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Super Bowl XXV was played on January 27, 1991 in Tampa, Florida. The New York Giants beat the Buffalo Bills 20 to 19.
The game
Super Bowl XXV was played under much patriotic fervor, due to the then-current Gulf War. The rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, sung by Whitney Houston, exemplified the rage for anything red, white, and blue at the time.
The game itself was a rousing affair, contrasting the grind-it-out Giants with the high flying, quick scoring Bills. New York practically ate up the entire 3rd quarter with one slow, steady drive. However, the game is mainly remembered for its dramatic final play. Bills placekicker Scott Norwood was, in the waning seconds of the 4th and final quarter, called in to attempt a 47-yard field goal, which would give the Bills a victory in their first Super Bowl appearance. The ball seemed on the right track at first, but by the time it had reached the goalposts, sailed wide right. The Giants had won their second Super Bowl, and the Bills would begin a dubious streak of four straight Super Bowl losses.
Giants head coach Bill Parcells retired shortly after winning his second Super Bowl at the Giants. However, he has coached three other teams since then: the New England Patriots (whom he helped bring to Super Bowl XXXI from 1993-1997, Giants Stadium tenant New York Jets from 1997-1999, and after another, slightly longer retirement, long-time divisional rivals Dallas Cowboys since 2003.
Giants running back Ottis Anderson was named Super Bowl MVP, carrying the ball 21 times for a total of 102 yards and one touchdown.
ABC televised the game in the United States, with announcers Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf, and Frank Gifford.
Scoring Summary
NYG- FG Bahr 28
BUF- FG Norwood 23
BUF- D. Smith 1 run (Norwood kick)
BUF- Safety, B. Smith tackled Hostetler in end zone
NYG- Baker 14 pass from Hostetler (Bahr kick)
NYG- Anderson 1 run (Bahr kick)
BUF- Thomas 31 run (Norwood kick)
NYG- FG Bahr 21
Playoffs
The league expanded its playoff system from a 10-team to a 12-team tournament. Two wild card teams (those non-division champions with the conference's best won-lost-tied percentages) were added:
- The three division champions from each conference are seeded #1 through #3 based on their regular season won-lost-tied record.
- Three wild card qualifiers are seeded #4, #5 and #6 within the conference.
The #3 and #6 seeded teams, and the #4 and #5 seeded teams, face each other during the first "Wild Card" round. The #1 and #2 seeds from each conference earn an automatic berth in the following week's "Divisional Playoff" games, where they face the Wild Card survivors. In a given game, the team with the higher seed gets the home field advantage.
These changes forced the division winner with the worst record in each conference to play during the first round.
This system was later modified before the 2002-2003 season after the league realigned the teams into eight divisions (four per conference).
Wild-card round
1/5/1991: AFC: Miami Dolphins 17, Kansas City Chiefs 16
1/5/1991: NFC: Washington Redskins 20, Philadelphia Eagles 6
1/6/1991: AFC: Cincinnati Bengals 41, Houston Oilers 14
1/6/1991: NFC: Chicago Bears 16, New Orleans Saints 6
Byes: AFC: Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Raiders; NFC: San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants
Divisional round
1/12/1991: AFC: Buffalo Bills 44, Miami Dolphins 34
1/12/1991: NFC: San Francisco 49ers 28, Washington Redskins 10
1/13/1991: AFC: Los Angeles Raiders 20, Cincinnati Bengals 10
1/13/1991: NFC: New York Giants 31, Chicago Bears 3
Conference championships
1/20/1991: AFC: Buffalo Bills 51, Los Angeles Raiders 3
1/20/1991: NFC: New York Giants 15, San Francisco 49ers 13
Trivia
- For the first time, each player wore a Super Bowl logo patch on their jerseys. But this would not become a regular practice in Super Bowls until Super Bowl XXXII.
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