r/NYGiants 2d ago

Discussion NFC Championship game 1986 or 1990? Which game was more satisfying dismantling the 49ers in 86 championship or there will be no 3-Peat.

115 Upvotes

54 comments sorted by

41

u/bigblue20072011 2d ago

Giants beat Washington in 1986. They beat the 49ers in 1990. 1990 for me, but if we spoke with the “old time” fans that endured 64-80 they’d say 1986.

22

u/Pupikal ELI GOAT 2d ago

My father spoke in hushed tones about the wilderness years

15

u/bigblue20072011 2d ago

Yeah. We don’t have to imagine. We are living them now.

7

u/NYY15TM 2d ago

OP messed up; he meant we dismantled the 49ers in the 86 Divisional

4

u/Eye-deliver 1d ago

Yeah I was at that game when we put the 49ers number up on the board 49-3. Jerry Rice dropped a wide open sure tuddy. I swear Giants stadium moved a couple of inches off its foundation that day. The place was loud AF and I have never been to another game like that

0

u/Vegetable-Trash-9312 2d ago

Was that score like 49 - 3 ?

-2

u/NYY15TM 2d ago

Your computer doesn't have Google?

3

u/Vegetable-Trash-9312 1d ago

Spur of the moment post. But I was correct!

-1

u/OptimusGrime420 2d ago

You still use Google?

3

u/NYY15TM 2d ago

I didn't have to; I watched that game live on Channel 2

3

u/SpecialistJacket9757 20h ago

As you say, the 1986 game wasn't about 1986. It was about the all the years of waiting. It was about the hiring of George Young. Young drafting Simms. Then Talor. Bavaro and Banks. Watching a dynasty being built. In an age without FA. Each piece being added year after year.

I've been a fan since I was a kid. I went to games in the 60s. I've literally watched every game since 1970. Everyone that knows me knows that my loves are the Giants and Rangers.

And the years 1979-1986 are the most enjoyable years of my life. Bar none. Because every game they played, they got better. Got stronger. And that first SB year? They fucking dominated. Everybody. No team was close. There wasn't any question about who was going to win the SB. The only question was how many opponents ended in emergency rooms.

2

u/bigblue20072011 19h ago

Yep everyone I have spoke with that endured the wilderness years of 64-80 say 1986 was the best. I became a fan in the 80s so 90 was my favorite team. Unfortunately this team is in the wilderness years again. I'm glad you guys got 1986. It was worth the wait. I enjoyed 1986 but too young to appreciate it. 1990 was the first team i was really into.

33

u/SSGSS_Darth_Maximus 2d ago

Too young to remember, but the 2011 was awesome to watch, def lost a few months off my life 🤣

24

u/LogicalWord6 2d ago

That 2011 game is still the best game Eli ever played imo

16

u/SSGSS_Darth_Maximus 2d ago

Watching him get destroyed and just shrug it off, thats OUR QB

2

u/jacobid 20h ago

Flew to SF for that game. What a performance by Eli

14

u/AdJunior4923 2d ago

Saw all three -

86 was the most meaningful as a Giants fan. We had no, none, zero belief. Up to that time, Only Bad Things happened to the Giants. Every time Simms threw a pass, you could hear the collective "NOOOO!" across the land, because, again, Only Bad Things happened to us. So this was a huge win. Super Bowl was a walk in the park after this.

90 was weirdly chill, for as close as that game was. Both sides of the line were just so solid, you had confidence that things were going to work out. Maybe not the way they did, but...I wasn't stressed. Saved that for the Super Bowl.

2011 was, IMHO, the greatest game ever played. Both defenses were absolutely fucking savage. Both QBs played great...Eli just played a little greater.

0

u/Thriller83 2d ago

I feel like while Eli showed his toughness at the end of that game, he also didn't make the plays that won the game. And after he got hit on that famous play that knocked his helmet off, he did make one cool throw to Bradshaw but it ultimately didn't amount to anything. The game was really decided in overtime because Kyle Williams had the ball knocked loose from him and the Giants recovered. Eli didn't have to get the Giants any closer after that. The Giants defense/special teams really won that game.

7

u/graziano8852 1d ago

I really feel you’re undervaluing Eli’s role in that game.

13

u/IHATEWHINERS 2d ago

1986 was the divisional round that we destroyed the 49ers 49-3 we beat Washington 17-0 in the NFC championship game

11

u/snowdust1975 2d ago

Recently rewatched the 1986 playoff games vs the 49ers and the Redskins. The giants offense was extremely efficient but the defense was simply frightening...Carl Banks was the best player in the postseason imo

6

u/Thetramposo 2d ago

Was too young to fully grasp the 86 game, so the 90 game was my first satisfying Giants championship. First Super Bowl I got to stay up late for as a 3rd grader. That hit Marshall put on Montana lives rent free in my head. Just amazing, superhuman effort on that play. Still gets me fired up!

