The New York Giants will face the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium this Sunday. It will be just the seventh time the two clubs have met since the Ravens came into existence in 1996.
The first meeting between the Giants and Ravens took place in Week 3 of the 1997 season at Giants Stadium. It was Jim Fassel’s first season as head coach of Big Blue after Dan Reeves was fired.
Meanwhile, Ted Marchibroda was the bridge owner Art Modell chose to lead his new franchise. On the roster were players who would be key contributors of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV championship team which beat the Giants — linebacker Ray Lewis, offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, kick returner Jermaine Lewis and defensive linemen Michael McCrary and Tony Siragusa.
Both teams entered the game with 1-1 records. The scoring opened with a 22-yard touchdown from Vinny Testaverde to Derrick Alexander. The Giants answered in the second quarter when rookie running back Tiki Barber scored on a 1-yard rush, but the Ravens blocked the point-after attempt from Brad Daluiso. Baltimore would then get a rushing score from running back Jay Graham to take a 14-6 lead.
The Giants drew closer when fullback Charles Way scored from 1 yard out on a flip from quarterback Dave Brown. The Giants’ attempt to tie the score at 14 failed, and the Ravens led 14-12 at the half.
In the second half, the Giants got the better of the play, but the Ravens benefited from several breaks. New York scored the first 11 points and had a 23-14 lead with 12 minutes remaining.
The Ravens got a fourth-quarter touchdown on an 11-yard strike from Testaverde to Michael Jackson. They would then win the game on a 37-yard field goal from kicker Matt Stover with 37 seconds remaining.
The winning drive was aided by a fluke play where Testaverde pulled away from the line without the ball, causing a fumble. Center Leo Goeas kicked the ball in his direction, and Testaverde picked up the fumble and rambled 11 yards to keep the drive alive.
Also adding to the Giants’ frustration was a pair of missed field goals by Daluiso — both from 41 yards and the second one coming with 2:37 to go in regulation. Had he made that kick, the Giants would have gone up by five points and Baltimore would have needed a touchdown instead of a field goal to win.
All turned out well for the Giants that season, however. They finished the season in first place in the NFC East with a 10-5-1 record. They would lose in the wild-card round, 23-22, to the Minnesota Vikings, blowing a nine-point lead in the final 90 seconds.
The Ravens would end up 6-9-1 and out of the playoffs. Marchibroda was replaced by Brian Billick as head coach in 1999, and the Ravens went on to win the Super Bowl the next season.
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