Super Bowl XXV Super Bowl XXV was an American football game played on January 27 , 1991 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa , Florida to decide the National Football League ( NFL ) champion following the 1990 regular season . The National Football Conference ( NFC ) Champion New York Giants ( 16 - 3 ) defeated the American Football Conference ( AFC ) champion Buffalo Bills ( 15 - 4 ) , 20 – 19 . It is the only Super Bowl decided by one point . Super Bowl XXV was played under much patriotic fervor , due to the Gulf War . The proceedings included a rousing rendition of " The Star - Spangled Banner " by Whitney Houston . 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 ) . Anderson also recorded one reception for seven yards . However , the game may be best remembered for Bills placekicker Scott Norwood ' s last - second field goal attempt which went right of the uprights , leading to a Giants victory and starting a four - game losing streak in the Super Bowl for the Bills . It is frequently referred to as the " Wide Right Game " . Background . NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXV to Tampa during a May 20 , 1987 meeting . This was the second time that Tampa hosted the game ; the city previously hosted Super Bowl XVIII on January 22 , 1984 . The Bills and the Giants entered the game using contrasting styles : While the Bills led the league in total points scored ( 428 ) , the Giants led the league in fewest points allowed ( 211 ) . The teams had met earlier in the season as well . On December 15 , in another nationally - televised game , the Bills completed a season sweep at Giants Stadium , beating the Giants 17 - 13 , a game which was close , but would prove to be not as close as this one . New York Giants . The 1990 New York Giants were built to head coach Bill Parcells ' specifications of " power football " : a powerful defense and an offense that sustained 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 . The secondary was led by defensive back Everson Walls , an offseason acquisition from the Dallas Cowboys , who recorded 6 interceptions . The Giants ' offense was unspectacular , ranking just 17th in the league in yards gained and 13th in points scored . But 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 . 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 10 games , and then went into a tailspin and lost three of their next four . One week after losing to the division rival Philadelphia Eagles , 31 – 13 , the 10 – 1 Giants were defeated 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 major setback when starting quarterback Phil Simms went down for the season with a broken bone in his foot . Simms ' replacement , Jeff Hostetler , had started only two games in his seven years as a backup with the Giants . However , Hostetler displayed fine 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 had a very talented team with 9 Pro Bowl selections on their roster . Their defense was led by defensive end Bruce Smith , who recorded 19 sacks and won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award . Behind him , 3 of the Bills starting linebackers , Darryl Talley , Shane Conlan , and Cornelius Bennett , were selected to the Pro Bowl . And on special teams , Pro Bowler Steve Tasker was a major threat , forcing fumbles , delivering jarring tackles , and blocking kicks . But as good as their defense was , it was the Bills ' flashy , high - powered offense that gained the most attention . Unlike the Giants , the Bills routinely used the no - huddle offense 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 call the play there after reading the defense . This strategy prevented opposing defenses from properly reading the Bills formation , 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 9 interceptions . One reason for his success was that he had 2 outstanding wide receivers : 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 deep 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 5 touchdowns . Pro Bowl running back Thurman Thomas had 1 , 297 rushing yards , caught 49 passes for 532 yards , and scored 13 touchdowns . Thomas led the NFL in yards from scrimmage . 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 2 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 easily eliminating the Chicago Bears , 31 – 3 . In leading the Giants ' " power football " offense , Hostetler threw only 17 passes , but two went for touchdowns and he committed no turnovers . He also directed a rushing attack that gained 194 yards , including 43 ( and a touchdown ) from Hostetler himself . But 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 6½ 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 , with the exception of a 61 - yard touchdown pass from Montana to wide receiver John Taylor , the Giants contained the 49ers ' offense extremely well . A sack by Giants ' defensive end Leonard Marshall early in the fourth quarter knocked Montana out of the game . Despite their great defensive effort , the Giants still trailed 13 - 9 late in 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 San Francisco running back Roger Craig had the ball dislodged by nosetackle Eric Howard , and Lawrence Taylor recovered the fumble in mid - air with 2 : 36 remaining . Five plays later , Bahr kicked his 5th field goal , a 41 - yarder , as time expired to give New York the win . As for the Bills , Jim Kelly returned from his injury to lead Buffalo to a 44 – 34 playoff victory over the Miami Dolphins . The Bills jumped to an early 20 – 3 lead , but Miami quarterback Dan Marino rallied his team back and cut Buffalo ' s lead to 30 - 27 going into the fourth quarter . However , Buffalo scored a touchdown on their first drive of the period with a five - yard run by Thurman