by Adam Lazarus
At that moment in the game, with three touchdowns and a field goal, the Bills expected to have twenty-four points on the scoreboard. But the minus-thirty-two-degree wind-chill factor and snow showers that covered western New York that day hindered more than just the passing game. The AstroTurf at Rich Stadium was extremely slick, making it nearly impossible for kickers to secure their plant foot. Each team’s kicker missing forty-plus-yard field goals—which they did—should have been expected. What astounded football fans was the uncertainty that crept into the game’s so-called easiest way to score: the point-after-touchdown.
Steve Christie—signed for the 1992 season to replace Scott Norwood—missed two of his three extra points that day. But Christie persevered and his twenty-nine-yarder late in the third period extended the Buffalo lead.
“You get in there and you’re thinking, ‘Well, I’ve had trouble today. I don’t know where to line up. I don’t know where my plant-foot is,’” Christie said. “I couldn’t feel my kicking foot. So you just bear down, just keep swinging.”
Now trailing 22-17, Hostetler broke the Raiders’ huddle with under a minute to play in the third quarter. On second and ten from their own fourteen-yard line, Hostetler danced around the pocket, set his feet, and fired a pass over the middle. In between two Bills defenders, Tim Brown caught the ball and raced downfield for a crowd-silencing eighty-six-yard go-ahead touchdown. Given Hostetler’s history of clutch completions in big games, the Bills should not have been surprised.
“I was hoping that would get the defense going,” Brown said about the play, “and they would go three and out and we’d get the ball again and maybe get some more points.”
But Brown’s touchdown—the third-longest reception in postseason history—would be the last points Los Angeles accumulated that day. Raiders kicker Jeff Jaeger even missed the extra-point try in the face of the harsh winds. No kick in the postseason, it seems, is ever a gimme.
Behind by a single point in the final quarter, the Bills needed to respond. And in typical K-Gun fashion, they did. Within three minutes, Kelly put the Bills in scoring position. At the Raider twenty-two, he floated a perfect pass into the post, right into the grasp of Bill Brooks, capping a nine-play, seventy-one-yard drive.
“Jim put it right on the money,” said Brooks, the free agent signed that season to replace James Lofton. “I wanted to make sure I looked it in; the play before, I dropped the ball. I’d never been in a game this big before. I drove my mom and dad and wife over and my dad said when we got out of the car, ‘You’ve got to relax, you’re too tense.’”
Los Angeles failed to pick up a first down on their next two drives, the second of which ended by way of Bruce Smith sacking Jeff Hostetler on third down. The Raiders were forced to punt with just under six minutes remaining in the game. Hostetler would not get another chance to score as Kelly and the K-Gun shortened the game, hoarding the remainder of the clock. The 29-23 victory sent Buffalo to a fifth AFC Championship Game in six years.
“We have a lot of experience in the playoffs, but most of all, we have a lot of character,” running back Kenneth Davis said. “And character is what’s carried us more than anything.”
A week later, in the AFC Championship Game, the Bills faced Kansas City and another Super Bowl–winning quarterback acquired via free agency, Joe Montana. Once again, it was Thurman Thomas’ incredible performance (thirty-three carries, 186 yards, three touchdowns) that put Buffalo on the verge of a world championship. The 30-13 win sent Buffalo to a record fourth-consecutive Super Bowl. At the Georgia Dome, the Bills led Dallas 13-6 through thirty minutes. But a scoreless effort from the Buffalo offense, two turnovers, and the legs of Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, buried the Bills in the second half. Dallas repeated as world champions, 30-13.
The Bills quasi-dynasty came to an end that day. Buffalo missed the playoffs the following season and after nine postseason victories during the previous four years, scored just one more the rest of the decade.
Although the optimism that each Buffalo fan, player, and coach awoke with on those four consecutive last Sundays in January ultimately disintegrated into sadness and despair, the Bills run of the early 1990s produced something as historic as any one of the Lombardi Trophies handed out at the end of each season.
“I think if you look at the Bills during those four years, there were games that were won by the offense and there were games won by the defense,” Darryl Talley said ten years after the Bills’ final Super Bowl loss.
