Anticipating that the Bills would try to run more, Belichick and his staff changed to a 3-3 defense for the second half with DE Eric Dorsey replacing DB Reyna Thompson.
Quarter 3
After Meggett returned Norwood's kickoff 16y to the 25, the Giants embarked on a relentless 14-play drive that consumed over half the quarter (8:48) and put them ahead.
- It didn't start well – an incompletion to Cross followed by a false start penalty.
- Hostetler found Meggett on back-to-back plays for 7 and 11y for a first down at the 38. LB Darryl Talley and DB Clifford Hicks both missed tackles on Meggett's second reception.
Cornelius Bennett: "We waited until the worst time of the season to have our worst game of the year as far as missing tackles and dropping balls."
- The next four plays were runs: Meggett for four, Anderson for five, then 24 through the left side for a first down at the Buffalo 49 behind a great seal block by LT Jumbo Elliott on Smith, and Carthon for five.
Smith played well the first half but like many of his teammates, wore down badly in the second half. Coach Hoaglin was proud of his offensive linemen. "In the playoffs against Chicago, Jumbo took Richard Dent and mopped the field with him. He did the same thing pretty much to Bruce Smith. Smith had grass stains all over the back of his pants and his jersey."
- The Giant runners were consistently pushing through tackles for another two or three yards. Parcells' game plane was working.
"I've never been so tired in a football game," said Bills LB Shane Conlan. "I was tired in the first qurter. They keep pounding you with guys like Anderson. ... I broke my face mask on Anderson in the first half. It snapped and turned all the way around to right side of my helmet. First time I ever broke a face mask."
- But Meggett's 15y run on the next snap was nullified by a holding penalty on TE Bavaro. Would that take the steam out of the drive?
- Hostetler scrambled for 2y to make it third-and-13. The Giants were out of Bahr's field goal range. So this was a crucial play.
- Hostetler threw to Ingram at the 26, but he appeared to have no chance of making the first down. But S Greg Jackson bounced off him, Talley overran him, and S Mark Kelso whiffed on the tackle. DB J. D. Williams couldn't wrestle Ingram down until he had the first down at the 18. On TV, Dan Dierdorf said, "If the Giants win this game, they may look back to this catch and run by Ingram" as setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Both sides sensed the importance of Ingram's play. Giants C Bart Oates said, "That was a game changer, as we moved the chains and kept the clock rollin'. It was a hook route, and Mark made a terrific play. And he got a few good blocks, like receiver Stacy Robinson getting in the way, to help us get that first down."
The play also intensified Buffalo's frustration at its inability to stop the Giants on third downs. "That was difficult to accept," recalled Bills WR Don Beebe. "I was standing next to Coach Levy, and it just seemed like every time New York got the ball, they were barely just making those first downs. It was deflating. I remember thinking, 'My goodness, are we ever going to get these guys off the field.'"
Levy: "They threw about an 8y completion to Ingram. Two of our great defensive players, Darryl Talley and Nate Odomes, came to put the hit on him. They knocked each other off the tackle, and he picked up the first down. That was the key play."
- Anderson gained five and Meggett one to set up third-and-four at the 12.
- Buffalo's defensive goal at this point was straightforward: Stop the next play and force a field goal.
- With the Bills overplaying to their left side to stop Hostetler from rolling to his right, the quarterback faked a handoff to the right, rolled left, and threw to Cross on the eight. The big tight end made the first down at the three. It was the Giants' fourth third-down conversion of the drive.
Hoaglin: "We tried the bootleg to the right side in the first half, and Bennett must have knocked down about four or five of them. We flipped it over the whole second half and must have hit eight or nine of those plays. Smith and Talley weren't as disciplined as Bennett was."
- It took two Anderson plunges for 2y, then one, to finish the drive.
Giants 17 Bills 12 (5:31)
Frank Gifford told the TV audience, "That was one of the greatest drives in Super Bowl history."
After the game, Giants C Bart Oates said the touchdown drive to begin the second half was "the drive that won the game for us."
Bills Coach Marv Levy said the drive "was very disheartening."
Anderson: "At halftime, Parcells said that he wanted us to establish ourselves in the third quarter. It was going to set the tone for the fourth quarter and determine whether we were going to win or lose the game. We had to reestablish the momentum we had at the end of the first half. He knew that if we went three downs and out, we would have lost. Instead, we had the longest drive in Super Bowl history."
