THE COUNTDOWN
The Giants win Super bowl XXV as The news’ march toward Metlife continues Justin Tasch,
This was the ultimate strength-versus-strength gridiron battle: The high-octane Buffalo Bills offense against the unrelenting New York Giants defense in Super Bowl XXV. But even Bill Parcells wasn’t going to solely rely on Lawrence Taylor and Co. to contain the fast-paced, no-huddle Buffalo offense. Parcells did everything he could to keep the Bills off the field, his team setting a Super Bowl record for time of possession.
But this chess match, the closest result in Super Bowl history − it remains the only Super Bowl to be decided by one point − came to be defined by two words sprouting from one final, deciding play. Wide right. Scott Norwood’s 47-yard field goal attempt, his longest ever on grass, with eight seconds left in the game sailed wide of the right upright and the Giants held on for a 20-19 win in Super Bowl XXV, their second Lombardi Trophy in five years.
Parcells iced Norwood with a timeout as players on both sidelines prayed with one another.
It was the Giants’ prayers that were answered.
Ottis Anderson, who was the game’s MVP after rushing 21 times for 102 yards, gave the Giants the lead with a 1-yard touchdown run to cap off a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ate up the first 9:29 of the third quarter, the most time-consuming Super Bowl drive ever at the time. Big Blue had possession for a whopping 40:33, a Super Bowl record that still stands.
The Giants’ defense came through when it needed to, forcing si x Bu f fa lo pu nt s. Parcells managed to shut down Marv Levy’s flashy offensive style with an old-school approach.
“Power wins football games,” Parcells said afterward, before reiterating. “Power wins football games.”
The Giants avenged a Week 15 home loss to the Bills in which Phil Simms suffered a broken foot, ending his season. Taking over at quarterback was career backup Jeff Hostetler, who had started just two games for the Giants since being drafted in 1984.
The Giants won every game the rest of the way with the mustachioed Hostetler at the helm. He was 20 of 32 with 222 yards and a touchdown in the title game, completing a 14-yard strike to Stephen Baker on a corner route with 25 seconds left in the first half to cut Buffalo’s lead to two.
Played during the thick of the Gulf War, there was a patriotic atmosphere around this Super Bowl, which featured a stirring rendition of the national anthem by Whitney Houston, widely considered one of the best ever anthem performances.