When I think of NFL football at it's finest and most intense, there is one game that stands out above all others. It was the NFC Championship Game for the 1990-91 season.
Picture it: January 20th, 1991. Candlestick Park, on a very sunny afternoon in San Francisco. The New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. The two teams that had dominated the NFC all season long were set for another big showdown.
Both teams had raced out to a 10-0 record, and everyone expected a battle of unbeatens when they were slated to meet on the first Monday Night Football game on the first weekend of December for that 1990 season. They both lost the week before the epic clash, but still both sported highly impressive 10-1 marks for the big game. It was assumed that the winner would likely go on to host, and win, the NFC title game, and move onto the Super Bowl. The 49ers won, 7-3, in a surprisingly low-scoring contest. It was a defensive struggle, and although the Giants had some opportunities, they had obviously fallen short.
San Francisco was obviously favored in the NFC title game, although there was reason to hope, if you were a fan of the Giants, like me, even though the Giants had not beaten San Francisco in years. After all, they had been the only team to knock the 49ers out of the playoffs twice, the last time whipping them, 49-3, en route to their first ever Super Bowl title. But it would be asking a lot - perhaps too much - to hope for a third playoff win over San Francisco in a six year span.
In the end, every play counted. The game was the most intense, physical, hard-hitting one that I remember watching. It too proved to be low-scoring, yet it was close enough throughout that you could feel the tension. Indeed, it was a great game, and it took until the final play for it to be decided, when Matt Bahr's kick sailed through the uprights and doomed San Francisco's dynasty. The Giants would go on to win their second Super Bowl one week later, against the also heavily favored Bills, in what was probably the second most intense NFL game that I can remember.
The next season, the rivalry between the Giants and 49ers continued, as the two teams met, once again, on Monday Night Football. This time, it was the season opener. At that point, it was the hottest rivalry in the sport, as the two teams had combined to win four of the previous five Super Bowls. They had also met in the playoffs four times in the previous seven seasons, and five times overall in the prior decade. It was another big game, although the mistakes typical of the first game after a long off-season were clearly present. Still, it felt unusually intense for a week 1 game, and in a bit of a deja vu kind of situation, the Giants once again won the game in the game's final seconds with a Matt Bahr field goal, and another narrow win.
Well, that was a long time ago. To be sure, the two teams have met in the playoffs a few times since then. The 49ers destroyed the Giants, 44-3, in the 199-3-94 divisional round playoffs, and then when they met again in 2002-03, the 49ers overcame a 38-14 New York lead in the second half for an improbable win. At the time, it was the second greatest playoff comeback in NFL history. Then, in 2011-12, the two teams met again in the NFC Championship Game, and it was intense and close throughout.. It went to overtime, but in the end, David Tynes split the uprights on the games final play, much like Matt Bahr had done 21 years before, sending the Giants to a second Super Bowl in five season, also like two decades and change before. The Giants would beat the Patriots for a second time then, too.
The New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers will renew their rivalry when they meet this weekend once again. This time, however, it is a strange meeting, and entirely different than those epic battles that these two franchises have shared in the past. They come in with a combined record of 1-16, with the Giants standing at 1-7, and having just been completely picked apart in a 51-17 home loss to the Rams. This is the worst record that I have ever seen the Giants have this deep into a season. Meanwhile, the 49ers are 0-9, and off to the worst start in that franchise's history. Obviously, this season has been the reverse of those epic clashes in the past, when the two teams often battled for supremacy in the NFC, and indeed, the NFL. This time, these two teams are likely the worst two teams in the NFC, and possibly even the league, and it is not impossible that many fans of both teams will actively be rooting for their favorite team to lose, in order to improve the chances of getting a very high pick in next year's draft, and possibly even the top pick.
How times have changed!
The Giants lead the all-time series between the two, 20 wins to 19 for the 49ers. On some levels, it should be interesting to see what happens, although this time, it will not be comfortable predicting, much less truly expecting, either team to win, as they both have obviously shown more serious consistencies in finding ways to lose games.
Still, I thought I would add some previous blog entries that detail this storied rivalry a bit more in detail:
San Francisco was obviously favored in the NFC title game, although there was reason to hope, if you were a fan of the Giants, like me, even though the Giants had not beaten San Francisco in years. After all, they had been the only team to knock the 49ers out of the playoffs twice, the last time whipping them, 49-3, en route to their first ever Super Bowl title. But it would be asking a lot - perhaps too much - to hope for a third playoff win over San Francisco in a six year span.
In the end, every play counted. The game was the most intense, physical, hard-hitting one that I remember watching. It too proved to be low-scoring, yet it was close enough throughout that you could feel the tension. Indeed, it was a great game, and it took until the final play for it to be decided, when Matt Bahr's kick sailed through the uprights and doomed San Francisco's dynasty. The Giants would go on to win their second Super Bowl one week later, against the also heavily favored Bills, in what was probably the second most intense NFL game that I can remember.
The next season, the rivalry between the Giants and 49ers continued, as the two teams met, once again, on Monday Night Football. This time, it was the season opener. At that point, it was the hottest rivalry in the sport, as the two teams had combined to win four of the previous five Super Bowls. They had also met in the playoffs four times in the previous seven seasons, and five times overall in the prior decade. It was another big game, although the mistakes typical of the first game after a long off-season were clearly present. Still, it felt unusually intense for a week 1 game, and in a bit of a deja vu kind of situation, the Giants once again won the game in the game's final seconds with a Matt Bahr field goal, and another narrow win.
Well, that was a long time ago. To be sure, the two teams have met in the playoffs a few times since then. The 49ers destroyed the Giants, 44-3, in the 199-3-94 divisional round playoffs, and then when they met again in 2002-03, the 49ers overcame a 38-14 New York lead in the second half for an improbable win. At the time, it was the second greatest playoff comeback in NFL history. Then, in 2011-12, the two teams met again in the NFC Championship Game, and it was intense and close throughout.. It went to overtime, but in the end, David Tynes split the uprights on the games final play, much like Matt Bahr had done 21 years before, sending the Giants to a second Super Bowl in five season, also like two decades and change before. The Giants would beat the Patriots for a second time then, too.
The New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers will renew their rivalry when they meet this weekend once again. This time, however, it is a strange meeting, and entirely different than those epic battles that these two franchises have shared in the past. They come in with a combined record of 1-16, with the Giants standing at 1-7, and having just been completely picked apart in a 51-17 home loss to the Rams. This is the worst record that I have ever seen the Giants have this deep into a season. Meanwhile, the 49ers are 0-9, and off to the worst start in that franchise's history. Obviously, this season has been the reverse of those epic clashes in the past, when the two teams often battled for supremacy in the NFC, and indeed, the NFL. This time, these two teams are likely the worst two teams in the NFC, and possibly even the league, and it is not impossible that many fans of both teams will actively be rooting for their favorite team to lose, in order to improve the chances of getting a very high pick in next year's draft, and possibly even the top pick.
How times have changed!
The Giants lead the all-time series between the two, 20 wins to 19 for the 49ers. On some levels, it should be interesting to see what happens, although this time, it will not be comfortable predicting, much less truly expecting, either team to win, as they both have obviously shown more serious consistencies in finding ways to lose games.
Still, I thought I would add some previous blog entries that detail this storied rivalry a bit more in detail:
The Giants and 49ers Rivalry, originally published on November 14, 2014
Back before the rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers began to dominate the NFL in the nineties, and way before the somewhat similar rivalry between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts of the 2000's, there was another rivalry that seemed to transcend almost all others in the NFL, at least briefly.
That one was in the eighties and into the early nineties. This rivalry also involved the San Francisco 49ers, the team that would clinch "Team of the Decade" honors for the 1980's. And the team that they had this rivalry with was the New York Giants.
I first began to really get into the NFL during the 1981 season (yes, I am aware that I am dating myself here), and that was the year I became a Giants fan, as well. They had missed the playoffs for eighteen long seasons by that point, but would finally end that drought with a 9-7 record. They absolutely needed a win in the last game of the regular season against the always tough Dallas Cowboys and they managed to do it, just barely.
So, they went into their first playoff game in almost two decades, and the first easily during my lifetime. It was against the defending NFC Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, and they had home field advantage! Yet, somehow, the Giants managed to overcome all of that to pull off the upset, and move on to the next round.
Their opponents? Another team that had gotten used to losing in the prior years, but had turned things around in a big way during that 1981 season, behind the wizardry of coach Bill Walsh, and quarterback Joe Montana. Of course, I am talking about the San Francisco 49ers.
The Giants may have had enough to upend the Eagles, but they bowed to the 49ers on that day. I was still a bit bitter, and pulling for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC title game the next week, in what would be an epic, immortal game, forever linked with "The Catch" that clinched the first ever Super Bowl appearance for the 49ers. I was devastated. At that point, as a kid, the Cowboys had a certain appeal, even though I know it does not make sense to be a fan of two teams within the same division. The Giants were my favorite team, and the Jets my second favorite. But the flashy Cowboys, with those stars on their helmets and a star-studded lineup to go with it, were attractive. Still, they lost, and in a heartbreaking way.
