In 2002, the National Football League instituted a scheduling formula that coincided with a realignment strategy that balanced the number of teams in each division due to the addition of the expansion Houston Texans. This formula was designed to address a disparity in the frequency certain teams have played each other over the years.
This Sunday, the Oakland Raiders will play host to one of the teams they have played the fewest since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. The New York Giants have only appeared on the Silver and Black's schedule 12 times, with the Raiders leading the all-time series 7-5.
The Raiders won the first meeting in 1973, 42-0, in Oakland. Quarterback Ken Stabler completed 16-of-21 for 212 yards and two touchdowns, and the offense racked up 211 yards and three scores on the ground. The defense picked off Giants quarterbacks four times.
The teams wouldn't meet again until 1980, with the Raiders recording a 33-17 win in their first trip to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., to face the G-Men. Quarterback Jim Plunkett completed 12-of-22 for 164 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Mark van Eeghen ran for 115 yards on 19 carries. The Raiders went on to win Super Bowl XV at the conclusion of the season.
The Raiders and Giants met again in 1983, in the midst of another championship run for the Silver and Black. The Raiders earned a 27-12 victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the Giants made their first trip to Los Angeles to face the Raiders. Plunkett completed 19-of-32 for 243 yards and two touchdowns, while Giants quarterback Scott Brunner completed 19-of-41 for 346 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
A look back at the matchups through the years between the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants.
The Giants got their first win in the series in 1986, 14-9 in Los Angeles, despite Plunkett's 281-yard passing performance. Running back Joe Morris paced the Giants with 110-yard rushing, while the Giants held running back Marcus Allen to just 40 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Phil Simms hit wide receiver Lionel Manuel for two touchdown passes.
The G-Men won the next meeting in the 1989 regular season finale, 34-17, at Giants Stadium. The Giants held running back Bo Jackson to 35 yards on 10 carries, intercepted quarterback Steve Beuerlein twice and sacked him four times. The game was timed 17-17 at halftime, but the Giants shut the Raiders out in the second half.
The Raiders snapped the Giants two-game series winning streak in 1992 with a 13-10 win in Los Angeles. The Raiders erased a 10-0 halftime deficit as quarterback Todd Marinovich connected with wide receiver Tim Brown for a 68-yard scoring strike, and kicker Jeff Jaeger booted two field goals in the second half.
In 1995, the Raiders traveled to New Jersey and claimed a 17-13 win at Giants Stadium. The Raiders jumped out to a 10-0 lead with a quarterback Jeff Hostetler 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Rocket Ismail, and a 30-yard kicker Jeff Jaeger field goal. The Giants fought back to take a 13-10 lead in the 3rd, but a running back Harvey Williams six-yard TD run in the 4th quarter put the raiders ahead for good.
The Raiders tangled with the Giants again in 1998. Running back Napoleon Kaufman went 80 yards on the first play from scrimmage and the Silver and Black held on for a 20-17 victory in Oakland. Kicker Greg Davis won it with a 26-yard field goal with 2:35 left in the game.
In 2001, the Raiders traveled to New Jersey and took on the Giants just 10 weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Silver and Black, led by quarterback Rich Gannon's 221-yard, 3-TD-pass performance, won 28-10. Wide receiver Tim Brown's 19-yard touchdown reception with 9:34 left in the game salted it away.
The Giants have won the last three meetings: 30-21 in 2005 in Oakland; 44-7 in 2009 at New York; and 24-20 in 2013, also at New York. The longest streak in the series is four wins, owned by the Raiders – 1992, 1995, 1998, and 2001.
