Editing Phil Simms (section)

===Early career: 1980–1986===
Simms' next four years were marred by injuries and inconsistent play. He finished the [[1980 NFL season|1980 season]] with 15 touchdowns and 19 [[interception]]s, while completing a subpar 48.0% of his passes for 2,321 yards.<ref name="dbf"/> In 1981, Simms threw for 2,031 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions on 54.4% [[completion percentage]]<ref name="dbf"/> before suffering a separated shoulder in a November 15 loss to the [[Washington Redskins]].<ref>Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 724</ref> With Simms out, the Giants went on a run led by [[Scott Brunner]] and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Simms suffered a torn knee ligament in a preseason game against the [[New York Jets]], preventing him from playing the entire [[1982 NFL season|1982 season]].<ref>Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 744</ref> Following the season, [[Ray Perkins]] resigned as head coach to take over the same position at the [[University of Alabama]], and was replaced by the team's [[defensive coordinator]] [[Bill Parcells]]. In the coming years this change would prove crucial to the Giants and Simms.

One of Parcells' first decisions as coach was to replace Simms as the starting quarterback with Brunner.<ref>Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 766</ref> Simms asked to be traded after the benching, but his request was ignored.<ref name="Po29"/> During the sixth game of the Giants' [[1983 NFL season|1983 Season]], Simms came in to replace the struggling Brunner against the [[Philadelphia Eagles]]. On his third drive, Simms suffered a season-ending injury when the thumb on his throwing hand hit a player's helmet on his follow-through. The injury was reported as a dislocation, but according to the book, ''Simms to McConkey'', written by [[Phil McConkey]], Simms, and [[Dick Schaap]], the injury was much more severe, with the thumb literally hanging off after impact, and the bone sticking out through the skin.<ref>McConkey, Simms, and Schaap. pg. 81</ref>

During his first few years on the team, Giants fans were merciless in their treatment of Simms, who they felt was a disappointment. He commented that his wife "had to sit up in the stands and listen to them cuss me."<ref name="Po29"/> However, in 1984, after many seasons plagued by injuries and up-and-down play, Simms finally emerged as a team offensive leader. During his 1983 injury, [[offensive coordinator]] [[Ron Erhardt]] talked Simms into watching more game film, something he had not regularly done in college or the pros. He gained a better understanding of NFL defenses, his team's formations, and pass protection schemes, and improved his ability to [[Audible (American football)|audible]] at the line of scrimmage. He also changed his strength training regimen in an attempt to make his body more resistant to injury.<ref>Pervin. pg. 105</ref> He passed for 4,044 yards (second most in the [[National Football Conference]] (NFC)), 22 touchdown passes, and led the Giants to a playoff berth.<ref>[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nyg/1984.htm 1984 New York Giants], football-reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.</ref>

He was voted to the Pro Bowl and named Pro Bowl MVP<ref name="dbf"/> as he led the NFC to a comeback win over the [[American Football Conference]] (AFC) by throwing three touchdowns. In 1985, he passed for 3,829 yards, 22 touchdowns,<ref name="dbf"/> and led the Giants to 10 victories, the most for a Giants team since [[1963 NFL season|1963]].<ref name="NYG">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070409232314/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teampage.htm?tm=NYG&lg=nfl New York Giants (1925 - )]}}, databasefootball.com, accessed May 9, 2007.</ref> In a game against the [[Cincinnati Bengals]] during the [[1985 NFL season|1985 season]], Simms passed for 513 yards—the fifth most passing yards in a single game in NFL history.<ref name="NFL All-Time Passing Yards Leaders, Game">Weir, Tom. [https://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/games/2006-11-19-bengals-saints_x.htm Palmer, Johnson have Saints singing the blues], [[USA Today|usatoday.com]], November 20, 2006. Retrieved January 3, 2007.</ref> In 1986, he passed for 3,487 yards and 21 touchdown passes during [[1986 New York Giants season|a season in which the Giants won 14 games]]. In week 11, he completed a desperate fourth-and-17 pass to Bobby Johnson late in the game to set up [[Raul Allegre]]'s game-winning field goal, which gave the Giants a 22–20 victory over the [[Minnesota Vikings]].<ref name="Anderson">Anderson, Dave. [https://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F50716F6345E0C748DDDA80994DE484D81 Sports Of The Times; Phil Simms's Biggest Pass], ''The New York Times'', November 17, 1986. Retrieved March 20, 2007.</ref> Simms later commented:<ref>Schwartz. pg. 161</ref>

{{blockquote|It's my favorite game in my career, because it's everything I always wanted to be as a player. I wanted to be tough, making big throws, immune to pressure, not worried about outcomes. It was truly like standing on the tee box in golf and there's trees on each side and water and you just go 'Man, I'm gonna rip it down the middle.' And no other thought crosses your mind.}}
[[File:President Ronald Reagan with New York Giants football team.jpg|thumb|Simms at the White House following the Giants [[Super Bowl XXI]] victory.]]
On January 25, 1987, the Giants faced the [[1986 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]] in [[Super Bowl XXI]]. In the biggest game of his life, Simms had one of the finest performances in Super Bowl history.<ref name="Phil Simms' Record Setting Performance">[http://www.superbowl.com/history/mvps/game/sbxxi Super Bowl MVPs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111175546/http://www.superbowl.com/history/mvps/game/sbxxi |date=November 11, 2006 }}, Super Bowl.com. Retrieved January 6, 2007.</ref> He completed 22 of 25 passes for 268 yards, setting Super Bowl records for consecutive completions (10),<ref name="Super Bowl XXI"/> accuracy (88%),<ref name="Super Bowl XXI">[http://www.superbowl.com/history/recaps/game/sbxxi Super Bowl Recaps: Super Bowl XXI] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502165109/http://www.superbowl.com/history/recaps/game/sbxxi |date=May 2, 2007 }}, Super Bowl.com. Retrieved January 3, 2007.</ref> and [[passer rating]] (150.9).<ref name="SB record">[http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=sbd.preview&storyId=SBD2007020129 THE DAILY Goes One-on-One With Super Bowl Analyst Phil Simms], sportsbusinessdaily.com, accessed May 9, 2007.</ref> In addition, he threw 3 touchdown passes and his passer rating set an NFL postseason record.<ref name="SB record"/> "This might be the best game a quarterback has ever played", Giants coach [[Bill Parcells]] later said.<ref name="ESPN.com">[https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/superbowl/performances.html The List: Best Super Bowl performances], espn.com. Retrieved January 1, 2007.</ref> Two of the most famous plays from the game were the [[Flea flicker (American football)|flea flicker]] to McConkey, and the touchdown pass caught by McConkey off of the fingertips of Giants [[tight end]], [[Mark Bavaro]].<ref>Anderson, Dave. [https://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F40713FB39550C758EDDA80894DF484D81 SUPER BOWL XXI: SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Sinatra, Simms and Minelli ], ''The New York Times'', January 26, 1987, accessed May 10, 2007.</ref> The Giants defeated the Broncos 39–20, and Simms was named [[Most Valuable Player|MVP]] of Super Bowl XXI. He is credited for being the first to use the phrase "[[I'm going to Disney World!]]" following a championship victory.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foote |first=Dustin |date=February 5, 2021 |title=The first player to say "I'm going to Disney World" after winning the Super Bowl wasn't the only one paid to do so that day |url=https://deadspin.com/the-first-player-to-say-i-m-going-to-disney-world-aft-1846205410/ |website=www.deadspin.com |access-date=October 4, 2024}}</ref>