And there were a lot of times that we brought it all together and overwhelmed teams on both sides of the ball. The thing to remember about the Bills of the 1990s was the fact that leadership didn’t come from just one player. It came from different guys each week. We took it game by game as far as leadership went.
We weren’t always looking for one or two individuals to always make the big plays. It just seemed like somebody new always came up every week to come through for us. I think that’s what made us so unique. Plus, the fact that we had so much depth on offense and defense.
We might suffer an injury or two, but always seemed to have a player on the sidelines that was willing to come in and do a great job. Depth is something you don’t see that much of today, which again is another reason you won’t see a team go to four straight Super Bowls again.
Epilogue: Super Bowl XLII
On January 20, 2008—exactly seventeen years after Matt Bahr’s last-second field goal sailed through the Candlestick Park goalposts, ending the 49ers’ bid for a three-peat—the New York Giants met the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Although billed as a matchup between the Giants’ unproven quarterback Eli Manning and aging, future Hall of Famer Brett Favre, defense decided the outcome of this NFC Championship Game.
New York’s all-time career sack leader, Michael Strahan (his first sack of that 2007 season pushed him past Lawrence Taylor), and all-pro defensive end Osi Umenyiora completely shut down Green Bay’s running game, yielding just twenty-eight yards. Still, after sixty minutes, the game remained tied, and sudden death was needed to determine the NFC’s representative in Super Bowl XLII.
The Giants intercepted Favre—playing his final playoff game for the franchise he led to Super Bowl glory—on the second play of overtime. Three snaps later, head coach Tom Coughlin sent his kicking team out to attempt the game-winner. If his forty-seven-yard field goal was good, kicker Lawrence Tynes would complete an improbable upset victory over the seven-point-favorite home team.
Punter Jeff Feagles placed the ball from long-snapper Jay Alford—Zak DeOssie snapped for punts, not field goals—and Tynes nailed the kick through, sending New York back to the Super Bowl.
“The thing I’m most proud of is the way we hang together and the way we never say die,” Coughlin said. “No matter what the odds are, we keep scrapping, we keep working and finding a way to win.”
Eager Giants fans would have to wait fourteen days to see their team try and win its first world championship since January 1991. But the Giants coaching staff didn’t complain about the extra week in between championship game and Super Bowl: it would give them more time to prepare for their opponent’s incredibly explosive offense.
The New England Patriots won every game of the 2007 regular season, then won both of their home playoff games to claim the AFC’s Super Bowl berth. As usual, head coach Bill Belichick’s defense was fantastic that year, allowing just 17.1 points per game, fourth best in the league.
But it was the Pats offense that was historic. League Most Valuable Player Tom Brady, all-pro wide receiver Randy Moss, and a unit that set a new record for touchdowns, could seemingly score at will.
“It will be our job as an offense to try to hold the ball as long as we can,” Eli Manning said. “You can’t afford to have three-and-outs and get their offense back on the field. We have to move the ball, control the clock and when you get close to the end zone, you have to score touchdowns.”
Although they repre
sented different conferences, New England and New York were familiar with one another. The previous December, on a cold Saturday in the Meadowlands, the Patriots defeated the Giants 38-35. Giants Stadium was a familiar place for each team’s head coach. Both Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin had once been “whipping boys” there under Bill Parcells.
Five weeks later, the two Parcells protégés squared off again, this time with the Lombardi Trophy on the line.
“It makes me feel proud,” said Parcells, who a month earlier ended his third retirement to become executive vice president of the Miami Dolphins. “But it’s been a long time since I worked with them. They both have gone on and established themselves on their own merit.”
The Patriots, a team chasing a perfect season, were naturally favored to win. As two-touchdown underdogs, a victory for Coughlin’s Giants would qualify as one of the Super Bowl’s greatest upsets.
“There is a way to win all of these games,” Parcells said prior to the game. “I went into a Super Bowl against one of those (heavily favored) teams, and we won. It can happen.”
Beneath the retractable roof at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the Patriots and Giants battled neck-and-neck before the largest Super Bowl television audience in history.
