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 best teams in the NFC, and who had dominated the conference 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.
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.
Giants and 49ers Meet in Sunny San Francisco For the Right to Reach Super Bowl XXV
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.
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.
How intense was this rivalry? Overall, they met six times in the playoffs from 1981 until 1993. The peak era of the rivalry was from 1984 until the 1990 season, when the Giants and 49ers combined would win five of the seven Super Bowls played during that stretch. Also, during those years, they would meet four times in the postseason, with the winner going on to win it all three times.
Some Background
The individual season when they both seemed to be at their absolute peak came in 1990. This was the best season for the Giants and 49ers rivalry, and the rivarly between the two truly elite teams that season would be regarded in a similar light to the way that the Cowboys and 49ers would be later in the decade. 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 of 10-0, both achieving the best start in the history of both franchises. The Giants and 49ers were both undefeated as late November loomed. Everyone expected that the two teams would remain undefeated when they were scheduled to meet one another early in December on Monday Night Football, in San Francisco.
The dominance that the 49ers enjoyed to begin that 1990 season had actually begun the season prior, when they began predicting a "three-peat" before Super Bowl XXIV was officially over. There they were, on the sidelines, in the final quarter of their second straight Super Bowl victory, and they were stating their intention of winning the Super Bowl the next season, as well. Nobody had won three straight Super Bowls (and nobody has even to date, either). And despite some close games where the Niners barely escaped, there they were, with a perfect 10-0 record. Most assumed that they would indeed reach the Super Bowl and take a third straight title.
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! Unfortunately for the fans of both teams, and for fans hoping to see a true clash of undefeated teams, they both lost the week before they were to meet. Yes, both teams 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.
The 1990 NFC Championship Game: NY Giants at 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 which culminated in this NFC Championship, 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 football 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?
But let us not get into the 1991 season. That season left a bitter taste in the mouths of both the Giants and the 49ers, as they both missed the playoffs.
Recapping the 1990-91 Season
If the Giants 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 the Giants 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.
Final Recap
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 the following Sunday between the Giants and the Bills 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 since, that 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.
I have written and reviewed Super Bowl XXV numerous times already, and published posts. Plus, with the 30th anniversary of that game coming up in a week, I will be publishing more on that. This particular post, however, focuses on that NFC Championship Game, because when I think of the very best football game that I ever saw, that is the one that comes to mind.
As I mentioned before, today marks the 30th anniversary of this truly fantastic game. All of the elements that came into it, with the 49ers as the established dynasty team with a sense of almost invincibility about them, and the Giants edging closer and closer over the course of years, until finally, in this game, they just edged them. It took literally all 60 minutes, as they only managed to win on the game’s final play.
It had been years where it felt that the Giants had been playing catch up to the 49ers. True, they had knocked them out of the playoffs in 1985, 17-3, and then again especially in 1986, when they had crushed them, 49-3. But after that, it seemed like San Francisco had stepped up in a big way to have one of the most dominant four year stretches in history. I still am not sure that there has been a four year stretch by any other team quite like it. The closest to that level of dominance that I have seen would be maybe the Dallas Cowboys later that decade, when they won three titles in four years, although they felt like they were getting weaker in the last two seasons. The New England Patriots also took three titles in a four year span in the early 2000’s, although you got a sense that they were somewhat lucky in the first of those seasons, and that they seemed to lack the longevity at that point in their dynasty, which was a huge part of what made the 49ers seem so damn invincible back then. The most recent example was probably the closest, as the Patriots enjoyed a five year stretch where they qualified for the Super Bowl four times, winning three of them, from 2014-2018. But again, they did lose the Super Bowl on of those times, and again, they did not feel quite as dominant as the 49ers had. The fact that they lost that one Super Bowl to the Eagles feels diminishing, as it was obviously a key, truly important game. Still, they bounced back to win it again the very next season, to their credit. So that Patriots dynasty, which just ended, was the closest thing that I saw, personally, to the level of dominance that the 49ers brought to the table entering, and through, the 1990 season.
I have seen some formidable teams in the NFL since I began following it back in the 1981 season. But that 49ers team of the late 80’s/early 90’s may have been the finest team during a four year stretch that I have ever seen over the course of four years. In 1987, they had the number one offense and the number one defense, and the best record in the league at 13-2, although they were stunned by Minnesota in the divisional round. Then in 1988 and 1989, they won back-to-back Super Bowls. In 1990, they started off 10-0, en route to a 14-2 finish, which for the second year in a row, and the third time in that span of four years, gave them the best record in the league. They crushed Washington in the divisional round, and it took everything that the Giants had to defeat them and end the dynasty. Those 49ers enjoyed a record road game winning streak that has yet to be approached, much less surpassed, as it lasted from midway through the 1988 season until the 1991 season opener. John Madden was quoted in a magazine at the time as saying that they were as close to perfect as any team that he had ever seen, and I definitely agree with that assessment. It indeed felt that they were almost perfect, almost unbeatable.
That was what helped to make this such a tremendous game, and a formidable task for the Giants. When Matt Bahr’s field goal split the uprights and finally sent the Giants to Tampa, having just gotten past the 49ers, I literally jumped in the air in excitement! Again, it has been since the 1987 season that the Giants (and every other team, pretty much) had fallen behind the 49ers, who really turned it up a couple of notches. They were so close to reaching that third straight Super Bowl, and possibly winning it, too. Here I would add a caution to those who would assume that the 49ers would automatically have won, because the Buffalo Bills teams that the Giants eventually beat in the Super Bowl were very good, and may have actually won that meeting. But we will never know.
Some other aspects of that game helped to make it memorable, as well. The fact that it was in San Francisco on a very bright, sunny day, and that the game was played on real grass. John Madden and Pat Summerall commentating in what was likely their peak days together. The Giants wearing their road whites, which were their sharpest uniforms, while the 49ers in their home red always looked better to me than their whites. It was the names, including some true legends, involved on both sides. Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Charles Haley for the 49ers, Lawrence Taylor, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick for the Giants.
Mostly, it was two very good teams playing when they were both at their peak. In many respects, it was the final time that the two teams would meet when they were both playing at such a high level, with those players and coaches. They would meet in September in the Monday Night Opener the next season, and it would indeed prove to be a good, exciting, intense game, but it was not the same. In fact, neither team would be the same that season, and they both missed the playoffs. They would return together for another playoff meeting in the 1993-94 season, but the Giants were nowhere near as good as they had been. It showed, as the 49ers crushed them, 44-3. It wound up being the last game of two truly legendary Giants, linebacker Lawrence Taylor and quarterback Phil Simms.
Also, the two teams have met in some good and entertaining games since, including two postseason classics. There was the Wildcard game won by the 49ers, which still ranks among the top five playoff comebacks in NFL history. And there was another entertaining, albeit relatively low-scoring, NFC Championship Game in the 2011-12 season. This one also came down to a field goal attempt by the Giants on the final play, and again, it split the uprights, sending the Giants to another Super Bowl.
Still, none of those quite had the magic of that NFC Championship Game on January 20, 1991 – 30 years ago today!
Here are the links to two articles I used in writing this particular blog entry:
NY Giants NFC Championship rewind: Matt Bahr’s field goal lifts Giants over San Francisco 49ers, 15-13 By BARRY MEISEL NEW YORK DAILY NEWS | JAN 17, 2012
Matt Bahr on kicking the Giants to a championship while 'dinged up' By GREG HANLON 05/16/2012:
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