Age: 32 (Nov. 3)
7th season in pro football & with Giants
College: Morehead State
Height: 6’3” Weight: 214
Prelude:
Chosen by the Giants in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft, Simms showed ability when given the opportunity to start as a rookie, but also was plagued by injuries in his first four years, virtually missing the entire 1983 season altogether. However, he won back the starting job in ’84 and passed for 4044 yards and 22 touchdowns. In 1985, he earned a Pro Bowl selection while throwing for 3829 yards and another 22 TDs as the Giants reached the postseason.
1986 Season Summary
Appeared and started in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 468 [10]
Most attempts, game – 45 at Dallas 9/8
Completions – 259 [10]
Most completions, game – 27 at San Francisco 12/1
Yards – 3487 [8]
Most yards, game – 388 at San Francisco 12/1
Completion percentage – 55.3 [16]
Yards per attempt – 7.5 [9]
TD passes – 21 [7, tied with Dave Krieg]
Most TD passes, game – 3 at Dallas 9/8, at Washington 12/7, vs. Green Bay 12/20
Interceptions – 22 [4, tied with Dan Fouts & Jay Schroeder]
Most interceptions, game – 4 at Seattle 10/19
Passer rating – 74.6 [14]
300-yard passing games – 4
200-yard passing games – 10
Rushing
Attempts – 43
Most attempts, game - 5 (for 10 yds.) at Philadelphia 11/9, (for 20 yds.) vs. Denver 11/23
Yards – 72
Most yards, game – 28 yards (on 4 carries) vs. New Orleans 9/28
Yards per attempt – 1.7
TDs – 1
Scoring
TDs – 1
Points - 6
Postseason: 3 G
Pass attempts – 58
Most attempts, game - 25 vs. Denver, Super Bowl
Pass completions – 38
Most completions, game - 22 vs. Denver, Super Bowl
Passing yardage – 494
Most yards, game – 268 vs. Denver, Super Bowl
TD passes – 8
Most TD passes, game - 4 vs. San Francisco, NFC Divisional playoff
Interceptions – 0
Rushing attempts – 11
Most rushing attempts, game - 7 vs. Washington, NFC Championship
Rushing yards – 38
Most rushing yards, game - 25 vs. Denver, Super Bowl
Average gain rushing – 3.5
Rushing TDs – 0
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: NEA
1st team All-NFL: NEA
Giants went 14-2 to win NFC East with the conference’s best record. Won Divisional playoff over San Francisco 49ers (49-3), NFC Championship over Washington Redskins (17-0), and Super Bowl over Denver Broncos (39-20).
Aftermath:
Tough and a good leader, Simms continued to direct New York’s ball-control offense, still passing for over 3000 yards on three more occasions (including his last year, 1993, when he had 3038 yards and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the second time). An injury kept him out of the 1990 postseason that ended in another championship, and he played behind Jeff Hostetler for much of the 1991 and ’92 seasons. Simms was cut following the ’93 season due to the salary cap, and retired having thrown for 33,462 yards and 199 touchdowns. His #11 was retired by the Giants.
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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).
[Updated 2/15/14]