Super Bowl XXV
New York Giants 20
Buffalo Bills 19
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The NFC champion New York Giants won their second Super Bowl in five years with a 20-19 victory over AFC titlist Buffalo.
New York, employing its ball-control offense, had possession for 40 minutes, 33 seconds, a Super Bowl record. The Bills, who scored 95 points in their previous two playoff games leading to Super Bowl XXV, had the ball for less than eight minutes in the second half and just 19:27 for the game.
Fourteen of New York's 73 plays came on its initial drive of the third quarter, which covered 75 yards and consumed a Super Bowl-record 9:29 before running back Ottis Anderson ran one yard for a touchdown.
Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler kept the long drive going by converting three third-down plays – an 11-yard pass to running back David Meggett on third-and-eight, a 14-yard toss to wide receiver Mark Ingram on third-and-13, and a 9-yard pass to Howard Cross on third-and-four-to give New York a 17-12 lead in the third quarter.
Buffalo jumped to a 12-3 lead midway through the second quarter before Hostetler completed a 14-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Stephen Baker to close the score to 12-10 at halftime.
Buffalo's Thurman Thomas ran 31 yards for a touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter to help Buffalo recapture the lead 19-17. Matt Bahr's 21-yard field goal gave the Giants a 20-19 lead, but Buffalo's Scott Norwood had a chance to win the game with seconds remaining before his 47-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right.
Hostetler completed 20 of 32 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown. Anderson rushed 21 times for 102 yards and a touchdown to capture most-valuable-player honors.
Thomas totaled 190 scrimmage yards, rushing 15 times for 135 yards and catching five passes for 55 yards.
Super Bowl XXV: MVP Ottis Anderson RB New York Giants
In a game that will be remembered more for a missed field goal than anything else, the Giants employed a powerful ball-control offense to hold off Buffalo 20-19.
The key to the Giants' record possession total of 40:33 was Ottis Anderson. The powerful veteran running back carried 21 times for 102 yards. His 1-yard touchdown capped off a 14-play drive that ate up a record 9:29 of the third quarter as New York won its second Super Bowl.
SUPER BOWL XXV SCORING
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|
Buffalo Bills | 3 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 19 |
|
New York Giants | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
1st Quarter
NYG FG Bahr 28, 7:46
BUF FG Norwood 23, 9:09
2nd Quarter
BUF D. Smith 1 run (Norwood kick), 2:30
BUF safety B. Smith 0, 6:33
NYG Baker 14 pass from Hostetler (Bahr kick),14:35
3rd Quarter
NYG Anderson 1 run (Bahr kick), 9:29
4th Quarter
BUF Thomas 31 run (Norwood kick), 0:08
NYG FG Bahr 21, 7:40
BUFFALO BILLS - Team Statistics
Total First Downs |
18 |
Rushing |
8 |
Passing |
9 |
Penalty |
1 |
Total Net Yardage |
371 |
Total Offensive Plays |
56 |
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play |
6.6 |
Rushes |
25 |
Yards Gained Rushing (Net) |
166 |
Average Yards per Rush |
6.6 |
Passes Attempted |
30 |
Passes Completed |
18 |
Had Intercepted |
0 |
Tackled Attempting to Pass |
1 |
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass |
7 |
Yards Gained Passing (Net) |
205 |
Punts |
6 |
Average Distance |
38.8 |
Punt Returns |
0 |
Punt Return Yardage |
0 |
Kickoff Returns |
6 |
Kickoff Return Yardage |
114 |
Interception Return Yardage |
0 |
Fumbles |
1 |
Own Fumbles Recovered |
1 |
Opponent Fumbles Recovered |
0 |
Penalties |
6 |
Yards Penalized |
