29 years ago today, the phrase “wide right” would forever become part of NFL lore after Buffalo Bills placekicker Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal with :08 remaining in Super Bowl XXV, which would have given them a historic win over the New York Giants.
Just days after the United States of America had entered the Gulf War, there was a very patriotic feel to the night. At Tampa Stadium, Whitney Houston’s emotional rendition of the national anthem is considered one of the greatest ever.
The 13-3 Giants, who had survived the NFC championship game against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers, 15-13, were up against the heavily favored Bills, who sported the league’s best offense in 1990 and had also gone 13-3 during the regular season.
The Giants were playing the postseason with backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler after Phil Simms had suffered a broken foot in December.
The Giants and the Bills traded field goals in the first quarter. Giants kicker Matt Bahr connected on his first attempt of the day from 28 yards, while Norwood answered with a 23-yarder of his own.
Bills running back Don Smith gave Buffalo a 10-3 lead in the second quarter with a one-yard touchdown run, and they would add to that lead when defensive end Bruce Smith sacked Hostetler for a safety.
Just before the first half ended, the Giants would trim the lead to 12-10 when Hostetler connected with Stephen Baker on a 14-yard touchdown pass. The Giants would take the lead when running back Ottis Anderson scored a one-yard touchdown to put New York up 17-12.
Buffalo would answer in the fourth quarter when running back Thurman Thomas ran 31 yards for a touchdown to put the Bills up 19-17. Bahr then gave the Giants a 20-19 lead on a 21-yard field goal with seven minutes left in the game.
The Bills had 2:16 left at the beginning of their final drive, starting at their own 10-yard line. They eventually got to the Giants’ 29-yard line and decided to attempt the field goal on second down with eight seconds left.
The Giants were out of timeouts, so they weren’t able to ice Norwood, but it wouldn’t matter. Norwood’s kick had plenty of distance but sailed wide right by inches, as ABC play-by-play man Al Michaels told millions watching worldwide.
The Giants did not control their fate in those final seconds of Super Bowl XXV, and no one was happier than Giants fans when they saw Norwood’s attempt go outside of the uprights.
Anderson, who carried the ball 20 times for 102 yards and a touchdown, was named the game’s MVP. Hostetler went 20-for-32 with 222 yards and one touchdown.
The Giants offense kept Kelly and the offense off the field for most of the game, holding the ball for 40:33.
Led by then-defensive coordinator Bill Belichick, the Giants’ defensive game plan is considered one of the best in NFL history. Belichick used that to land his first head coaching job in 1991 with the Cleveland Browns.
Bill Parcells, who had won his second championship with the Giants, stepped down as head coach a few months after the 1990 season.
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