Super Bowl XXV was an American football championship game featuring an all-New York matchup between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1990 season. The Giants defeated the Bills by the score of 20–19, winning their second Super Bowl and sixth NFL championship. This was the first Super Bowl to feature two teams representing the same state (although the Giants still play their home games in New Jersey).
The game was held at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on January 27, 1991, and was the last time a Super Bowl would be held at Tampa Stadium (replaced by the Raymond James Stadium). A memorable performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Whitney Houston and the Florida Orchestra preceded the game. Jazz musician John Clayton arranged the piece. ABC, which broadcast the game in the United States, did not air the halftime show (which was headlined by the American boy band New Kids on the Block) live. Instead, the network televised a special ABC News report anchored by Peter Jennings on the progress of the ongoing Gulf War, then aired the halftime show on tape delay after the game.
The Bills and their explosive no-huddle offense were making their first of four consecutive Super Bowl appearances after finishing the regular season with a 13–3 record, and leading the league in total points scored with 428. In advancing to their second Super Bowl, the Giants also posted a 13–3 regular-season record, but with a ball-control offense and a defense that allowed a league-low 211 points. Super Bowl XXV became the first Super Bowl to feature two teams representing the same state, even though the Giants technically play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a nearby suburb of New York City.
The game is known for Bills placekicker Scott Norwood's last-second missed field goal attempt that went wide right of the uprights, starting a four-game losing streak in the Super Bowl for the Bills. The game became the first (and so far only) Super Bowl decided by one point and the first Super Bowl in which neither team committed a turnover. The Giants set a Super Bowl record-holding possession of the ball for 40 minutes and 33 seconds. The Giants also overcame a 12–3 second-quarter deficit and made a 75-yard touchdown drive that consumed a Super Bowl-record 9:29 off the clock. Giants running back Ottis Anderson, who carried the ball 21 times for 102 yards and one touchdown, was named Super Bowl MVP. He was the first awardee to receive the newly named "Pete Rozelle Trophy" (named for the former commissioner, Pete Rozelle). Anderson also recorded one reception for seven yards. The NFL in its 100 Greatest Games series ranked it at number 10.
As with Super Bowl XXI, Phil Simms, who quarterbacked the victor Giants, would notably state "I'm going to Disney World!" immediately after the game on live television (Disney sponsored the pregame and halftime shows, and took ownership of ABC five years later). This phrase (sometimes with Disneyland substituted) became a tradition for players on winning teams after the game.
Background Host selection process NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXV to Tampa during a May 20, 1987 owners meeting held at Coronado, California. It was the second time that Tampa hosted the game; the city previously hosted XVIII on January 22, 1984. Voting for the "silver anniversary" Super Bowl drew bids from Tampa (Tampa Stadium), San Diego (Jack Murphy Stadium), Anaheim (Anaheim Stadium), Los Angeles (Coliseum), and Miami (Joe Robbie Stadium). The voting process took six ballots, and eventually narrowed down to two finalists: Tampa and San Diego. Anaheim and Los Angeles were eliminated on the first ballot, then Miami (already scheduled to host XXIII), was eliminated on the second.
After three additional rounds, neither Tampa nor San Diego could garner the desired vote (21 of 28 owners). To break the stalemate, the vote switched to a simple majority. Though the final tally was kept secret, Tampa was said to have won by a close margin of only 2–3 votes. The Tampa Bay area won by virtue of proven success hosting XVIII, and the plans to move the Gasparilla Pirate Festival to Super Bowl week. San Diego was slated to host XXII, but since that day had not yet come, some owners were reluctant to award the city a second Super Bowl before they completed their first.
New York Giants
The 1990 New York Giants were built to head coach Bill Parcells's specifications of "power football": a strong defense and an offense meant to sustain extremely long drives. The Giants' defense ranked second in the league in fewest total yards allowed (4,392) and first in fewest points allowed, and boasted three Pro Bowl selections: defensive tackle Erik Howard, and linebackers Pepper Johnson and Lawrence Taylor (10.5 sacks and 1 interception). Linebacker Gary Reasons was also a strong force with 3 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries. The secondary was led by defensive back Everson Walls, an offseason acquisition from the Dallas Cowboys, who recorded six interceptions, and safety Greg Jackson, who recorded five interceptions and four sacks. The Giants' offense was unspectacular, ranking just 17th in the league in yards gained and 13th in points scored. Despite that, they wore down opposing teams' defenses with extremely long drives, thus keeping their opponents' offense on the sidelines and preventing them from scoring. More importantly, the Giants set an NFL record by losing only 14 turnovers in a 16-game regular season. A big reason for the team's offensive success was the blocking of linemen Bart Oates and William Roberts, the only Pro Bowlers on the offense. Ottis Anderson was the team's leading rusher with 784 yards and 11 touchdowns, while also catching 18 passes for 139 yards. Kick returner Dave Meggett led the NFL in punt return yards (467), while also gaining 492 yards on kickoff returns, rushing for 164 yards, and catching 39 passes for 410 yards.