35 |
Total Points Scored |
19 |
Touchdowns |
2 |
Rushing |
2 |
Passing |
0 |
Returns |
0 |
Extra Points |
2 |
Field Goals |
1 |
Fields Goals Attempted |
2 |
Safeties |
1 |
Third-Down Efficiency |
1/8 |
Fourth-Down Efficiency |
0/0 |
Time of Possession |
19:27 |
NEW YORK GIANTS - Team Statistics
Total First Downs |
24 |
Rushing |
10 |
Passing |
13 |
Penalty |
1 |
Total Net Yardage |
386 |
Total Offensive Plays |
73 |
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play |
5.3 |
Rushes |
39 |
Yards Gained Rushing (Net) |
172 |
Average Yards per Rush |
4.4 |
Passes Attempted |
32 |
Passes Completed |
20 |
Had Intercepted |
0 |
Tackled Attempting to Pass |
2 |
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass |
8 |
Yards Gained Passing (Net) |
214 |
Punts |
4 |
Average Distance |
43.8 |
Punt Returns |
2 |
Punt Return Yardage |
37 |
Kickoff Returns |
3 |
Kickoff Return Yardage |
48 |
Interception Return Yardage |
0 |
Fumbles |
0 |
Own Fumbles Recovered |
0 |
Opponent Fumbles Recovered |
0 |
Penalties |
5 |
Yards Penalized |
31 |
Total Points Scored |
20 |
Touchdowns |
2 |
Rushing |
1 |
Passing |
1 |
Returns |
0 |
Extra Points |
2 |
Field Goals |
2 |
Fields Goals Attempted |
2 |
Safeties |
0 |
Third-Down Efficiency |
9/16 |
Fourth-Down Efficiency |
0/1 |
Time of Possession |
40:33 |
BUFFALO BILLS - Player Statistics
Passing |
CP/AT |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
Kelly |
18/30 |
212 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Rushing |
CAR |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
Thomas |
15 |
135 |
1 |
31t |
Kelly |
6 |
23 |
0 |
9 |
K. Davis |
2 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
Mueller |
1 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
D. Smith |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1t |
| |
Receiving |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
Reed |
8 |
62 |
0 |
20 |
Thomas |
5 |
55 |
0 |
15 |
K. Davis |
2 |
23 |
0 |
19 |
McKeller |
2 |
11 |
0 |
6 |
Lofton |
1 |
61 |
0 |
61 |
| |
Interceptions |
INT |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
None |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| |
Punting |
NO |
AVG |
LG |
BLK |
Tuten |
6 |
38.8 |
47 |
0 |
| |
Punt Returns |
NO/FC |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
Edwards |
0/3 |
0 |
** |
0 |
| |
Kickoff Returns |
NO |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
D. Smith |
4 |
66 |
24 |
0 |
Edwards |
2 |
48 |
33 |
0 |
NEW YORK GIANTS - Player Statistics
Passing |
CP/AT |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
Hostetler |
20/32 |
222 |
1 |
0 |
| |
Rushing |
CAR |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
Anderson |
21 |
102 |
1 |
24 |
Meggett |
9 |
48 |
0 |
17 |
Carthon |
3 |
12 |
0 |
5 |
Hostetler |
6 |
10 |
0 |
5 |
| |
Receiving |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
Ingram |
5 |
74 |
0 |
22 |
Bavaro |
5 |
50 |
0 |
19 |
Cross |
4 |
39 |
0 |
13 |
Baker |
2 |
31 |
1 |
17 |
Meggett |
2 |
18 |
0 |
11 |
Anderson |
1 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
Carthon |
1 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
| |
Interceptions |
INT |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
None |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| |
Punting |
NO |
AVG |
LG |
BLK |
Landeta |
4 |
43.8 |
54 |
0 |
| |
Punt Returns |
NO/FC |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
Meggett |
2/3 |
37 |
20 |
0 |
| |
Kickoff Returns |
NO |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
Meggett |
2 |
26 |
16 |
0 |
Duerson |
1 |
22 |
22 |
0 |
January 27, 1991
Tampa Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
Attendance: 73,813
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