So, I pulled for the Bengals, but despite being favored, they lost to San Francisco, too. The 49ers were Super Bowl champions, and I was not happy! I had wanted someone to take the 49ers out, since they had taken the Giants out. Instead, they were the first team I ever saw win the Super Bowl! That bitterness towards them never really went fully away, admittedly.
It would be the 1984 season before the Giants would make it back to the playoffs, once again with a 9-7 record. And also once again, they beat an opponent on the road, this time the Los Angles Rams, to earn another playoff trip to San Francisco. The 49ers had a hell of a season that year, earning a then unprecedented (for a sixteen game season) 15-1 record. The Giants played them tough, and in fact, it was the closest playoff contest the 49ers would face that year. But, the G-Men lost, and the 49ers would shut out the Chicago Bears the next week, and then beat up the Dolphins in the Super Bowl.
I did not quite hate the 49ers yet, but this was getting closer.
What I did not know then, what no one knew then, was that this budding rivalry was just entering it's golden phase. From 1984 until the 1990 season, the Giants and 49ers combined would win five of the next seven Super Bowls. Also, during those years, they would meet four times in the playoffs, with the winner going on to win it all three times.
The Giants finally became a consistent playoff team the following season, gaining notice with a tough defense and an improving offense. They were in contention for a division title, but fell just short. They did get to host a playoff game for the Wild Card round, and of course, their opponents were none other than the San Francisco 49ers. This time, the Giants took care of business, shutting down the San Fran offense en route to a 17-3 win. That earned them a trip to Chicago, to face the now legendary '85 Bears (like the '84 49ers, they had also gone 15-1). Like they had the year before against the 49ers, the Giants would provide the closest, toughest challenge that the Bears would see that postseason. Through much of a scoreless first half, the Giants were holding their own, playing them tough. But then came the infamous flubbed punt by Sean Landeta, and a surprise, easy touchdown for the Bears for a 7-0 lead. They would add to that later, although they did not need to. The Giants would score no points that day. Neither would the Rams the next week. The Patriots did score some points in the Super Bowl, but lost in devastating fashion, 46-10. Those Chicago Bears were considered the best team in NFL history by many, including me.
Finally, that 1986 season was the first when the Giants would put it all together. They had the best defense that season (well, technically, the Bears had the toughest defense, although their offense was nowhere near where it had been the season before). The Giants defense was maybe a notch or so below the Bears of '85, and they complimented that with a decent offense that could even be explosive at times. And, more importantly, they won when they had to. Lost their opener on Monday Night to the Cowboys, then won five straight before losing at Seattle. They would not lose another game again that season, winning their last nine regular season games and taking their first division title in decades and earning home field advantage in the NFC playoffs before meeting, once again, the 49ers in the playoffs. This time, they completely wiped San Francisco out, dominating them in every way in what was then the third most lopsided playoff game in NFL history, 49-3. Joe Montana was knocked out of the game, the second year in a row that happened. And the Giants had built that insurmountable lead fairly early, sitting on the lead, which could have been much worse had they really wanted to humiliate the Niners on that day ( a courtesy that the 49ers would not extend themselves in the future, when they repeatedly had opponents completely beaten, and looked to humiliate). The Giants would then shut out their division rival Washington Redskins, 17-0 in the NFC Championship, earning their first ever Super Bowl berth. Once there, they had to endure the best of the Denver Broncos through the first half, and Denver actually led it at halftime, 10-9. One side note, interestingly enough, is that the Giants were trailing at the half of every Super Bowl that they have been a part of, even though they won four of five of them so far. Against Denver, they would answer with a run of 24 consecutive points to put the game out of reach, and their total of 30 points still, I believe, remains a Super Bowl record for most points scored in a second half by any team.
The 49ers would be fantastic the next season, going 13-2 in the strike shortened season, while the Giants went into a tailspin, falling to 6-9 (the regular starters were 6-6, while the scabs were 0-3, bringing their overall record to 6-9). The Giants missed the playoffs, obviously. And as for the 49ers, despite being number one offensively and defensively, they would be surprised by the Minnesota Vikings. Washington ultimately won the Super Bowl.
In 1988, the Giants and 49ers met in week two. The Giants were behind most of the game, but they managed to rally from down 13-10 to score a touchdown very late, in what seemed to have clinched a come from behind victory. That was, until Joe Montana found Jerry Rice in the final minute of play for a long bomb touchdown that killed the Giants. It was a devastating loss, and indicative of the Giants in 1988, a team that seemed to be right there, winning and competitive, but unable to get the job done, ultimately. They finished 10-6, but missed the playoffs. The 49ers also went 10-6, but won their division, even earning the second seed. They avenged their loss to the Vikings with a convincing win, then shocked the Bears in frigid Soldier Field, 28-3, before winning one of the most exciting Super Bowl games ever with Montana finding John Taylor in the end zone with 34 seconds left to play to secure a come from behind victory. They followed that up with an absolutely dominating 1989 season, finishing 14-2 and completely dominating in the postseason, eventually handing the Denver Broncos the most lopsided defeat in Super Bowl history, 55-10. Those 1989 49ers were probably the second most dominating team I have ever seen, right after the 1985 Chicago Bears!
The Giants did surprisingly well in 1989, in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season. They started off 4-0, and stood with an impressive 8-1 record at midseason, before being blown out by the Rams. The Giants were still 9-2, and shared the best record with the San Francisco 49ers when the two teams met on Monday Night Football. The Giants played reasonably well in an evenly played contest, but the 49ers managed to win it. But the Giants finished with a 12-4 record, good enough to take the NFC East, although they lost their first playoff game in shocking manner to the Rams.
Which brings us to 1990. The season for the Giants and 49ers rivalry. They may have had some great meetings before, and since. But it was in 1990 that both of these teams ranked among the very elite teams, and this season where they both sprinted out of the gates with undefeated records, the best start in the history of both teams. The Giants and 49ers were both undefeated by midseason, and scheduled to meet one another on Monday Night Football, in San Francisco.
The 49ers had begun predicting a "three-peat" before Super Bowl XXIV was officially done. There they were, on the sidelines, in the final quarter of their second straight Super Bowl victory, and they were stating their intention on winning the Super Bowl the next season, as well. And despite some close games where the Niners barely escaped, there they were, with a perfect 10-0 record.
As for the Giants, they too had arrived to reach 10-0 by midseason, and done so in dominant fashion. Seven of their wins had been by double digits. They had scored 246 points, and had not been to under twenty points in any game. Their defense was looking like one of the most dominant defenses in modern history, having allowed 110 points, for an average of 11 points per game, through those first ten games. Their average margin of victory was 13.6 points. They had only really been pushed to the limit once, when the Cardinals seemed to have them on the ropes, holding a nine point lead late in the fourth, and with Simms injured and out for the rest of the game. But the Giants came back, as Hostetler got hot, and drove the Giants to a quick touchdown, and then led the Giants to a field goal in the final seconds to clinch an improbable, come from behind win. Otherwise, the Giants were looking outright like a dominating team, and a serious contender to challenge the 49ers supremacy in the NFC, if not the NFL.
In truth, it should be mentioned that there was one other team that emerged as a very serious contender for the title that season, and that was the Buffalo Bills. Remember, this was before Buffalo had ever reached the Super Bowl before, and this was the first season where it looked like it really might happen. Those three teams - the Giants, the Bills, and the 49ers - had the best records in the league that season, and just looked to be the most serious contenders for the title. The Bills did not enjoy the hot, undefeated start that had everyone standing up and taking notice, like with the 49ers and the Giants. But the Bills had an impressive team, particularly their incredible offense, with quarterback Jim Kelly having targets like Andre Reed and James Lofton, and Thurman Thomas, a multi-purpose back, looking like an MVP. They also had some considerable talent of defense, with Bruce Smith, Cornelius Bennett, and Daryll Tally providing leadership. Plus, they were coached by the stately presence of Marv Levy, and it seemed like everything was finally coming together for the Buffalo Bills that season.
But back to the 49ers and Giants, who were both 10-0, and were slated to meet each other on what was looking to be perhaps the most eagerly anticipated Monday Night Football in history! But the week before they were to meet, they both had tough divisional opponents to get past first. They were both heavily favored to win, of course. Yet, these were not opponents to be taken lightly. The Giants went to Philadelphia, to take on the team that had beaten them with an alarming degree of consistency in prior seasons. The Eagles had gotten off to a rough 2-4 start, but had recovered by winning their next four, when these two teams met. The Giants got off to a solid start with a quick touchdown, and they were still very much in the game at halftime, trailing 14-13. But the Eagles took over in the second half, pulling away to eventually win it, 31-13, and hand New York it's first defeat. As for San Francisco, the Rams, a team that had entered the season with high expectations, they had run into many speed bumps. But the absolute highlight of their season was that week, as they stunned the previously unbeaten 49ers, earning a 28-17 road win against the 49ers.
So, suddenly, the meeting of the unbeatens that everybody had been holding their breath for was just a meeting of the two teams with the best records, at 10-1 a piece. Still, most people expected a game filled with fireworks.