New York began the regular season by winning their first ten games, and then went into a tailspin and lost three of their next four. One week after losing to division rival Philadelphia Eagles, 31–13, the 10–1 Giants met defeat on Monday Night Football in a 7–3 defensive battle with the 10–1 San Francisco 49ers, who had won the previous two Super Bowls and ultimately finished the regular season with an NFL best 14–2 record. Then, in their 17–13 loss to the Bills, New York suffered a setback when starting quarterback Phil Simms, who had thrown for 2,284 yards and 15 touchdowns with only four interceptions during the year, went down for the season with a broken bone in his foot.
Simms's replacement, Jeff Hostetler, had started only two games in his seven years as a backup with the Giants. However, Hostetler displayed polished passing and scrambling ability in his limited playing time during the season, and threw only one interception and committed no fumbles. With Hostetler at the helm, the Giants responded by winning their final two games to finish the regular season 13–3, good enough to win the NFC East and earn the second seed in the NFC playoffs.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills defense was led by defensive end Bruce Smith, who recorded 19 sacks, forced four fumbles, and won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. Behind him, three of the Bills' starting linebackers, Darryl Talley, Shane Conlan, and Cornelius Bennett, were selected to the Pro Bowl. Defensive back Kirby Jackson led the team in interceptions with 3. Pro Bowler Steve Tasker was part of special teams.
Despite their good defense, it was the Bills' flashy, high-powered offense that gained the most attention. Unlike the Giants, the Bills routinely used the no-huddle tactic to storm down the field and score points very quickly. Instead of going into a huddle after each play, quarterback Jim Kelly would immediately send his offense back to the line of scrimmage and make the call there after reading the defense. This strategy prevented opposing defenses from reading the Bills' formation correctly, making substitutions, or even catching their breath.
The Bills' no-huddle K-Gun offense worked well enough for Kelly to finish the regular season as the top-rated quarterback in the NFL (101.2), throwing for 2,829 yards, 24 touchdowns, and only nine interceptions. One reason for his success was that he had two outstanding wide receivers: future Hall of Famer Andre Reed, who made his specialty going across the middle on slants and crossing routes, recorded 71 receptions, 945 yards, and 8 touchdowns, and future Hall of Famer James Lofton, who was the big threat with 35 receptions for 712 yards (a 20.3 yards per catch average). Tight end Keith McKeller contributed 34 receptions for 464 yards and five touchdowns. Pro Bowl running back Thurman Thomas had an AFC-best 1,297 rushing yards, caught 49 passes for 532 yards, and scored 13 touchdowns. Thomas also led the NFL in yards from scrimmage for the second consecutive season. A key to the Bills' prolific offense was the blocking of its superb offensive line, led by All-Pro center Kent Hull and Pro Bowl left tackle Will Wolford.
Even though Kelly missed the last two games of the season with a knee injury, suffered in the same game in which the Giants lost Simms, the Bills finished with a 13–3 regular season record.
Playoffs
The Giants began their championship postseason run by a trivial elimination of the Chicago Bears, 31–3. In leading the Giants' "power football" offense, Hostetler threw only 17 passes, but two went for touchdowns and he threw no interceptions. He also directed a rushing attack that gained 194 yards, including 43 (and a touchdown) from Hostetler himself. This game offered a preview of what lay in store for Super Bowl XXV, as the Giants scored on drives of 75, 80, 49, and 51 yards, which lasted nine, 11, 11, and 16 plays, respectively. Overall, New York held the ball for 38:22, compared to Chicago's 21:38. However, New York lost another key player for the season when rookie running back Rodney Hampton, the team's second-leading rusher during the regular season with 455 yards, suffered a broken leg.
The following Sunday, the Giants upset the San Francisco 49ers 15–13 in the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers, an NFL-best 14–2 in the regular season and winners of the last two Super Bowls, were 8-point favorites at kickoff. Their outstanding defense was led by future Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott and linebacker Charles Haley, who led the NFC in sacks. San Francisco's offense was considered the best in the NFC, led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana and wide receiver Jerry Rice. However, except for a 61-yard touchdown pass from Montana to wide receiver John Taylor, the Giants contained the 49ers' offense very well. A sack by Giants defensive end Leonard Marshall early in the fourth quarter knocked Montana out of the game. Despite their super defensive effort, the Giants still trailed 13–9 midway through the fourth quarter, but a 30-yard run from linebacker Gary Reasons on a fake punt set up kicker Matt Bahr's fourth field goal, cutting their deficit to 13–12. The 49ers (now led by Steve Young) tried to run out the clock on their ensuing possession, but running back Roger Craig had the ball dislodged by nose tackle Erik Howard, and Lawrence Taylor recovered the fumble in mid-air with 2:36 remaining. Five plays later, Bahr kicked his fifth field goal, a 41-yarder, as time expired to give New York the win.