Kirby Jackson (47) upends Anderson. But the game still had a long way to go.
Leonard Marshall (70) celebrates his sack of Kelly. At this point, the Giants had an almost two-to-one edge in time of possession: 27:25 to 13:53.
- In a repeat of the play that set up the touchdown earlier in the quarter, Hofstetler rolled left and threw to Cross for 10y to the Buffalo 48.
- The Bills' frustration continued as Hostetler threw incomplete to Baker on the left sideline, but Buffalo was penalized 5y and an automatic first down for holding by Odomes.
- But the defense stiffened and stopped Anderson for no gain on first down, made Hostetler run out of the pocket out of bounds for a loss of one on second down, and tackled Ingram after a completion 2y short of the first down.
- The Giants went for it, giving it to - who else? - Anderson who was met by Smith (who else?) for a loss of two.
Could the Bills' offense come to life after the inspiring play of their defense?
- Kelly started strong, completing passes to Thomas for nine and to Davis for four and then 19 to put the ball on the NY 31 as the quarter ended.
- The Bills ran only eight plays during the third period.
End Quarter 3: Giants 17 Bills 12
The Giants were undefeated during the season when leading after three quarters.
Anderson on the Giants' revised strategy for the second half: "We worried about Jeff all the time. He would sit by me on the bench, and I saw that he didn't know where he was half the time. Parcells would make the linemen look at Jeff sitting there to see what the Bills were doing to him. He'd say, "Everybody wake up. We better do something different or we aren't going to be in this game with a quarterback of sound mind." We stopped running away from Cornelius Bennett. In the first half, we kept running away, and he kept hitting Hostetler. So we decided to come toward him to neutralize him. We put a back in front of him to just slow him down. We started bootlegging toward him and then we started bootlegging away from him. He had been playing the way he wanted to, but we started making him play honest."
Quarter 4
The Bills couldn't have asked for a better start to the final 15 minutes.
- Thomas took the draw-play handoff and shot up the middle, slipping out of the grasp of diving LB Gary Reasons. Then he was hit head on by Guyton but bounced off, veered to the right, and aided by a timely block by Reed on Walls, ran untouched to the end zone.
- Norwood added the extra point. Bills 19 Giants 17 (14:52)
Thomas's touchdown illustrated how vulnerable the Giants had made themselves with their unorthodox defense. Their two linemen, Marshall and Howard, were cleared out to give Thomas a gaping hole.
The touchdown also revealed the biggest mistake the Bills' coaching staff made in their game plan. Despite the fact that Thomas ripped the Giants for 135y on 15 carries, the Bills called just 19 runs and 37 passes.
Bills offensive line coach Tom Bresnahan said years later, "Whether we were successful on a drive or not, we were on and off the field too quickly."
Thurman Thomas in the clear on his 31y touchdown run.
Could the Giants respond against the tiring Buffalo defense?
- Meggett returned the kickoff 10y to the 23.
- The Giants quickly faced third-and-seven after Anderson's 3y run and an incompletion, while Hofstetler was in the grasp of a rusher, over the head of Bavaro.
- But Hostetler went to Bavaro again on an out pattern to the right for 17y to move the chains to the 43.
Gifford called Bavaro "a money player." The tight end had very productive seasons in his first four years with the Giants (1985-88), catching 66 passes in '86 for 1,001y. But injuries to both knees slowed him. But he came through when the Giants needed him the most.
- Anderson then cut back to the right to midfield.
- Cauthen got a carry for a first down at the Buffalo 46.
"They were sagging," said Giants TE Bob Mrosko. "They weren't pursuing as hard. We had told ourselves that no matter what, we'd play our style of football. Now it was winning for us."
- Hostetler then connected with Bavaro again over the middle for 19y. The trusty tight end had to leave the game with an injury.
- So Hostetler threw to Ingram for 13, and suddenly the Giants were on the Buffalo 14, certainly within range for a go-ahead field goal. But they wanted a touchdown, of course, but the Buffalo defense would have something to say about that.
- After Anderson gained four and Bavaro was dumped quickly after taking a pass for only 1y, the Giants took a timeout.
- On third-and-five, Meggett took a draw play handoff and gained six to make it first-and-goal at the three.
- DT Jeff Wright broke past C Oates to throw Anderson for a 4y loss.
