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The New York Giants have had a long and storied history. From The Greatest Game Ever Played to four Super Bowls, there have been many great players who have played for Big Blue.
Let's attempt to cut all the greats down to the top five greatest Giants players of all time.
5. Phil Simms
Phil Simms had an outstanding 15-year career with the Giants, culminating in an MVP performance in Super Bowl XXI. In that game, he threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns.
While Simms did not play in the playoffs due to an injury in Week 15, he was also an important part of the 1990 team that would win Super Bowl XXV. In all Simms would throw for 33,462 yards and 199 touchdowns in his career.
In his career, he went to the Pro Bowl twice, once in 1985 and once in 1993.
4. Eli Manning
The man who forced his way to the Giants, Eli Manning had a turbulent and tumultuous career, but he will be remembered the most for his two Super Bowl victories over the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick dynasty with the New England Patriots.
First in 2008, Manning would lead a Wild Card team through the gauntlet of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers, all on the road, before having to face the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl.
In that game, he would throw for 255 yards and two touchdowns en route to an MVP. One of the biggest passes of that game saw Manning break through multiple tackle attempts and throw a high pass to David Tyree, who would pin the ball to his helmet to maintain control in one of the most memorable moments in Super Bowl history. He would do it again four years later against an equally tough Patriots squad in Super Bowl XLVI in another MVP performance.
All in all, Manning would go to four Pro Bowls, and finish his career with 57,023 yards and 366 touchdowns. While some have criticized his performance throughout his career, you can't deny Eli's clutch gene.
3. Frank Gifford
Let's go back in time to the days of the Greatest Game Ever Played. Frank Gifford was the man in those days for the Giants, playing just about anywhere Big Blue needed him throughout his 12-year career.
Gifford rushed for 3,609 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns, and caught 367 passes for 5,434 yards in his career. After his final retirement, Gifford held the Giants record for receiving for 39 years until Amani Toomer eclipsed him in 2003.
Gifford was named to the Pro Bowl eight times, with seven of those coming in consecutive years. He won the MVP in 1956 and was named to the NFL's '50s All-Decade Team.
He was also inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
2. Michael Strahan
The all-time single-season sack leader (no matter how controversial people claim the last one was), Michael Strahan was the core of the defense for 15 years and was a big reason for winning Super Bowl XLII in 2008.
As well as being the single-season sack leader, Strahan led the league in sacks twice and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2001. Strahan would end his career on top, retiring after winning the Super Bowl in 2004.
Strahan made the Pro Bowl seven times and ultimately was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
1. Lawrence Taylor
The first name most people think of when they think of the Giants is Lawrence Taylor, who many refer to simply as LT. His career started off with a bang when he won both Defensive Rookie and Player of the Year in 1981.
Just like with Strahan, LT was the catalyst to the defense that led the Giants to their two Super Bowls in the '80s and early '90s. Taylor would finish his NFL career with 10 Pro Bowls.
In 1986, on his way to leading the Giants to the Super Bowl, Taylor would be named Defensive Player of the Year as well as MVP, which was only the second time a defensive player was named MVP. The only other to do so was Alan Page in 1971. It has never happened since.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
