Thesequarterbacks have started at least one game for theNew York Giants of theNational Football League (NFL). They are listed in order of the date of each player's first start at quarterback for the Giants.
The early era of the NFL and American football in general was not conducive to passing the football, with the forward pass not being legalized until the early 1900s and not fully adopted for many more years.[1] Although thequarterback position has historically been the one to receive the snap and thus handle the football on every offensive play,[2] the importance of the position during this era was limited by various rules, like having to be five yards behind theline of scrimmage before a forward pass could be attempted.[3] These rules and the tactical focus on rushing the ball limited the importance of the quarterback position while enhancing the value of different types ofbacks, such as thehalfback and thefullback.[4] Some of these backs were consideredtriple-threat men, capable of rushing, passing or kicking the football, making it common for multiple players to attempt a pass during a game.[5]
As rules changed and the NFL began adopting a more pass-centric approach to offensive football, the importance of the quarterback position grew.[3][4] Beginning in 1950, total wins and losses by a team's starting quarterback were tracked.[6] Prior to 1950, the Giants had numerous players identified as playing the quarterback position. However, the combination of unreliable statistics in the early era of the NFL and the differences in the early quarterback position make tracking starts by quarterbacks impractical for this timeframe.
The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right:
Notes:
| Season(s) | Quarterback(s) |
|---|---|
| 1950 | Charlie Conerly(0–1) |
| 1956 | Don Heinrich(1–0) |
| 1958 | Don Heinrich(1–1) |
| 1959 | Charlie Conerly(0–1) |
| 1961 | Y. A. Tittle(0–1) |
| 1962 | Y. A. Tittle(0–1) |
| 1963 | Y. A. Tittle(0–1) |
| 1981 | Scott Brunner(1–1) |
| 1984 | Phil Simms(1–1) |
| 1985 | Phil Simms(1–1) |
| 1986 | Phil Simms(3–0) |
| 1989 | Phil Simms(0–1) |
| 1990 | Jeff Hostetler(3–0) |
| 1993 | Phil Simms(1–1) |
| 1997 | Danny Kanell(0–1) |
| 2000 | Kerry Collins(2–1) |
| 2002 | Kerry Collins(0–1) |
| 2005 | Eli Manning(0–1) |
| 2006 | Eli Manning(0–1) |
| 2007 | Eli Manning(4–0) |
| 2008 | Eli Manning(0–1) |
| 2011 | Eli Manning(4–0) |
| 2016 | Eli Manning(0–1) |
| 2022 | Daniel Jones(1−1) |
(Through the 2024 NFL Season)
| Name | Comp | Att | % | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Manning | 4,895 | 8,119 | 60.3 | 57,023 | 366 | 244 |
| Phil Simms | 2,576 | 4,647 | 55.4 | 33,462 | 199 | 157 |
| Kerry Collins | 1,447 | 2,473 | 58.5 | 16,875 | 81 | 70 |
| Daniel Jones | 1,437 | 2,241 | 64.1 | 14,618 | 70 | 47 |
| Charlie Conerly | 1,418 | 2,833 | 50.1 | 19,488 | 173 | 167 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 1,051 | 1,898 | 55.4 | 13,905 | 103 | 72 |
| Y. A. Tittle | 731 | 1,308 | 55.9 | 10,439 | 96 | 68 |