What they got instead was a very defensive battle, in what would prove to be the lowest scoring contest of the entire season. The Giants drew first blood with a field goal in the second quarter, breaking the scoreless deadlock. But the 49ers responded when Montana found wide receiver John Taylor in the end zone, and the 49ers had a -3 lead. And that was all the scoring that the game would see, as both teams shut one another out the rest of the way. The Giants had some chances, and probably should have gone for a field goal in the fourth quarter. But head coach Bill Parcells, known for his gambles, took a chance on a touchdown, and lost. When the Giants had the ball as the fourth quarter, and the game, was quickly coming to a close, they Giants were forced to go for a touchdown, instead of a possible field goal, which would have been all that they needed if not for the gamble. The Giants were not able to get the touchdown, and the 49ers effectively had the inside track for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs as a result of the big win.
The 49ers were 11-1, and looking great again, with the biggest regular season win of the season. As for the Giants, they had gone from a very hot, undefeated 10-0 start, to two losses in a row. They won against the Minnesota Vikings the next week, but then had another big showdown, this time at the Meadowlands, against the Buffalo Bills. It was, once again, a more defensive game than most people expected, and one in which both starting quarterbacks - Jim Kelly for the Bills and Phil Simms for the Giants - left with serious injuries. Kelly would return to the Bills for the playoffs. For Simms, it was a season ending injury. So, Jeff Hostetler had to step in for the remainder of the season. And Buffalo managed to win the game, handing the Giants their first home loss of the season, and their third loss overall in a span of four games. Suddenly, the Giants were looking decidedly more compromised than they were throughout the season to that point, and many were beginning to predict an early exit come playoff time.
The Giants finished up the regular season with two narrow victories over mediocre teams in road games, beating the Cardinals 24-21, and then narrowly the lowly New England Patriots, who had only one win the entire season, by a score of 13-10. The Giants ended the season with a 13-3 record. As for the 49ers and Bills, they both earned the top seeds in their respective conference. The 49ers finished with a 14-2 record for the second season in a row, while Buffalo had a record setting season, finishing with a 13-3 record, including an unbeaten mark at home in Buffalo.
The Bills easily took care of business in the AFC playoffs, and their offense looked unstoppable in the process. They scored 44 against the Miami Dolphins, and then ran over the completely overmatched Raiders in the AFC title game, 51-3, earning their first ever Super Bowl trip. They then awaited the winner of the NFC Championship Game, to see who they would be playing.
In the NFC, the 49ers were able to get past Washington convincingly enough, with a 28-10 beating. And although quite a few people had expected the Giants to be dead in the water with a deflating, anti-climactic end to their regular season, as well as with the fortunes of the team riding on someone who seemed like a career backup, the Giants were able to score a surprisingly easy win against the Chicago Bears, 31-3. Hostetler's mobility kept the Bears defense guessing and off kilter the entire game, while the Giants "D" absolutely shut down Chicago. And the NFC Championship Game, fittingly, was going to pit the two teams that had been the best in the conference all season long. The New York Giants would visit the San Francisco 49ers.
By game time, both teams knew that the winner would face the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl. On a very sunny day in San Fran, the Giants and 49ers once again battled in a defensive chess match. I have heard many players talk about the physical intensity of certain games that they played in, such as Plaxico Burress suggesting that Super Bowl XLII was the most physically intense and hard-hitting game that he had ever been a part of. But that NFC Championship Game between the 49ers and Giants was probably the most intense and hard-hitting game that I have ever seen.
Now, when I tell you that it was the most physical and intense game that I ever saw, I mean it. Jeff Hostetler got hit right in the knee by former teammate Jim Burt, and it seemed that he might spend at least the rest of the game, if not perhaps the rest of the postseason, sidelined. Joe Montana got knocked out of the game by a vicious, but legal, hit by Leonard Marshall. In fact, you can credit that shot for effectively ending Joe Montana's career with the 49ers, as well as ending his period of greatness. He did have those two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, and was impressive at times. But those times were not quite on level with what he did with the 49ers.
The two teams played very hard, limiting mistakes, with the defenses dictating the tempo. Neither side could afford to make a mistake, and neither team really made many mistakes. The first half saw the two teams exchanging field goals, and it was all nodded up at 6-6.
But in the third quarter, once again, Joe Montana found John Taylor open, and he was able to race down the field for a touchdown that ignited the home crowd, who suddenly sensed blood. San Francisco led, 13-6, and their fans could sense another Super Bowl. Just another opponent outmatched by San Francisco's championship level offense, right?
Not exactly. The Giants remained calm, and were able to get a field goal to close the gap to 13-9. Both defenses still remained very tight, and scoring opportunities remained rare indeed.
In the fourth quarter, Hostetler came back into the game from the knee injury he sustained earlier in the fourth quarter and, not much later, Joe Montana got knocked out of the game after the hit by Marshall. The Giants defenders were mad at 49ers nose tackle Jim Burt, who had just a couple of seasons ago been their teammate and one of the most famous faces of the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew" Giants defense, who had what they believed was a cheap shot aiming for Hostetler's knee, which was hyperextended with 12:07 left in the game. Matt Bahr, in what surely has to be remembered as the greatest game in his career, nonetheless missed a field goal with the Giants trailing 13-9, which would have pulled them to within 1 point. The 49ers defense held the Giants on third down still far away from everything, and the Giants were forced to send their punting team onto the field facing a fourth and 2 just shy at around midfield. But here, Parcells took yet another gamble, and this time, he won. The Giants faked the punt, and Gary Reasons snuck the ball well past the obviously surprised defensive line of the 49ers and well past the first down marker, putting the Giants well into 49ers territory, and in excellent position to score. Not too much later, New York was able to get another field goal, and it was a one point game, with San Francisco now clinging to a 13-12 lead.
It was at this point that the already very intense game got even more intense. Neither team had made an obvious strategic mistake, despite the missed field goal by Bahr for the Giants, and the 49ers being completely unprepared for the fake punt sneak by Reasons. But the first real costly mistake in the form of a turnover came at perhaps the most crucial time in the game, as 49ers running back Roger Craig fumbled the ball after Eric Howard hit him straight on with only 2:36 left in the game, and San Francisco desperately trying to do whatever it took to hang onto their 13-12 lead.
With the ball back, the Giants marched down the field, mostly with safe plays. The Niners were stacking the line, and commentator John Madden even suggested that the Giants could, in all likelihood, really pull off a successful sneak play with a pass that might even go for a touchdown. But Parcells was not going to take any chances, and did not want to give the ball back to a dangerous San Francisco offense, with or without Joe Montana. So, they safely got within field goal range, and Matt Bahr ran onto the field for what could be the winning field goal. If he missed, the 49ers would reach their third consecutive Super Bowl, and have their chance at the historic three-peat. If Bahr made it, the Giants would instead fly down to Tampa to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl by effectively ending the 49er dynasty.
San Francisco took a timeout to ice the kicker, as well as the rest of the Giants, to let them think about it. The enormity of the play was almost beyond description, with all that was at stake. But when the play finally happened, Bahr kicked it cleanly through the uprights, and the New York Giants had ended any last hopes of a historic three-peat for the 49ers.
Now, I was hopeful that the Giants would defeat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV, but most of the experts predicted a Buffalo win. You have to remember that the Bills had the hottest offense that season and, more importantly, they seemed to be peaking at the right time. Hell, they had just humiliated the Raiders in record fashion in the Super Bowl, blowing them out of the water by taking a 41-3 lead by halftime! When people saw that, and saw how the Bills had absolutely dominated the AFC that season, plus had beaten some serious NFC bullies, including the Giants at the Meadowlands, you can certainly see why Buffalo was favored.
Since the focus of this blog is the rivalry between the Giants and the 49ers, I will not dwell too long on the Super Bowl. Everyone knows that the Giants won, and they did it in many respects in the same way that they had beaten the 49ers, with a ball control offense that kept the opposing offense off the field for most of the game, and a "bend but don't break" defensive effort. There were some great plays from both teams in that game, much like their had been in the NFC Championship Game. And it came down to another field goal attempt, this time by Buffalo Bills placekicker Scott Norwood, who famously missed the 47-yard field goal attempt, as it sailed wide right only by about two feet, securing their second Super Bowl title in five seasons.
And as good as it felt to see the Giants win the Super Bowl again, it was essentially the icing on the cake to them beating the Niners in the NFC Championship. you have to understand just how good the 49ers were back then. It's hard to imagine that level of dominance these days, in the age of parity. I do not like them, but the San Francisco 49ers of the late eighties and early nineties were surely among the best teams of all time. Hell, they were the "Team of the Decade" in the eighties, and in the nineties, they set a new standard as the winningest franchise in any decade (since eclipsed by the Colts in the 2000's), even though the Cowboys won more titles and were rewarded the "Team of the Decade" honors. It seemed that nobody could beat them with any degree of consistency, and I had never seen such an accomplished team so boldly predict a Super Bowl title for the next season even before the Super Bowl had ended, like the 49ers had done on the sidelines during the final minutes of Super Bowl XXIV. They looked unbeatable, and remember, they had beaten the Giants three consecutive times heading into that NFC Championship Game (four, if you include the meeting between the two franchises when the scab players were playing, which the 49ers won in a blowout). They were so good, that for much of the season, people felt there was a better chance than not that the 49ers, rather than any of the other 27 teams in the NFL, would most likely win it all that season.
