Drafted out of Morehead State University in the first round of the 1979 draft by the then-struggling Giants, Simms showed promise as a rookie, but his potential seemed unlikely to be fulfilled as injuries forced him to sit out at least part of four successive seasons. Even though he set club passing records in his first full season as a starter and, in the 1986 season, won most valuable player honors for both the season and Super Bowl XXI, in which he led the Giants to their first championship in thirty years, Simms was never fully embraced by the notoriously fickle Giant fans. A gritty, blue-collar quarterback whose tenacity, disciplined work habits and fearless composure earned him the admiration and respect of head coach Bill Parcells, Simms was again leading New York to the playoffs when, in 1990, an injury forced him to the sidelines, where he watched as his substitute, Jeff Hostetler, guided the Giants to their second Super Bowl win in five seasons.

Simms and Hostetler competed for the starting job in 1991 and 1992, a period of disarray during which the Giants compiled a two-season record of 14-18 under the indecisive tutelage of Parcells' successor, Ray Handley. In 1993 a new head coach, Dan Reeves, returned the offense to Simms, who unexpectedly took the team to the playoffs with a Pro Bowl season.