Football Outsiders has ranked the New York Giants’ 1987 defense the 24th-best defensive unit of the last 30 years. FO used its DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) metric to come up with the ranking, which placed the 1991 Philadelphia Eagles No. 1.
Of that Giants’ group, Football Outsiders said:
The defending champion Giants were considered a massive disappointment in 1987, but their struggles were massively overblown -- in part because they went 0-3 with replacement players during the strike. The Giants were 6-6 with the regular roster, and Bill Belichick's defense was as spectacular as always, leading the NFL with 51 sacks.