along with the Fox affiliates inDuluth,Mankato andRochester.^[13] But even the disaster in Minneapolis was overshadowed by another major headline: Vikings quarterbackBrett Favre was listed as inactive for this game, ending his historic streak of297 consecutive starts.Tarvaris Jackson, who was 2–0 in his career against the Giants, started in Favre's place.

Once again, the Giants drew strength from their running game, as Jacobs and Bradshaw combined for 219 yards rushing and two touchdowns. In the second quarter, Jacobs created his longest play of the season, a 73-yard run that set up his own short touchdown. After a by-now-typical shaky start from Manning that involved two interceptions, Manning closed out the first half with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Boss (Incidentally, news about another streak was lost in the talk about Favre: Manning was making his 100th consecutive start tonight). Bradshaw's touchdown came in the third quarter, on a 48-yard run that was also his longest of the season. The New York defense had an especially memorable night, holding the normally dominantAdrian Peterson to his lowest rushing output of the year, a paltry 26 yards. Umeniyora,Barry Cofield,Rocky Bernard,Dave Tollefson, andJonathan Goff combined for four sacks, andKeith Bulluck contributed an interception.

Unfortunately, the injury bug hit the Giants again in several key places. Special-teamerClint Sintim's season ended with atorn ACL,^[14] and Bradshaw and Manningham both left the game early with injuries to the forearm andhip flexor, respectively. Diehl, Nicks, and Smith returned from their injuries, but Smith suffered a new injury to hishamstring.^[15] Whether these players will be available for the crucial division game in Week 15 has yet to be determined.

With this win, the Giants rose to 9–4 and ensured that they would improve on the previous season's record of 8–8.

Coming off their win over the Vikings the Giants played on home ground for an NFC East rivalry rematch against the Eagles. The Giants sufferedtheir worst loss of the season, blowing a 31-10 fourth-quarter lead and allowing a punt return for a touchdown as time expired in regulation.^[16][17][18]

In the first quarter the Giants took the early lead as quarterbackEli Manning completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverMario Manningham. The Eagles responded in the second quarter with kickerDavid Akers getting a 34-yard field goal, but the Giants extended their lead after Manning found Manningham on a 33-yard touchdown pass, followed by kickerLawrence Tynes nailing a 25-yard field goal, then with Manning getting an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverHakeem Nicks. The Eagles cut the lead with quarterbackMichael Vick making an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverJeremy Maclin, but the Giants scored with Manning finding tight endKevin Boss on an 8-yard touchdown pass. However, they failed to maintain this lead with Vick making a 65-yard touchdown pass to tight endBrent Celek, followed by his 4-yard scramble for a touchdown and then his 13-yard touchdown pass to Maclin to tie the game at 31. After the Giants went three and outMatt Dodge's punt was returned 65 yards for a touchdown byDeSean Jackson, giving the Giants a loss, and thus bringing their record down to 9–5.

Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Eagles the Giants flew toLambeau Field for an NFC duel with the Packers. In the first quarter the Giants trailed early with quarterbackAaron Rodgers completing an 80 and a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverJordy Nelson and to wide receiverJames Jones respectively. The Giants replied to tie the game with quarterbackEli Manning throwing a 36 and an 85-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverHakeem Nicks andMario Manningham. They had further problems with fullbackJohn Kuhn getting an 8-yard touchdown run, followed by kickerMason Crosby getting a 31-yard field goal. The Giants cut the lead with kickerLawrence Tynes nailing a 38-yard field goal, but fell further behind with Rodgers completing a 1 and a 5-yard touchdown run to tight endDonald Lee and to Kuhn respectively. This was followed by Kuhn getting a 1-yard touchdown run.

With the loss, the Giants fell to 9–6.

Hoping to clinch a playoff spot the Giants bused toFedExField for a division rivalry rematch against the Redskins. The Giants took the lead as kickerLawrence Tynes hit a 20-yard field goal. This was followed byBrandon Jacobs getting a 2-yard touchdown run. The lead was narrowed when quarterbackRex Grossman threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight endFred Davis, but the Giants extended their lead with quarterbackEli Manning connecting toMario Manningham on a 92-yard touchdown pass. The lead was narrowed in the fourth quarter as Grossman completed a 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverAnthony Armstrong, but the Giants defense held them on for the win.

Despite the win, the Giants failed to make the playoffs after Green Bay defeated Chicago. The Giants finished their regular season with a 10–6 record.

John Mara announcedTom Coughlin would return as head coach next season.

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