Top Ten Super Bowls of All Time – Part V

#2

Giants Prevail in Closest Super Bowl Ever

One. Single. Point.  In the NFL the margin of victory or defeat cannot be any closer.  To date, only one Super Bowl has been so close.  With their defeat of the two-time defending champion 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, the New York Giants earned the right to meet the red-hot Buffalo Bills in Tampa.  Buffalo was riding an explosive offense, scoring 95 points in their two playoff games, and were led by quarterback Jim Kelly and running back Thurman Thomas.  The Giants somehow managed to find their way to the Super Bowl on the back of a ball-control offense and stingy defense, and were led by backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler, who had been filling in admirably for injured starter Phil Simms since the last month of the regular season.  The game appeared to be a mismatch in favor of the Bills, but as they had shown all season, the Giants were more than up to the challenge.  A tight game throughout, this Super Bowl featured long, time-consuming drives by the Giants offense, countering the quick-striking Bills, who would take a lead early in the final quarter on the strength of an electrifying 31-yard touchdown run by Thurman Thomas.  The Giants would not panic, and proceeded to mount another long drive, culminating in Matt Bahr’s short 21-yard field goal that put them ahead by only one point with time running out.  For Buffalo, the two-minute drill was basically their regular offense, and they ran it more or less throughout every game, so when it came time for an end-of-game drive for a win it was business as usual – only this time the clock was the enemy as well.  As time ran down, Kelly moved the Bills across midfield, and with only seconds remaining on the clock, called timeout and set up kicker Scott Norwood for the game-winning field goal attempt.  In a game as closely contested as this one was, it was only fitting that the ending was just as close.  From 47 yards the kick was no gimmie, and Norwood missed it wide right, giving the Giants their second Super Bowl championship in five years.  BARELY.

New York Giants 20 – Buffalo Bills 19