The Giants would ultimately face the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV, perhaps the most impressive win of the season. In one of the most memorable Super Bowls of all time, the Giants held the Bills, the highest scoring team in the NFL that year, averaging 26.8 points per game and scoring 44 and 51 points in the divisional round and AFC championship respectively, to a mere 19 points, winning 20-19 on a missed field goal as time expired. This game would be the pinnacle of Bill Belichick's tenure as defensive coordinator; his game plan, a radical scheme designed to maximize punishment of the Bills receivers now resides in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Due to the departure of Parcells, and the advancing age and departure of many of its stars, after the 1990 season the Giants defense entered a decline. After two seasons of mediocrity the Giants surged in 1993, once again leading the NFL in scoring defense, but fell hard to the 49ers in the playoffs losing 44-3. While the defense would remain respectable the team never returned to their dominant ways and the days of Giants defensive dominance were gone. Finally, after a somewhat personally disappointing and injury marred year Lawrence Taylor retired following the 1993 seasons, this along with the retirement of long time quarterback Phil Simms signaled the end of an era for the Giants. In many ways 1993 represented a changing of the guard for the Giants. With the loss of longtime team staples such as Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks and Phil Simms and the drafting of future Giants greats such as Jessie Armstead and Michael Strahan the team entered 1994 with a new and distinctive feel. The reign of the Big Blue Wrecking Crew was effectively over. The table below summarizes the more important defensive stats for the New York Giants defense from 1984 to 1993. Source: These lists represent the starting lineups for the 1986 team and the 1990 team for their respective Super Bowl appearances. Source:  Source: