1941 New York Giants season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Steve Owen |
Home field | Polo Grounds |
Results | |
Record | 8–3 |
Division place | 1st NFL Eastern |
Playoff finish | Lost NFL Championship (at Bears) 9–37 |
The 1941 New York Giants season was the franchise's 17th season in the National Football League.
Season recap
The Giants managed to put together quite a respectable team this year. Ed Danowski was lured out of retirement, Tuffy Leemans' back healed, and Mel Hein was talked out of a potential retirement. The Giants sailed through their first five games—only the Washington Redskins came within a touchdown of them as they outscored their first five opponents, 122–27. But the Brooklyn Dodgers, coached by Jock Sutherland and guided on the field by All-Pro Ace Parker, proved the Giants' most formidable opponents, dealing them two of their three defeats this year.
The Giants clinched the Eastern Division title weeks in advance of the regular season finale, but no NFL players could have been prepared for the Attack on Pearl Harbor to occur less than fifteen minutes before kickoff of week 14; the three games that day were not interrupted, but a bye week was observed before proceeding to the championship game.
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | ||
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1 | Bye | ||||||
2 | September 13 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 24–0 | 1–0 | Philadelphia Municipal Stadium | ||
3 | Bye | ||||||
4 | September 28 | at Washington Redskins | W 17–10 | 2–0 | Griffith Stadium | ||
5 | October 5 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 37–10 | 3–0 | Forbes Field | ||
6 | October 12 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 16–0 | 4–0 | Polo Grounds | ||
7 | October 19 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 28–7 | 5–0 | Polo Grounds | ||
8 | October 26 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | L 13–16 | 5–1 | Ebbets Field | ||
9 | November 2 | Chicago Cardinals | L 7–10 | 5–2 | Polo Grounds | ||
10 | November 9 | Detroit Lions | W 20–13 | 6–2 | Polo Grounds | ||
11 | November 16 | Cleveland Rams | W 49–14 | 7–2 | Polo Grounds | ||
12 | November 23 | Washington Redskins | W 20–13 | 8–2 | Polo Grounds | ||
13 | Bye | ||||||
14 | December 7 | Brooklyn Dodgers | L 7–21 | 8–3 | Polo Grounds | ||
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Game summaries
Week Two: at Philadelphia Eagles
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giants | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Date: September 13
- Game attendance: 25,478
Game information |
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Week Four: at Washington Redskins
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Giants | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
Redskins | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Date: September 28
- Game attendance: 35,677
Game information |
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Week Five: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Giants | 3 | 0 | 14 | 20 | 37 |
Steelers | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Date: October 5
- Game attendance: 13,458
Game information |
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Week Six: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Giants | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Date: October 12
- Game attendance: 30,842
Game information |
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Week Seven: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Giants | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Date: October 19
- Game attendance: 34,604
Game information |
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Week Eight: at Brooklyn Dodgers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giants | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
Dodgers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York
- Date: October 26
- Game attendance: 28,675
Game information |
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Week Nine: vs. Chicago Cardinals
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
Giants | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Date: November 2
- Game attendance: 29,829
Game information |
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Week Ten: vs. Detroit Lions
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Lions | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
Giants | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Date: November 9
- Game attendance: 27,875
Game information |
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Week Eleven: vs. Cleveland Rams
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rams | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Giants | 14 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 49 |
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Date: November 16
- Game attendance: 32,740
Game information |
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Week Twelve: vs. Washington Redskins
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Redskins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
Giants | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Date: November 23
- Game attendance: 49,317
Game information |
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Week Fourteen: vs. Brooklyn Dodgers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dodgers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Date: December 7
- Game attendance: 55,051
Game information |
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Playoffs
Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Recap |
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Championship | December 21 | at Chicago Bears | L 9–37 | Wrigley Field | Recap |
1941 NFL Championship: at Chicago Bears
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giants | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
Bears | 3 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 37 |
at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
- Date: December 21
- Game attendance: 13,341
Game information |
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Standings
NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
New York Giants | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 6–2 | 238 | 114 | L1 | |
Brooklyn Dodgers | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 6–2 | 158 | 127 | W2 | |
Washington Redskins | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | 5–3 | 176 | 174 | W1 | |
Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 8 | 1 | .200 | 1–6–1 | 119 | 218 | L3 | |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 9 | 1 | .100 | 1–6–1 | 103 | 276 | L2 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.