 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.