So, beating the 49ers was a big deal! Huge, in fact! And remember, the Giants were the only team that knocked the 49ers out of the playoffs multiple times during their period of greatest glory in the eighties and very early nineties. Later in the nineties, the Cowboys would seem to own the 49ers and, even later, the Packers would dominate the 49ers even more impressively. But in the eighties and into the early nineties, the only team that consistently matched up well with the 49ers in the postseason was the Giants, who met them five times from 1981-1990, and beat them three of those times! With that win in the NFC title game in January of 1991, and then the narrow Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills, the Giants beat not just one, but two teams that were considered far superior to them by many. When people talk about the improbable victory over the undefeated New England Patriots in 2007 as perhaps the finest hour for the New York foottball Giants franchise, I can see their point on some level. And yes, that was intense, and very impressive! To me, though, 2007 did not compare to 1991. Again, the NFL had two juggernauts that not only seemed better than the Giants, but both of whom had beaten the Giants a little more than one month earlier. The Giants managed to do in San Francisco in January what they had failed to do in the big December showdown between the two teams. Then, they managed to do to the Bills much the same thing, and avenged that regular season loss to the Bills before their home fans. As a fan of Big Blue, it felt like a magical time, a magical run and, frankly, not only better, but even far better, than either 2007 or 2011, although I enjoyed those, too. Maybe it was because I was younger, but I don't think that's the only reason. Again, those football teams were better, more physical, more intense. And the Giants overcame huge obstacles, slaying not one, but two dragons in the NFL that season, to win an improbable Super Bowl title that many felt they had lost their chance at winning.
At that point, the Giants reached their peak, while the 49ers had just gone past their peak. Also, the perception was that the Bills were just reaching their peak, and they were among the favorites for the 1991 season, as well as Washington, and the two big rivals, the Giants and the 49ers. And what better way for the 1991 season to open then with a nationally televised, Monday Night Football meeting of the those same two top teams in the NFC, the two teams that had dominated the conference the prior season, and ended up meeting in the NFC Championship Game?
The Giants were hosting it this time, and were obviously coming off a very successful postseason run that saw them get their second championship rings in two seasons. The 49ers, in the meantime, had narrowly missed their opportunity for a three-peat when Matt Bahr's kick on the final play of the NFC Championship sailed through the uprights.
Both teams seemed poised to have strong runs once again in 1991, although they both looked a bit different than they had in 1990. The Giants had a new coach, with Ray Handley, and no longer Bill Parcells, as head coach. Both teams had quarterback controversies that they each had been mercifully free from for many seasons prior. With his incredible play, and an undefeated start as the Giants starting QB, Jeff Hostetler had won the starting job, while in San Francisco, Steve Young, and not Joe Montana, was now the starter.
Although the Giants had won the Super Bowl, knocking the 49ers out of the playoffs in the process, many still expected the Niners to win the big showdown this time. And indeed, it was a classic matchup between the two teams, and it was almost eerily reminiscent of the game the two teams had played together in January. Very intense (although not as mistake free as the NFC Championship Game had been). The Giants were finally able to get a touchdown (although only one) in this meeting, as the Niners had managed to prevent the Giants from getting a touchdown in both of the meetings of the 1990-91 season. And after a well played contest, the Giants had the ball in the waning seconds, down by a single point, much like in the NFC Championship. The score was different (the 49ers had led 13-12 in the final seconds of the title game, and they were leading 14-13 on that Monday Night Football meeting in the final seconds), but both times, it came down to Matt Bahr marching onto the field to attempt a game winning field goal. And both times, Matt Bahr made it, to secure the win. This time, it was 16-14, and the crowd at Giants stadium was delirious. The win ended a record road winning streak by the 49ers of 20 consecutive games that has not been matched before or since. It was a great way for the Giants season to start, and it seemed to bode well for their chances that season.
What no one could have predicted was that neither team was anywhere near at the level that they had been the previous season. For San Francisco, this loss was merely the first of quite a few early season losses, that saw them start off the season with a surprising 4-6 record by mid-season, a far cry from their 10-0 start of 1990, while the Saints (still in the NFC West at that point) had started off 7-0 and enjoyed a 9-1 record after ten games, looked clearly in command. Hell, even the Atlanta Falcons were doing better than the Niners, and they had swept them, too!
As for the Giants, the mistaken illusion of still being a truly elite team in the NFL with that win over San Francisco ended the very next weekend, when they lost against the lowly Rams at home. They still mnaged to have a winning record (just barely) of 4-3 when undefeated Washington came to town. Washington was enjoying a phenomenal season, looking like one of the all-time dominant teams in NFL history by that point, perhaps even the most dominant at that point in the season. But the Giants, who until 1990 had seemed to own Washington, made them look bad over the first half, and held a decisive 13-0 lead that had many people scratching their heads and wondering what was wrong with Washington. Even entering the final quarter, the G-Men were clinging to a 31-7 lead, but Washington came alive, and score a touchdown on one of the great highlight plays of the season, as Washington quaretback, and eventual Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien connnected with Gary Clark on a 54 yard bomb to take the lead. Washington eventually won the game, 17-13. The Giants, despited, and had a 4-5 record by midseason, when they suddenly strung together their best winning streak of the season, with three straight wins, the last one being a come from behind victory over the Buccaneers in Tampa (the stadium where they had won Super Bowl XXV over Buffalo), that once again, had some people remembering the glories of the 1990 season.
But again, the Giants were nowhere near the same team they had been the season before. That was made clearest the very next weekend, when they traveled to Cincinnati to take on the lowly Bengals, owners then of a 1-11 record. New York was favored by a touchdown, and they absolutely needed this win to remain in the playoff hunt, with divisional games against Washington, at that point enjoying a historically strong start like the Giants had enjoyed the season prior, and the Philadelphia Eagles, who still seemed to own the Giants at that point. And the Giants were playing reasonably well, holding a fairly comfortable 17-7 lead in the third quarter, when the ground when out from under them. The Bengals began a 20-0 run that would effectively bury the Giants chances at the playoffs, and any last hopes of some miracle turnaround. They eventually won the game, only the second win that Cincinnati would enjoy that season (they had a final record of 3-13 in 1991). When the Giants lost at home to Philly, everyone knew the playoffs were out of their reached. They ended 1991 on a high note, beating the playoff bound Houston Oilers, but the season overall was a dismal follow-up to their 1990 season, and was a poor title defense, all in all.
That was the end of the glory era of this storied rivalry, although the two teams would meet in the playoffs in the future, as well. In fact, they would meet as soon as the 1993-94 season, but that was hardly a contest, as the 49ers stomped all over the Giants, trashing them 44-3 in a similar manner to the way the Giants themselves had trashed San Francisco in the 1986-87 playoffs.
Not quite one decade later, the Giants and Niners would meet again, this time also in San Francisco (out of the eight meetings that these two teams have had in the postseason since the 1981 season, all but two of them have been in San Francisco). That, too was, an epic and memorable clash. It was the story of two tales in each half. The Giants were completely dominating in the first half, taking a decisive (or so it seemed) 38-14 lead. But the 49ers came storming back in the second half to score an improbable, come from behind victory. The Giants did have a shot at winning the game in the final seconds, in a similar fashion to the days of Matt Bahr and Bill Parcells. But that field goal attempt flopped when the center overthrew it tremendously, preserving the Niners victory.
And again, another nine seasons would pass, and the Giants and 49ers would meet once again in the playoffs, and once again, at Candlestick Park, this time in the NFC Championship Game again. Only the second NFC title game between the two clubs. And much like that first meeting, it was a tight, back and forth game that was to be decided on the final play, with a field goal. Also, just like the previous NFC Championship Game in 1991, the field goal that sailed through the uprights sent the Giants to the Super Bowl, and sent the 49ers home in disappointment.
That was back in the 2011-12 season, when the Giants would win their fourth Super Bowl overall, beating the New England Patriots for the second time in five Super Bowls. Since then, the G-Men have not been all that competitive, missing the playoffs both of the seasons since.
As for the 49ers, they would rebound from that loss to reach the Super Bowl the next season, taking their undefeated franchise record in Super Bowls and putting it on the line against the tough Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens would outplay San Francisco early, racing out to a 28-6 lead early in the second half, and seeming on the verge of a route, before the infamous power dip seemed to swing momentum around (unfairly, I might add). From that point on, the Niners came storing back, overcoming that 22-point deficit to come to within two points of the Ravens at one point. They were driving in the final minutes to try and win it, although the Ravens defense was able to stop them, ultimately, to preserve the victory. The Niners did manage to force a Baltimore punt, but the punter seemed to surprise San Francisco by holding onto the ball in his own end zone, and killing eight precious seconds off the clock, leaving the 49ers with a mere four seconds, and no time for their offense. When the Ravens held them, they had not only won the Super Bowl, but handed San Francisco their first ever Super Bowl defeat.