The game was so exciting that inside the White House, George W. Bush stayed up “later than [he] normally stays up to see the conclusion.” The president had earned some R & R. That week he delivered a State of the Union Address centered around the two wars America was in the middle of fighting, one in Afghanistan, one in Iraq.
Late in the fourth quarter, the explosive Brady-to-Moss duo pushed New England into the lead 14-10. But via one of the most memorable drives in Super Bowl history, Manning and a receiving corps that showed a newfound knack for impossible plays retook the lead 17-14.
With under a minute to play, the Giants needed a stop.
“That offense is built to stay in rhythm,” said defensive end Justin Tuck. “Some things we showed (Brady) up front and in the secondary threw him off rhythm. It’s the culmination of pressure in his face and the secondary doing a good job of locking down receivers.”
As they had all night, New York’s defense came through. A sack and two incompletions by Brady brought the Giants to within one play of a stunning victory.
New York’s sideline exploded when Brady’s final attempt for Moss fell to the ground. Giants fullback Madison Hedgecock dumped the contents of a Gatorade cooler atop coach Coughlin’s head and the celebration began.
“This is the greatest feeling in professional sports,” Plaxico Burress said afterward. “For us to come out and win a world championship tonight—
nobody gave us a shot.”
When it comes to Super Bowls, history has a way of repeating itself.
Appendix 1
Super Bowl XXV Statistics
January 27, 1991, Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Score by Quarter
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Totals
Bills
3
9
0
7
19
Giants
3
7
7
3
20
Team Scoring
New York: 46-yard field goal by Matt Bahr
11 plays, 58 yards, time of possession: 6:15
New York 3, Buffalo 0; 7:14 remaining in 1st quarter
Buffalo: 23-yard field goal by Scott Norwood
6 plays, 66 yards, time of possession: 1:23
New York 3, Buffalo 3; 5:51 remaining in 1st quarter
Buffalo: 1-yard touchdown run by Don Smith (Norwood kick)
12 plays, 80 yards, time of possession: 4:27
Buffalo 10, New York 3, 12:30 remaining in 2nd quarter
Buffalo: safety by Bruce Smith, 7-yard sack of Jeff Hostetler
Buffalo 12, New York 3, 8:27 remaining in 2nd quarter
New York: 14-yard touchdown pass, Stephen Baker from Hostetler (Bahr kick)
10 plays, 87 yards, time of possession: 3:24
Buffalo 12, New York 10, 0:25 remaining in 2nd quarter
New York: 1-yard touchdown run by Ottis Anderson (Bahr kick)
14 plays, 75 yards, time of possession: 9:29
New York 17, Buffalo 12, 5:31 remaining in 3rd quarter
Buffalo: 31-yard touchdown run by Thurman Thomas (Norwood kick)
4 plays, 63 yards, time of possession: 1:27
Buffalo 19, New York 17, 14:52 remaining in 4th quarter
New York: 21-yard field goal by Bahr
7 plays, 74 yards, time of possession: 7:32
New York 20, Buffalo 19, 7:20 remaining in 4th quarter
Final Score: New York 20, Buffalo 19
Team Statistics
BILLS
GIANTS
FIRST DOWNS
18
24
Rushing
8
10
Passing
9
13
Penalty
1
1
TOTAL NET YARDS
371
386
Total Offensive Plays
56
73
Average Gain
6.6
5.3
NET RUSHING YARDS
166
172
Attempts
25
39
Average Rush
6.6
4.4
NET PASSING YARDS
