the giants had a very successful season in 1927, finishing 11–1–1. mara had instructed march to spend freely to acquire talent, and he signed cal hubbard, a 6'5" 245 lb. two-way end, who had led small geneva college to a victory over then-powerful harvard the previous year. led by team captain, defensive tackle steve owen, they held their opponents to 20 points on the season, with their league best defense posting 10 shutouts in 13 games. on offense, they were led by halfback jack mcbride, whose 57 points led the league in scoring, and his versatile backfield partner hinkey haines. new coach earl potteiger led the team into a game against the chicago bears late in the season with first place on the line. new york won 13–7 in what owen called, "the toughest, roughest football game i ever played." from then on it was an easy trip to the championship, as they had a 2-game lead over the bears by virtue of their head to head tiebreaker (note: the championship was determined by record in that era; it was not until 1933 that the nfl had a championship game).