This past season, the 49ers were considered by many to be the second best team in the NFC, behind their division rival Seahawks. But Seattle managed to edge them in the NFC Championship (the Niners have gone to three NFC title games in a row, in case you're counting), and it was another disappointing end for San Francisco at the end of the season.
Ah, yes! I remember this one quite well, myself!
The 1990 New York Giants were looking for their second title, and had not been so close since that awesome season that they enjoyed in 1986 - the season that, in Parcells' own words, the Giants finally got the monkey off their back by winning the championship.
That 1986 season had been their first title run in thirty years. The Giants had been expected to be one of the best teams out there that year, and they did not disappoint. After dropping their opening game on Monday Night against the Cowboys, the Giants won all but one of their remaining games. They finished the season with a twelve-game winning streak, which remains the longest overall winning streak in the team's history. The margins were relatively close at first, for the first six games of the winning streak. They kept squeaking by. But towards the end, they began to really dominate their opponents. They won their two games against NFC opponents by a combined 66-3 margin to qualify for their first ever Super Bowl. After a close first half, which the Broncos were actually leading at halftime, 10-9, the Giants finally put it all together in the second half, pouring on the points, and winning, 39-20.
Those Giants had been a juggernaut. Maybe not quite on the same level as the 1985 Chicago Bears that had come before them, but just a notch or so down. Still dominant. And the future had looked promising.
But the Giants title defense had been one of the worst in history. They started off 0-2, before the disastrous strike, and the scab players. The Giants happened to probably have the worst, or among the worst, scab teams, dropping all three decisions. So, when the starters took over again, the Giants were a combined 0-5 to start the season, and they were never able to make a serious run at anything that season, winding up 6-9. The actual Giants Super Bowl lineup had finished 6-6, a relatively respectable .500.
Still, that was a bad season by any account, and it left people with a bad taste, wondering what had happened, and how such a great team could fall so far, so fast. The Giants recovered somewhat the next season, but were up and down and inconsistent. Still, the final week seemed to be theirs. They were 10-5, and hosting their lowly, cross town rivals, New York Jets. If they won, not only would they make the playoffs, but they would have won the division, and clinched the second seed in the NFC - a playoff bye! They were winning, too, very late in the fourth, when the Jets pulled off a miracle that resulted in a touchdown to prematurely end the Giants season. From seemingly being the second seed, to not qualifying for the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, following the Super Bowl win.
Pretty bad.
1989 was going to be their rebuilding year. But - surprise, surprise! - the Giants started off on a tear, standing with an 8-1 record after nine games, and were tied with the defending champion San Francisco 49ers for the best record in the league. Three losses in a four game span put what seemed a promising season in jeopardy, but they managed to win out their remaining games to pull out a seemingly unlikely division title, and this time, actually clinching that second seed. But they ran into the red hot Rams, who forced overtime in a tight 13-13 contest, before Flipped Anderson caught the ball in the end zone to end the game, and the Giants season, rather suddenly and dramatically!
Despite that setback, the 1989 season could be seen as nothing but a success. The expectations had not been great going in, but with a surprisingly strong season, and the second best overall regular season record, which included a win against the Super Bowl-bound Broncos at snowy Mile High Stadium, the Giants looked ready to be one of the serious title contenders again in 1990.
And if they had exceeded expectations in 1989 with a stellar performance, the 1990 Giants seemed to be crushing their opponents and surprisingly dominant in 1990, as they bolted out to a perfect 10-0 start. The San Francisco 49ers, who had now won the previous two straight Super Bowls and were not only a dynasty, but some were suggesting the dynasty of all dynasties, had also managed to start the season off with a perfect 10-0 mark intact.
What was more was that the two top teams were slated to meet one another two weeks later. The sports world, or at least football fans, held their breath for what seemed to be an inevitable showdown of the unbeatens at 11-0. No two teams had ever before simultaneously started off the season undefeated so far into it, and the thought of such a showdown! Wow!
However, it was not to be. Most people thought that the Giants would defeat the 6-4 Eagles in Philadelphia. But the Eagles had been one of the early favorites that season as well, and despite a bad start at 2-4, they had managed to string together four straight wins, and were starting to look dangerous themselves. Moreover, they had a penchant for beating the Giants, having swept them in the prior two seasons. The game was close early on, with the Giants getting a quick touchdown for a 7-0 lead, before the Eagles answered. At the half, the Eagles held a one point lead, 14-13. But with the Eagles leading 17-13 later in the second half, things began to fall apart for Big Blue. The Eagles got a touchdown off a deflected pass. It had been well defensed, but still, the Eagles now held a sizeable 24-13 lead. Then, an offensive turnover was converted to a touchdown by the Philly defense, and the game was pretty much out of reach, 31-13. No perfect season any longer, and no perfect showdown with the 49ers who, as it turned out, would be surprised themselves that weekend, and lose to the Rams, 28-17.
It was still going to be a huge showdown on Monday Night Football between the Giants and the 49ers, and everyone expected it to be an explosive showdown. Instead, it was a defensive slug-fest - the lowest scoring contest in the NFL that season. Ten total points. The Giants defense rose to the occasion, except for one play, when John Taylor broke free for a touchdown. Unfortunately, that would be enough, and the 49ers won the huge game, 7-3. The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC would have to go through San Francisco.
With two straight defeats after their perfect start, the Giants had to get a win under their belt. They beat the Vikings, but then lost to the red-hot Bills at home the following week. That was the low point for the Giants, who not only had dropped their third contest in four games, but lost their starting quarterback to boot! Phil Simms had gone down with an ankle injury, and was out for the season! In came Jeff Hostetler, but a season that had seemed very promising was quickly spiraling out of control.
It was a struggle for the Giants merely to clinch the second seed again, but they won out with a pair of tough 3-point wins on the road against mediocre teams, and they did not look particularly great doing it. Things did not look good going into the playoffs, and some were beginning to suggest that the Giants might get knocked out in their very first contest, against the tough Chicago Bears, at 11-5.
But the Giants came in with a terrific game plan, and used Hostetler's mobility to their advantage, showing a more explosive offense than anyone had seen from them in quite a while. The defense was on fire as well, and the Giants won a very convincing, and extremely satisfying, 31-3 win.
On to San Francisco for the big rematch. Nobody thought that they could actually win that, though.
Yet, their earlier contest, which had resulted in a Giants defeat, had been even closer than most people realized. The Giants had gambled late in the game - and lost. Parcells had opted to go for a touchdown when deep in San Francisco territory in the fourth quarter, and failed to convert. So thus, when they were fairly deep in San Francisco territory very late in the game, with time running out, they absolutely needed the touchdown, instead of a field goal. Had they settled for the field goal earlier, they might have gotten the field goal in the end (they were more or less within field goal distance) to win it.
For the NFC Championship, the Giants would take every point that they could get. And they needed it, too.
Much like their previous contest, it was a slug-fest. The two teams had the two top rated defenses in the NFC, and it as a physical, very hard-hitting game. Scoring opportunities for both teams were, predictably, few and far between. It was more a chess match than anything else, as both coaches looked to take every advantage that they could in terms of strategy.
The two teams exchanged field goals, and the game was tied at 6-6 for halftime.
But once again, Joe Montana found John Taylor for a touchdown, just like in the first contest. Just like that, a tight contest was now suddenly strongly in favor of the 49ers, who now owned a 13-6 lead. Plus, the home crowd was going nuts, perhaps sensing blood. This team was a dynasty, they had been here before, seen tough challenges before. Their team had pulled it out two consecutive seasons, and they were on the cusp of an unprecedented three-peat. How could they fail?
The Giants did not fall apart. They continued the slug-fest, slowing the game down, taking away from the 49ers momentum and pounding the ball down the field with a ball control offense that ate the clock. They were able to get a field goal to quiet the crowd down, closing the margin to 13-9.
Then came what just may have been the game turning play. The 49ers had stopped the Giants drive, and forced a punt. But Parcells - always the gambler - decided to try a fake, and instead of punting, Gary Reasons took the ball and ran it....well past the first down marker. The 49ers had been taken completely by surprise and were caught with their pants down. New York did not get a touchdown out of it, but they settled for a field goal, for the safe options of points, rather than forcing it. In a tight, low scoring affair where every point counts, that was the safest bet.
And it paid off, too!
Late in the fourth quarter, the 49ers had the ball and were trying to run out the clock and clinch the win. Joe Montana had been knocked out of the game by a vicious, but clean, hit by Leonard Marshall. Jeff Hostetler had also taken some hard hits and had himself almost been knocked out of the game. Again, it was a very physical contest on both sides, and it had taken a toll.
Another hard hit changed the course of the game, and perhaps, football history. 49ers running back Roger Craig took the ball, hoping to gain some much needed yards and kill some more time off the clock, to bring San Francisco that much nearer to the win, and another Super Bowl. But Eric Howard hit Craig hard, hard enough to knock the ball loose. Lawrence Taylor was there to recover for the Giants, giving them one last chance to punch their ticket to Tampa and the Super Bowl.