Erhardt: "There was a hole there a mile wide, but we had a bust. I wanted to throw it on the next down. Bill said, "Let's make sure we get three out of this."
- After Anderson regained the 4y on the next play, Hostetler tried a pass that Bennett knocked down.
- So Bahr kicked a 21y field goal to put the Giants back in the lead.
Giants 20 Bills 19 (7:20)
Anderson on the Buffalo defense: "We knew they were getting frustrated and tired. I knew they were getting tired of tackling me. Every time they tackled me, it took something out of them. I was 6'2" and about 240, and I was running hard and running low and running with power and running with the intention to hurt anybody who tried to tackle me. I wasn't getting tired. It was such a boring game to me that I didn't feel like I was burning any energy. Each time I got the ball, I felt stronger and better."
The Bills had plenty of time to retake the lead, but the Giants' defense was not nearly as spent as their counterparts.
- After Smith returned the kickoff 13y to the 20, Thomas gained four around right end.
- Kelly wanted to throw downfield but, finding no one open, tossed to his safety valve, Thomas, for 15y and a first down at the 39
- Kelly wanted to pass but had to run to escape the blitz, gaining only 1y.
- Davis took a handoff for another yard.
- When CB Williams smashed WR Edwards just as the ball arrived, Levy decided to punt.
- Tuten punted 46y to Meggett at the 13. He had plenty of running room until Steve Tasker upended him at the 30 to prevent a long runback.
The Giants wanted to eat up as much of the 5:25 left on the clock and force the Bills to use their three timeouts.
- Using as much of the play clock as possible before each snap, Hostetler handed to Anderson twice for 5y, then 9y to move the chains.
- DT Mike Lodish stopped Meggett at right end for no gain. Timeout Buffalo.
- Hostetler threw a safe pass to Bavaro for seven to set up third-and-three. Then Hostetler let the play clock run down and took a timeout.
- He ran a quarterback draw but was tackled 2y short of the first down. Timeout Buffalo.
- The Giants had just set a Super Bowl record of 40:23 time of possession.
- Edwards fair caught Landetta punt at the 10 with 2:16 on the clock.
Kelly led a clutch drive to give Norwood a chance to kick the game-winning field goal.
Kelly said afterward, "It as a dream come true. I was alittle boy growing up in Pittsburgh. I put a magic marker number 12 on my jersey, and I was pretending I was leading my team down the field to win a Super Bowl."
- Not finding an open receiver, Kelly ran for 8y to take the clock to the two-minute warning.
- Then he ran again to the 20 but was inches short.
- No problem. Thomas broke loose off the left side for 22y to the 41 for Buffalo's first third-down conversion of the game.
Belichick: "Thomas broke it out of there, and Everson Walls, who's not really a very good tackler, made a great tackle. It probably saved the game."
- Kelly threw short to Reed over the middle for 4y, then, with no pass rush, ran out of the pocket for nine and a first down at the NY 46 with 48 seconds remaining. Timeout Bills, their last.
- Norwood's longest field goal in his career was 49y, with another for 48 this season. Dierdorf speculated on the ABC telecast that Buffalo was targeting the 25 for the field goal try.
- McKeller caught a pass at his ankles for six to the 40. The officials called timeout to review the play and affirmed the completion.
- Thomas gained 11 to the 29.
- Kelly spiked the ball to stop the clock with eight seconds left.
- Parcells called timeout to freeze the kicker.
As the Bills prepared for the field goal, Banks thought, "You know, if they win on this kick, I know they earned it."
Anderson: "We worked so hard; there really wasn't anything left to say. There was nothing we could do."
- Norwood lined up his longest field goal ever on grass, 47y from the right hash mark. He was 1-for-5 in 1990 on grass from 40y or beyond.
On the sideline, Levy was already thinking ahead in case the kick went through, knowing the Giants would have time left on the clock. "That was very strongly on my mind," he said. "There were eight seconds to go at the time, and I knew even if he made the kick, there might be three or four seconds still up on the clock."
The ball had the height and distance but stayed outside the right upright as the Giants and their fans went wild. "It wasn't moving. It wasn't drawn in," said a disconsolate Norwood afterward.