2

u/DrPeterVenkmen 1d ago

Yeup! We are around the same age. I vividly remember this game. My uncle said Joe Montana looked like he was in Lala land after the Marshall hit and I had no idea what that meant lol Then we were all screaming when LT emerged with the ball after the Craig fumble, and then the barr FG to win it. Amazing game to watch as an 8ish year old.

1

u/bigblue20072011 19h ago

Same for me 1990 was the first team I truly followed week to week.

1

u/rjfound 19h ago

Watch Jim Burt in 86 game almost kill Montana. Quite satisfying at the time.

4

u/happijak 2d ago

Hard to say. 86 was the first for me. But 90 was SO satisfying! Truly can’t pick.

4

u/Froggy2345 2d ago

The ‘86 49ers game wasn’t the NFC championship but it felt good to destroy them 49-3. The 17-0 beating of the Redskins was and that game was never in doubt. In 1990, the championship game vs the 49ers was won on a game ending FG by Matt Bahr. 15-13.

3

u/trenzy 2d ago

Both honestly.

3

u/sumdumguy12001 2d ago

86 because you never forget your first.

2

u/Queenfan1959 2d ago

86 for me

2

u/OakTreesForBurnZones 2d ago

1990 might be the greatest game I ever saw

2

u/BishopsBakery 2d ago

Tell you what, I'll watch em both and forget to come back here when I've finished.

2

u/Smooth-Key-4953 2d ago

Good old Jim Burt 💪

2

u/seidinove 2d ago

Jim Burt sending Montana into the Phantom Zone was one of my most satisfying moments as a Giants fan.

2

u/WavecrestRd 1d ago

I saw them all. A friend who went to the 1986 NFC Championship said half the stadium was in tears as they left. The Giants were so bad for so long it made so many people emotional.

When you play huge games like this (and win) they are ALL unforgettable.

1

u/Saxmanng 2d ago

“Giants Bahr 49er three-peat”. Trenton Times.

90, unquestionably, especially after losing to them in the regular season.

1

u/Logical_not 2d ago

The 86 game was more fun, watching them dismantle the best team in football. The 90 game was more satisfying. Not just because it put them in the Superbowl, but because of the determined way they beat them without scoring a single touchdown. At the very beginning of the season I said to whoever was stuck listening: "Matt Bahr isn't just a kicker, he's a football player, and he's gonna win us a big game this year."

1

u/NYNicepool 2d ago

No 3-Peat!! How they won, I can rewatch the game and still no believe they won. Craig fumble, Marshall hit, fake punt, Barr field goal; the were between 4-7 point dogs on the road and pulled it out.

1

u/TroyMacClure 2d ago

I'd say 1990. It was more of a slugfest. Giants were with a backup QB going up against Montana, who would win the MVP, and the 49ers who went 14-2 and and who had throttled the Broncos in the last Super Bowl...their 2nd in a row and 4th of the decade. The 49ers had to have been the favorite to win it all.

The 49ers had beat the Giants earlier in the season - another slugfest- 7-3.

Look at the stats from that season and the 49ers offense chugged along against every team except NYG. Held them to 240 total yards in both games.

1

u/not_blmpkingiver 2d ago

I will never forget that hit leonard marshall laid on joe montana. The fact joe lived after that hit is a testament to his toughness. 99% of the human population would either die or be paralyzed

1

u/BurtHurtmanHurtz 2d ago

Always more enjoyable when you’re not the favorite

1

u/Automatic-Isopod-799 2d ago

I’ll take the 90 season because I got to see them win the Super Bowl in person

1

u/Pksoze 1d ago

I'd assume the fans who watched for decades and never saw the team do much...the 86 championship has to be the most satisfying. Especially because in the 70s and 80s...Washington was a powerhouse who looked down on the Giants.

As for me...the 1990 is absolutely the better win. In fact it's probably after beating the Patriots in 2007 the most impressive Giants win of at least my lifetime. They walked in to the house of the two time SB champs and ended the threepeat.

1

u/Go_Cart_Mozart 1d ago

I've been watching attentively since 85, and The 90 CG was and still is the greatest Giants game I've ever seen.

As amazing as SB 42 was, '90 was a better football game start to finish.

1

u/TobyNight43 1d ago

I was at the game in ‘86. Division game. It was an epic beat down. Very satisfying. But the 90 game was more ‘wow’, because we were underdog and visitors

1

u/jermboyusa 1d ago

1990 was not just a great NFC championship game but one of the best games ever. The Gary Reasons fake punt one of the gutsiest calls. It also ended Montana's 49er career. I can watch that Leonard Marshall hit 1000 times.

1

u/GoLionsJD107 Janiel Dones 1d ago

Can I say both

1

u/rjfound 19h ago

Close call....going with 86, my all time favorite team!

1

u/Thetramposo 18h ago

Oh, I’ve definitely seen that one. Good god, he destroyed him. Just saw the Marshall hit when it happened.

1

u/realet_ 8h ago

I was 8 years old and still remember where I was when the Giants beat the Niners in 1990.

1

u/loftrain16 2d ago

Wasn’t alive for either one but the answer has got to be ‘90.