Again, the Giants managed to work the ball down the field, and put themselves in scoring position. I remember that the 49ers defense was so geared towards stopping the Giants run, that he commented that New York really could have snuck something with a pass that could get them in the end zone. But that did not happen. The Giants were intent on running down the clock, and dictating the remainder of the game on their terms. No unnecessary risks, and no turnovers were to be permitted. A field goal attempt would win it, and the Giants were in position as the clock wound down. With four seconds left, they called the time out, and the field goal unit came on the field. San Francisco called a time out to ice the Giants placekicker, Matt Bahr, to make him think about it.
But when play resumed - the final play of the game - Bahr kicked it through the uprights, and the Giants had ended the San Francisco dynasty!
That was the game that Parcells, in the article below, mentioned as his most memorable moment.
But the Super Bowl was quite memorable, as well. At the time, many considered it the greatest of all Super Bowls. Even today, despite some of the very exciting Super Bowl games that we have witnessed, this one stands out for the level of excellence on both sides. It was the first postseason game without a single turnover. Much like with the 49ers game, this was a game of strategies, a veritable chess match. It was a game where both teams carried the momentum at times, where brilliant plays were made by players on both sides. it matched two teams with very different styles - the high octane, no-huddle offense of the Buffalo Bills, and the slowly strangling, conservative defensive style employed by the New York Giants.
The Giants scored first, to go up 3-0.
The Bills responded, tying it up at 3-3, and that was the first quarter.
But early in the second, the Bills took control, and looked capable of blowing the Giants out. They scored a touchdown, and then got Hostetler sacked in the end zone for a safety. In what turned out to be a crucial play, ironically, in favor of the Giants, Hostetler was able to tuck the ball away before being violently plowed into the ground in the end zone for the safety, so as to prevent a Buffalo defensive touchdown that might just have put the game out of reach.
The game seemed to belong to the Bills, as they were up 12-3. But the Giants managed to scrape together a great drive right at the end of the half, and finished with Hostetler passing to Baker in the end zone for a touchdown. For the Bills, who had dominated most of the first half, to only be up by two was tough, and not a little demoralizing. Coach Marv Levy specified that in the postgame interview.
To start the second half, the Giants got the ball and physically pounded it down the Bills throats. They enjoyed a then record long drive of almost nine minutes, and finished it off with OJ Anderson pounding it into the end zone against a fatigued Buffalo defense.
Giants up, 17-12.
But Buffalo was not done yet. Just as the third quarter was turning to the fourth, the Bills quick strike offense punched it into the end zone again themselves, to reclaim the lead at 19-17.
Another sturdy rive late in the fourth allowed Matt Bahr to kick a field goal, for the 20-19 lead that the Giants would fight to cling to.
It came down to Buffalo having possession with around two minutes left. There were some brilliant plays along the way, as the Bills drove it down to the Giants 37 yard line. Time was running out, and the Bills put on their field goal unit to try to win the game.
Everyone remembers what happened next, of course.
Scott Norwood, the Buffalo placekicker, kicked it just a few feet wide right, and the Giants had secured the victory, and an unlikely championship!
I remember that well! And like Parcells, I have to admit that, while both Super Bowl XXV and the NFC Championship Game were both incredible, the NFC title game against the 49ers seemed somehow more amazing, more miraculous. The 49ers had repeatedly knocked the Giants out of the playoffs and in regular season game in the early eighties and right through to the nineties, with a brief reversal in the mid-eighties. But the 49ers were just so tough, so....perfect! And for the Giants to go to Candlestick Park and take the game, and the title, from them, in front of their home fans! Wow!
The next season, the Giants opened their title defense by hosting the 49ers in another eagerly anticipated Monday Night Football matchup..The two teams had won the last three Super Bowls at that point, and five of the previous seven championships in all. The 49ers entered with an NFL record 20-game road winning streak, while the Giants were the defending champs.
Much like the NFC Championship Game, this one was low-scoring, and intensely defensive. It was also a close game, and seemed to be between two of the very best teams that the NFL. The Giants ultimately prevailed with another last-second Matt Bahr field goal to clinch the victory before an ecstatic Giants Stadium crowd, and it seemed the Giants had gotten off to a solid start, and that this would bode well for them, beating one of the best teams out there. However, as it turned out, neither team would qualify for the playoffs. The Giants finished 8-8, in fourth place in the NFC East, while the 49ers finished at 10-6, in third place in the NFC West.
They would meet in the playoffs a few seasons later, in San Francisco, but the Niners blew the Giants away in that one, 44-3.
In 2002, with an entirely different lineup for both teams, the met yet again the playoffs. The Giants looked hot in the first half, and their offense looked virtually unstoppable, as they built up a 38-14 lead.
Unfortunately, it did not last. The Giants completely collapsed in the second half, and watched the 49ers come storming back to take an improbable 39-38 lead. The Giants nonetheless had a chance to win it in the waning seconds, but the snap was screwed up, and the Giants never had a chance. San Francisco had earned a huge win, in what was then the second biggest comeback in NFL playoff history. It was another epic contest between these two teams, and that one went to the Niners.
It was a long time before the two teams would meet once again the postseason, and by then, the lineup for both teams had changed completely yet again. The 49ers had missed the playoffs for many years, but they enjoyed a stellar 2011 season, finishing 13-3, good enough to easily win the NFC West. They outlasted the Saints in a memorable playoff contest that some felt was almost the Catch Part 3! The Giants, in the meantime, had won Super Bowl XLII against the undefeated Patriots four seasons before, but had struggled for much of 2011, going 7-7 with two games left in the season, when they finally got hot. They beat the Jets, then won a winner takes all showdown in the season finale against the Cowboys, to win the division. They wiped out the Falcons in the Wild Card Game (my son and I were at that game!), and then they trounced the 15-1 Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field!
So it was that these two teams met at San Francisco's Candlestick Park for one more playoff game. This one would be a biggie, the NFC Championship Game. The winner would move on to the Super Bowl, while the loser would go home.
It was a closely fought, tight game. Fittingly, it was very defensive and a low-scoring affair. The Giants and 49ers played on a sloppy field in the rain, and the game was so even that it went into overtime. That was when the Giants famously benefitted from a crucial turnover by the 49ers on their special teams, which gave them a shot at a clinching field goal, and an opportunity to earn their second trip to the Super Bowl in five seasons if the placekicker could split the uprights at Candlestick Park - the exact same scenario that the Giants were in 21 years earlier! It went through, and the Giants were in!
The Giants met the New England Patriots once again, and with the theme of history repeating itself, the G-Men got their second Super Bowl championship in five seasons by outlasting the Patriots to earn a 21-17 win!
Many expected the 49ers to be the new, hot team, and they were many people's favorites to win it the next season. Indeed, it looked that way early on, as the Niners raced to a 4-1 record to start the season, when they hosted the Giants once again. New York had struggled early on, although they still managed a 3-2 record going into the game.
Still, the 49ers were heavily favored, being seemingly the hotter team with home field advantage, and with the revenge factor on their side to boot!
But it was the Giants who dominated on that day, playing a complete game, and flustering the 49ers, who suddenly looked mistake prone and vulnerable. New York earned a convincing 26-3 victory on a sunny San Francisco day, and it revitalized their season. A few weeks later, the Giants would stand at 6-2, with many believing that they were, once again, a force to be reckoned with. But the season ended with them at 9-7 and out of the playoffs.
The 49ers, in the meantime, would continue to play at an elite level, and finished the season as the NFC West champs and second seed in the playoffs (with a surprisingly tough race against the then emerging Seattle Seahawks). They had an 11-4-1 record, and defeated the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs to earn a second straight NFC Championship Game appearance. This time, it would be at Atlanta, and the 49ers promptly fell behind 17-0. But they managed yet another epic playoff comeback to win, and earn another Super Bowl trip. This time, however, their luck ran out, as they lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 34-31.
San Francisco has been considered an elite team since then, as well. Last season, they were among the top tier teams in the league, although they lost the division race to Seattle. That was why, when the two teams met in the NFC Championship Game last season, the 49ers third straight trip to that game, it was the Seahawks, and not the 49ers, who enjoyed home field advantage. It made a difference, too! The 49ers have not (yet)had much success in Seattle, and although they fought a close, hard game, they ultimately fell to the Seahawks late in the game. The Seahawks would go on to win the Super Bowl, while the 49ers went home to prepare for this season.
The Giants, in the meantime, had a miserable 0-6 start last season, and simply never recovered, finishing at 7-9, and were never a serious playoff contender.
Now, here we are in the 2014 season, and these two teams will add yet another chapter to their rivalry. The Giants have had an up and down year, but they are down right now, having lost four games in a row. The 49ers are not quite where they want to be, either, although at least they have a winning record at 5-4. But they are one game behind the Seattle Seahawks, although those teams will meet two times the rest of the way. San Francisco finds themselves three games behind the surprising, first place Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West, considered by most to be the NFL's best division.
Most people expect the 49ers to win (including yours truly). But the Giants played well for much of the game against the Seahawks last week, and sooner or later, they will surely snap this dreadful losing streak. They have home field advantage against the 49ers, if that counts for anything. They certainly need the win, although the same could be said for San Francisco.