205
214
Completed Attempts
18-30
20-32
Average per Attempt
6.83
6.69
Times Sacked-Yards Lost
1-7
2-8
Interceptions
0
0
PUNTS-Yards
6-213
4-175
TOTAL RETURN YARDS
124
85
Punt Returns-Yards
1-33
2-37
Kickoff Returns-Yards
5-81
3-48
Interceptions-Yards
0-0
0-0
PENALTIES-Yards
6-35
5-31
FUMBLES-Lost
0-0
0-0
TIME OF POSSESSION
19:27
40:33
Individual Statistics
COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-YARDS
Buffalo Bills: Jim Kelly: 18-30-212
New York Giants: Jeff Hostetler: 20-32-222
RUSHES-YARDS
Buffalo Bills: Thurman Thomas: 15-135; Jim Kelly: 6-23; Kenneth Davis: 2-4: Jamie Mueller: 1-3; Don Smith: 1-1
New York Giants: Ottis Anderson: 21-102; Dave Meggett: 9-48; Maurice Carthon: 3-12; Jeff Hostetler: 6-10
RECEPTIONS-YARDS
Buffalo Bills: Andre Reed: 8-62; Thurman Thomas: 5-55; Kenneth Davis: 2-23; Keith McKeller: 2-11; James Lofton: 1-61
New York Giants: Mark Ingram: 5-74; Mark Bavaro: 5-50; Howard Cross: 4-39: Stephen Baker: 2-31; Dave Meggett: 2-18; Ottis Anderson: 1-7; Maurice Carthon: 1-3
TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS
Buffalo Bills: Leonard Smith: 8-0-0; Shane Conlan: 8-0-0; Jeff Wright: 6-1-1; Nate Odomes: 5-0-0; Leon Seals: 5-0-0; Mark Kelso: 4-2-0; Cornelius Bennett: 4-1-0; Ray Bentley: 3-1-0; Bruce Smith: 3-0-1; Kirby Jackson: 2-1-0; Carlton Bailey: 2-1-0; Darryl Talley: 2-1-0; Mike Lodish: 2-0-0; Gary Baldinger: 2-0-0; Steve Tasker: 2-0-0; James Williams; 1-0-0; Dwight Drane: 1-0-0; Rick Tuten: 1-0-0; Carwell Gardner: 1-0-0; Jamie Mueller: 1-0-0; Don Smith: 1-0-0
New York Giants: Mark Collins: 6-0-0; Gary Reasons: 6-0-0; Erik Howard: 6-1-0; Reyna Thompson: 4-0-0; Greg Jackson: 4-0-0; Carl Banks: 3-1-0; Pepper Johnson: 3-0-0; Everson Walls: 2-1-0; Myron Guyton: 2-0-0; Lawrence Taylor: 2-0-0; Leonard Marshall: 2-0-1;
Matt Bahr: 2-0-0; Lee Rouson: 2-0-0; John Washington: 1-0-0; Lewis Tillman: 1-0-0; Roger Brown: 1-0-0; Perry Williams: 0-1-0
KICKOFF RETURNS-YARDS
Buffalo Bills: Don Smith: 4-66; Al Edwards: 1-15
New York Giants: Dave Meggett: 2-26; Dave Duerson: 1-22
PUNT RETURNS-YARDS
Buffalo Bills: Al Edwards: 1-33
New York Giants: Dave Meggett: 2-37
PUNTS-YARDS
Buffalo Bills: Rick Tuten: 6-213
New York Giants: Sean Landeta: 4-175
Additional Players
Buffalo Bills: Gale Gilbert, Frank Reich, John Hagy, Clifford Hicks, David Pool, Jim Ritcher, Mitch Frerotte, Adam Lingner, John Davis, Kent Hull, Will Wolford, Glenn Parker, Howard Ballard, Butch Rolle, Mark Pike, Hal Garner, Pete Metzelaars
New York Giants: Matt Cavanaugh, David Whitmore, Bobby Abrams, Lawrence McGrew, Brian Williams, Eric Moore, Bob Kratch, Tom Rehder, Bart Oates, William Roberts, Doug Riesenberg, John (Jumbo) Elliott, Eric Dorsey, Bob Mrosko, Stacy Robinson, Troy Kyles, Mike Fox, Johnie Cooks, Steve DeOssie
Officials
Jerry Seeman, Referee
Art Demmas, Umpire
Sid Semon, Head Linesman
Dick McKennie, Line Judge
Banks Williams, Back Judge
Larry Nemmers, Side Judge
Jack Vaughan, Field Judge
Mark Burns, Replay
Attendance: 73,813
Time: 3:19
(Compiled from NFL.com; USAToday.com; and The Capitol, January 28, 1991)
Appendix 2
Original Interviews Conducted
Adm. Steve Abbott
Ernie Accorsi
Carlton Bailey
Stephen Baker
Mark Bavaro
Bill Belichick
Norm Bulaisch
Maurice Carton