FINAL SCORE: GIANTS 20 BILLS 19
Norwood boots from Frank Reich's hold. Note how the ball already seems to be angling right. Watching from the sidelines, Kelly thought at first that the kick was going through the uprights. "You look, and you're thinkging, 'Okay!' but I looked out and saw the guy who went to block the field goal jumping up. I realized it didn't make it."
Some Bills collapsed to the ground in shock. Some tried to console Bills.
Buffalo Special Teams Coach Bruce DeHaven recalled what holder Frank Reich said. "Reich came off the field and said, 'He crushed it, he absolutely crushed it.' The thought that Scottie Norwood was this schlub kicker that choked on his big chance in the Super Bowl couldn't be further from the truth. The guy hit a 47y field goal that probably would have been good from 60. It was three-quarters of the way up the crossbar, and it was about 4' outside ... I've never felt like he failed in terms of not putting a good stroke on the ball. He just failed because it was a long kick."
Saints K Morten Anderson, providing commentary for a European telecast of the game, detected that the rotation of the laces by Reich left them pointing to the side in a less-than-ideal position for Norwood.
Buffalo sideline before the field goal attempt. Ottis Anderson won Super Bowl MVP award.
Final statistics
- Time of possession: Giants 40:33 Bills 19:27
- First downs: Giants 24 Bills 18
- Rushing: Giants 39-172 Bills 25-166
- Passing: Giants 32-20-0/214 Bills 30-18-0/205
- Return yardage: Giants 5-85 Bills 6-114
- Fumbles-Lost: Giants 0-0 Bills 1-0
- Penalties: Giants 5-31 Bills 6-35
- Punting average: Giants 4-43.8 Bills 6-38.8
- Attendance: 73,813
Postgame
Giants Locker Room
Bills Locker Room
- Coach Levy: "It's tough to beat a team with a good running game and a good defense. We came close but not close enough."
- Norwood answered every question from the media after the game, not leaving until all the interviews were finished. Many of his teammates came to console him and accept their share of the blame for the loss.
- Kelly: "We knew Thurman was the reason we were in that game. He had some great runs. ... I really should have ran the ball a little bit more." As to pinning the loss on Norwood, Jim said, "That's unfortunately just the way it is. Even from the quarterback's perspective if you win, you get too much credit. If you lose, you get too much of the blame. Unfortunately, when it comes down to one play, everybody's going to remember that. I know Scott was one of themain reasons we made it to that game. I will never, ever say he's the reason why we lost the Super Bowl."
- C Kent Hull echoed Kelly's analysis. "The disappointing thing is that we shouldn't have been in that position (kicking a field goal in the last seconds to win the game) to begin with. We had the opportunity to make plays, and we didn't do it. Everything that got us here, we didn't do today. We dropped passes. We had confusion on the offensive line. It didn't come down to one kick. We had trouble before that."
One of the Bills' assistant coaches said later, "There is no question we got outcoached in that game. I can see exactly what Parcells tried to do. If we had just run the ball rather than trying to throw it all the time, we probably would have won. If we had Bill Belichick, and they had Walt Corey, we would have destroyed them. No question in my mind we had a better team."
A crowd estimated at 25,000-30,000 gathered in Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo
to welcome the Bills home the next day. As GM Bill Polian spoke, the crowd chanted, "We want Scottie, we want Scottie." Norwood started crying. The crowd wouldn't stop until Norwood got on the stage. The Bills released Norwood after the 1991 season, during which he converted just 18 of 29 field goals. No other team gave him a chance.
Bills wide receiver coach Nick Nicolau: "Norwood was a very quiet, professional kid. Now he's got to live with that the rest of his life just like the Red Sox guy (Bill Buckner). Even after he dies, they'll still be talking about it."
Kelly: "I don't think anyone in Buffalo will ever forget that kick. It was a heartbreak because we were the best team in the NFL that year, and we were the best team that day."
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Darryl Talley
John "Jumbo" Elliott
Mark Kelso
J. D. Williams
Bart Oates
Stacy Robinson
Thurman Thomas
Leonard Marshall
Anderson runs.
Gary Reasons
Thomas scores to put the Bills ahead as Lofton rejoices.
Bills gang-tackle Anderson.
Jeff Wright
Steve Tasker
Mike Lodish
Hostetler runs draw play.
Dejected Norwood walks off after missing field goal.
Parcells doused, then carried
off
by two of his linebackers.
Giants carry Belichick off the field.
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