Whichever way it goes, this should be a fascinating contest between two of the most accomplished franchises in the league, with quite a historic rivalry between them, one that will be renewed when the two teams take the field this Sunday afternoon!
Anniversary of a Great Game! originally published on September 2, 2015:
I originally published this on September 2, 2015, for the 24th anniversary of this game, but really meant to be more patient and save it for the 25th anniversary. However, I forgot about this anniversary when it came earlier this month - over three weeks ago, in fact!
Still, I wanted to recognize it, because it was one of the games that made me happiest as a Giants fan. You see, the Giants were the defending champions at that point, coming off a truly spectacular season. They had capped that with a second Super Bowl championship in five years, and barely got past the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. To qualify for that Super Bowl, though, the Giants had to travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers, who were aiming for what could have been a third straight Super Bowl title themselves. In the most intense NFL game that I ever saw, the Giants and 49ers showed their hard-hitting style, and the intensity was palpable. In the end, fittingly, it came down to the last play - a field goal attempt to win it by Matt Bahr, New York's placekicker. When the ball sailed through the uprights, the Giants had managed to do what nobody believed they could, and what nobody else had managed to do in almost three years, and eliminate the 49ers. In the process, they ended a dynasty - one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history!
Roughly seven months and a half later, the Giants opened their title defense at home against - who else? - the San Francisco 49ers. At that time, it seemed like the Giants-49ers rivalry was the best one that the NFL had seen in years. A few years later, it would be Dallas and San Francisco, but at that point in time, it was those two teams. And the game was similar - almost eerily similar in some respects - to that epic NFC Championship Game that I just described. There were more mistakes made by both teams, and obviously, not nearly as much was at stake.
Still, it felt to me that if the Giants wanted to have an chance at a repeat, they absolutely needed to win this game. So, when the game came down to another Matt Bahr field goal with mere seconds left in the game (although technically, it was not the last play), it really did feel incredibly reminiscent of the title run earlier that year. Once again, Bahr's kick sailed through the uprights, and the old Giants Stadium went wild!
Again, I am a Giants fan, and just felt elated. It felt like a big thing that you hold your breath for, and only when it's done, you can exhale again. This, more than any other game, mattered for the 1991 Giants. This was the one team that I personally wanted to see them beat.
Of course, the dreams of another championship faded fast. Roughly about six days, until the G-Men showed up in Week Two for what proved to be a letdown, as they played a lackluster game against a mediocre Rams team, and lost at home. If it did not end precisely after that game, then surely by week three, when New York once again lost a tight game at Chicago, there was a feeling that this season was not like the previous one.
Before long, the entire season was basically out of control. The Giants were inconsistent, winning that home opener against what appeared to be a great team, then losing to a team that was not great at all. They were 3-4 before they finally earned their first real win streak of the season. Then, the Giants managed to win four of the next five games, and looked to have a chance at least to qualify for the postseason following an electrifying road win at Tampa Bay, in the same stadium where they had won their second Super Bowl earlier in the year. Yet, the next week, they went to Cincinnati to play the 1-11 Bengals, who very well may have been the worst team in the league at that point. The Giants blew a fourth quarter lead and the game, and whatever dim hopes had existed for a playoff run were over. That was the first of three straight losses, and a regular season finale win against playoff-bound Houston was small consolation for what felt like a season of missed opportunities.
Still, despite what proved to be an otherwise mostly forgettable season, there was a magical feel after the win against San Francisco in the opening game of the season that felt almost as intense and important as a playoff win, at least at the time. It was an exciting game between two of the best teams of the era, and I enjoyed it enough back then to recognize it now. Here is what I wrote about it last year:
Still, despite what proved to be an otherwise mostly forgettable season, there was a magical feel after the win against San Francisco in the opening game of the season that felt almost as intense and important as a playoff win, at least at the time. It was an exciting game between two of the best teams of the era, and I enjoyed it enough back then to recognize it now. Here is what I wrote about it last year:
Today marks the 24th anniversary of a very memorable game that opened up the 1991 Monday Night Football season. It featured the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants hosting the San Francisco 49ers. Combined, the two teams had won four of the previous five Super Bowls, including three straight heading into that season.
That alone was enough to make this particular match-up intriguing. But the two teams also had a very strong rivalry at that point. I would argue that it might have been just a notch below the epic rivalries between the Cowboys and 49ers later on in the decade, or like the rivalry between the Patriots and Colts in the 2000's. That was how good the rivalry was, and how solid these two teams were. It was not that there was a lack of other teams that were breaking through. Chicago and Washington had won Super Bowls in recent years at that point, as well. But the Bears, despite that one awesome and incredibly dominant season, had never followed up with something remotely as impressive, and Washington seemed to find ways to win championships when other teams, particularly the Giants and 49ers, were struggling through miserable seasons, or at least disappointing losses. Combined, Washington and Chicago eliminated the 49ers from the playoffs once in the 80's and early 90's, while they got eliminated by the 49ers a total of five times during that era.
It was different with the New York Giants, who managed to be the only team in the 80's to repeatedly knock off that decade's best team, the 49ers. Yet, the 49ers had some impressive wins against the Giants during that era as well, which made it a true rivalry.
The two teams first met in the playoffs following the 1981 season. Both franchises had suffered through years of losing - the Giants in particular had failed to make it to the playoffs for 18 consecutive years! But the Giants made it that season, beating the defending NFC Champion Eagles at Philadelphia, then going off to meet the top-seeded 49ers in San Francisco. The Giants did some impressive things, but they never seriously challenged the 'Niners on that day. San Francisco would next play that epic NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, culminating in "The Catch" that handed the 49ers an amazing victory, and earned their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. They would defeated the Cincinnati Bengals for their first title ever.
San Francisco would host the Giants in the playoffs again following the 1984 season, once again in the Divisional round. And once again, while New York did some impressive things, they ultimately could not stand up to everything the then 15-1 49ers did. San Fransisco would go on to shut out the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship, en route to their second title in four seasons, beating Dan Marino's Miami Dolphins handily in the big game.
The next season, the two teams would meet again in the playoffs, this time at Giants Stadium. The Giants managed to do more than just a few things right this time around, shutting down the 'Niners explosive offense en route to a convincing 17-3 victory. Still, they would lose the next week to the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears, who trampled on New York's championship dreams in a 21-0 route. Amazingly, that was the closest that any playoff team would get to beating the Bears that year.
Finally, the Giants themselves rose to championship form in 1986. They enjoyed a dominant 14-2 regular season mark, with one of their most impressive wins coming on Monday Night Football in a showdown against San Francisco. Coming from 17-0 down, the Giants rallied after a huge play by Mark Bavaro, who dragged numerous 49ers defenders to pick up a first down. The Giants came back to win that one, 21-17. The two teams met again in the NFC Divisional playoffs, with the Giants crushing San Fran, 49-3. They would shut out Washington in the NFC Championship, then whipped Denver to capture the franchise's first Super Bowl championship in history.
Technically, the two teams met in 1987, although both teams had replacement players during the players strike. The 49ers won that one easily, although it was not really the two teams that everybody identified as the Giants and 49ers. But they would meet again in 1988, at Giants Stadium, in another legendary game. San Francisco seemed to be just edging the Giants out all game, until Phil Simms orchestrated what appeared to be a game winning touchdown drive very late in the 4th quarter, putting the Giants ahead, 17-13, for an apparent come from behind win. But in the games final seconds, Joe Montana found Jerry Rice very deep as two Giants defenders crashed into one another, and Rice ran in for the score to stun the Giants and their fans, earning an amazing 20-17 win. This game proved huge for both teams, as they both finished the season at 10-6. But for the Giants, 10-6 meant that they missed the playoffs that season, and in light of that, the loss to the 49ers seems huge. For San Francisco that season, 10-6 was good enough for a division title and the second seed in the playoffs. They would beat Minnesota at home, then embarrass Chicago on the road in the NFC Title game, before just edging out the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, with Montana leading the 49ers on what has come to be known as "The Drive" to lead San Fran past the Bengals in what was the first truly exciting end to a Super Bowl to that point. The Super Bowl victory earned the 49ers "Team of the Decade" honors.
But if there was any lingering doubts that San Francisco was the best team of the eighties, their dominance during the 1989 season erased these. The 49ers dominated, earning a 14-2 mark, and beating the Giants in a tight Monday Night Football showdown along the way. New York earned a 12-4 mark that season, second best in the league to the 49ers. But they were eliminated in the Divisional round by the Los Angeles Rams. The 49ers, in the meantime, crushed everyone in their way, stomping on he Vikings again, then humiliating the Rams, before scoring an unprecedentedly lopsided victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV.
That led to the 1990 season, and the peak of the already impressive rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants. They met twice that season, culminating in the epic NFC Championship Game struggle that still is remembered as one of the most physical and intense games in NFL history!
Yes, I have written plenty about the Giants amazing victory on the road in the NFC Championship Game at San Francisco on January 20, 1991.
The thing about the 49ers was that they really were like the perfect adversary, or even enemy. This was not only the team that had won the previous two Super Bowls (and the most recent one at the time by the widest margin even of 45 points), but they had begun celebrating very early in Super Bowl XXIV, and holding up three fingers, as kind of a promise to achieve the rare "three-peat!" They had reason to be very confident, too. That was a great team, a very well-disciplined team, and they had earned "Team of the Decade" honors with the back-to-back championships in the 1988 and 1989 seasons.
Now, in 1990, they had started the season off in incredible fashion, with a tight road victory against the New Orleans Saints to open the season up, then racing out to an undefeated, franchise best 10-0 start. Simply put, they looked virtually unbeatable, and most people had them pegged as the eventual Super Bowl champions again.
The thing was, the Giants were keeping them company. With shades of the greatness that New York had shown during the 1986 season, when they had risen to Super Bowl championship form themselves, the Giants also sprinted out to a 10-0 unbeaten start, which was a franchise record for New York as well.
And the two teams were slated to meet in two weeks later, with everyone assuming that they would both be 11-0 heading into that game, and that it would be a historically important showdown between two of the best teams ever.
However, they both lost the week before to divisional opponents, and had matching records of 10-1 instead.
it was still an intense game. It was called by some "The Clash of the Titans," and many expected fireworks on that night.
What they got instead was a defensive struggle. A low-scoring game, with defense dictating play for both teams.
Ultimately, the 49ers won that one, 7-3. The Giants had their chances. They could have gotten a safer field goal in the fourth quarter to close to within a point, but Parcells gambled, as he was known to do. This time, he lost, and the Giants failed to convert. This came into play big time towards the end, when the Giants were in scoring position. Had they only needed a field goal, they very well might have won. But they needed a touchdown instead, and when they failed to convert, San Francisco preserved the 7-3 victory, in what was the lowest scoring contest of the 1990 season.
The Championship Game was also low-scoring, but that was even more intense with the physicality, particularly from both defenses. It was a game of jarring hits, and both quarterbacks, Joe Montana and Jeff Hostetler, suffered some cringe worthy injuries with hits received. Hostetler got up and came back into the game. Joe Montana did not, and his career, in fact, never was the same after that.
It was also a game that was very even, and became sort of a chess match between the coaches. This was not to be a blowout for either side, and both teams were playing for the end game. Despite it being a low-scoring affair, it had a bit of that feel of a game where the last team with the ball winds up winning. In fact, that was exactly what happened.
It is a testament to the Giants and their defense that, despite not scoring a single touchdown in either meeting against San Francisco during the 1990-91 season, they kept both games close, and managed to win the more important of the two meetings. That was behind Matt Bahr's five field goals (out of six attempts), earning the 15-13 win. And although that might sound boring, it most certainly was not. That game was absolutely filled with excitement and great plays, such as the touchdown pass from Montana to John Taylor to give San Francisco a 13-6 lead, and bring the 'Niners faithful to their feet, exploding with excitement as their team seemed to finally break through. But the Giants kept on pounding away, and closed in with another field goal. Parcells then called a very memorable fake punt that caught the 49ers unawares, as Gary Reasons took the ball and easily picked up enough for the first down. The Giants would get another field goal, making it a 1-point game.
Very late in the game, as the 49ers seemed on the verge of running out the clock on the Giants after an impressive first down to Brent Jones, Eric Howard of the Giants hit 49ers running back Roger Craig right where he was holding the ball, forcing it to pop out. Up to that point, this was threatening to be the first postseason game in NFL history without a turnover. But Lawrence Taylor picked it up, giving the Giants the ball with very little time remaining, and another chance - a last chance - to finally beat the 49ers in San Francisco this season.
The 49ers defended quite well, but the Giants steadily plugged away, marching down the field with their physical offense, and got themselves into field goal position. They allowed the clock to run down to the final seconds, to give themselves another Matt Bahr field goal attempt. If the kick went through the uprights, the Giants would win, and would earn themselves a trip to Tampa to meet Buffalo in Super Bowl XXV. If the kicked was no good, then time would have run out on them, and the 'Niners would be in their third straight Super Bowl.
Bahr's kick sailed through the uprights, and the Giants celebrated a huge victory!
The next weekend, in Super Bowl XXV, there were plenty more huge and memorable plays, as two worthy opponents met. The Bills seemed on the verge of blowing out the Giants at some point in the first half, but the Giants always managed to fight their way back and pull the score much closer. Eventually, in another very physical game with big hits and chess matches between the coaches, the Giants managed to hold off Buffalo to take a 20-19 lead late in the fourth quarter. But Buffalo had the ball and, similarly to the Giants the previous week, had the chance to position themselves for a field goal. With just eight seconds left on the clock, the Bills had a 47-yard field goal attempt, and much like the Giants had the week before against San Francisco, a made field goal here would win it for Buffalo, and a miss would hand the Giants the Super Bowl victory. It was one of the most memorable moments in Super Bowl history. The kick sailed wide right by around two feet, and the Giants were champions once again.
All of that led to the big showdown between these two storied franchises to open up the 1991 season on Monday Night Football. It was about as big a showdown on opening weekend as you could get.
What was at stake? For both teams, this was an opportunity to defeat their biggest rivals, and with a win, go ahead of half of the rest of the league with a hard-earned victory. For the loser, a bad way to start the season, with a nationally televised loss. To make the game even more compelling, the 49ers entered this game with an NFL record 20-consecutive road game win streak, which still stands as an NFL record. For the defending champion Giants, this would be a chance to start off their title defense in the best way possible, against their biggest rivals. It would also signal that these 1991 Giants were not going to suffer the same fate as the previous time that the Giants had a title defense season in 1987, which spiraled out of control early with an 0-5 start (although three of those games, again, were with replacement players) en route to a 6-9 season that saw them finish in last place in the NFC East.
Despite the win, the Giants were not nearly good enough in 1991 to repeat as champions. They won the battle against San Francisco, and for one week at least, Giants fans could rejoice at the huge win against their best opponent. But as it turned out, neither the Giants nor the 49ers would even so much as qualify for the playoffs that season. The championship dreams for Giants fans like myself began to be washed away when the Giants suffered a let down the following weekend, at home against the Rams. When this was followed up by a loss at Chicago, everyone knew that any real hopes of a repeat were basically done. These were not the same Giants as the season before. In fact, the Giants would never quite look the same again. The Bill Parcells era was over for the Giants, and so to were those championship runs. It would take an entirely different era, with Tom Coughlin at the helm as coach, and Eli Manning at quarterback, for the G-Men to once again become a championship team.
At that time, however, nobody could know that neither team would even be remotely close to the stellar level of play that both teams had exhibited the season before. Sure, there was a lot more sloppiness in this contest than either team had shown during the two meetings in 1990, but that could be forgiven, since this was opening day. What seemed apparent was that this was another installment of the best rivalry that the NFL had going at that point, and it was another memorable match before a nationally televised audience. For Giants fans like myself, it proved to be one final opportunity to get really excited about the prospects for another championship. Beating the 49ers again still seemed like such a huge deal at that time, that it felt like the Giants had overcome possibly their biggest hurdle during the regular season towards another title run. After all, given the success of winning seasons and division titles and championship runs that fans from both teams had come to expect by that point, there was nothing to indicate that both teams had dropped off significantly by the 1991 season.
But as it turned out, it was not a sign of things to come. The Giants would have an up and down season, until the climax late in the season, when they returned to Tampa, to the same stadium where they had beaten the Bills for the championship. Hostetler got injured, and Simms stepped in and orchestrated a late touchdown drive to win, and the Giants improved to 7-5, with hopes for the playoffs still very much alive. Those hopes were quickly extinguished when they would lose to the 1-11 Bengals the following week, and New York finished with an 8-8 record, well out of the playoffs. The 49ers struggled through much of the season, and stood at 4-6, before they caught fire and won their final six games. But this too was not enough, as the Saints won the division, and the Atlanta Falcons earned a playoff spot, having swept the 49ers. Both teams and their fans would watch the playoffs go on without them.
Indeed, both teams were very different than they had been the season before. Hostetler was the starting quarterback for the Giants, and not Simms. That was a first, as Simms had started for the better part of a decade by then. And the 49ers also had Young starting, instead of Montana. Roger Craig was gone, and so was Ronnie Lott. Parcells was gone for the Giants, although he would be head coach again with the New England Patriots in 1993. Both teams were beginning new eras in their history.
Still, for one last game at least, the rivalry between the Giants and 49ers was renewed, and the game certainly echoed some of the great moments from the past. The end almost mirrored the finish of that legendary 1991 NFC Championship Game, ended as it did with the Giants behind by one point, and then earning the win with another Bahr field goal. Even knowing what I know now, that the season would prove a disappointment for both teams (and their fans), memories of that particular game still gives me a pleasant feeling. For if there was a consolation to quickly falling from greatness to a mediocrity that the Giants would become only too familiar with at that point, it was in beating the San Francisco 49ers before a national television audience, and watching jubilant Giants fans celebrate such a seemingly enormous win when two quality opponents met, even if it really was the last time.
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