Thomas . Miami then lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff , allowing the Bills to put the game away with Kelly ' s 26 - yard touchdown pass to Andre Reed . Kelly finished the game with 336 passing yards , three touchdowns , and 37 rushing yards . Reed was also a big factor , recording 123 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown catches . Lofton caught 7 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown . Thomas led the Bills ground attack with 32 carries for 117 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns , while also catching 3 passes for 38 yards . Buffalo then crushed the Los Angeles Raiders 51 – 3 , the most lopsided score in AFC Championship Game history . The Bills ' defense dominated the Raiders ' offense , which was without running back Bo Jackson , who suffered a career - ending injury against the Cincinnati Bengals the week before , limiting them to an early field goal and intercepting five passes from quarterback Jay Schroeder . Meanwhile , the Bills ' offense set an NFL playoff record with 41 points in the first half , putting the game out of reach by halftime . Kelly was 17 of 23 for 300 yards passing , and two touchdowns to James Lofton . Thomas had 138 yards rushing , 61 yards receiving , and his backup , Kenneth Davis , tied a playoff record with three touchdowns . Super Bowl pregame news . The Bills were heavily favored to win Super Bowl XXV . Most experts expected that the Giants defense would not be able to contain the Bills ' turbo - charged , no - huddle offense , which had scored 95 points in 2 playoff games . Many also questioned how effective the Giants ' offense would be after failing to score a single touchdown in the NFC Championship Game . Also , in week 15 of the regular season , the two teams met at Giants Stadium where the Bills defeated the Giants 17 – 13 . For the first time , each player wore a Super Bowl logo patch on his jersey . This would not become a regular practice in Super Bowls until Super Bowl XXXII . The Super Bowl XXV logo was painted at midfield and the NFL logo was placed at each of the two 35 - yard lines . For the past Super Bowl games since Super Bowl VI , the NFL logo was painted on the 50 - yard line . Television and entertainment . The game was broadcast in the United States by ABC with play - by - play announcer Al Michaels and color commentator s Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf . Brent Musburger hosted all the events with the help of then - ABC Sports analysts Lynn Swann and Dick Vermeil , Musburger ' s regular color commentator on ABC ' s college football telecasts . Also sponsors Coca - Cola and Diet Pepsi had to withdraw planned contest promotions or ads due to the Gulf War situation . The game was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 , in Mexico on the Canal de las Estrellas and in Canada on CTV . Because of the Gulf War situation , this marked the first time the Super Bowl would be telecast in most countries around the world . Outside of North America and England , this Super Bowl was broadcast for the first time in such countries as Australia , Russia , and most other countries . Pregame ceremonies . Singer Whitney Houston ' s rendition of the national anthem during Super Bowl XXV , backed by the Florida Orchestra , was later released as a single , where it reached number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 , making her the only artist to turn the national anthem into a hit single . The single was also reissued after the September 11 , 2001 attacks a decade later and charted even higher on the Hot 100 , reaching number six . Former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle joined the coin toss ceremony . Halftime show . The halftime show was titled " A Small World Salute to 25 Years of the Super Bowl " . It was produced by Disney and featured over 3 , 500 local children from different ethnic backgrounds and a performance by boy band New Kids on the Block , with special guest Warren Moon . ABC did not broadcast the halftime show live . Instead , they televised a special ABC News report anchored by Peter Jennings on the progress of the Gulf War . The halftime show was later shown on tape delay after the game , although most ABC affiliates ran the first episode of " Davis Rules " following the broadcast . Game summary . To counteract the Bills ' no - huddle offense , the Giants ' used a tough - nosed , conservative plan on both sides of the ball . On offense , the plan was to use a power running game utilizing O . J . Anderson , aided by quarterback rollouts , bootlegs , and play - action fakes . As tight end Mark Bavaro later recalled , " [ w ] e came out with three tight ends , fat slobs picking you up and moving you and letting you tackle O . J . , if you could . " This enabled them to take time off the clock and limit Buffalo ' s possessions . The Giants set a Super Bowl record for time of possession with 40 minutes , 33 seconds , including 22 minutes in the second half . On defense , New York wanted to be physical with Buffalo ' s wideouts , and play with extra defensive backs to concentrate on stopping the Bills passing game , while shifting focus away from trying to stop Buffalo ' s running game . In his book " The Education of a Coach " , David Halberstam writes that one of Bill Belichick ' s specific plans to combat the Bills involved convincing his defense ( who had been the best unit against the run in the NFL that season ) that they would win the game if Thurman Thomas ran for more than 100 yards . Belichick also felt that Jim Kelly was not as good at reading defenses as some other elite QBs , like Joe Montana , were , and that Kelly tended to " freeze " what he was seeing from a series and then use that information on the next one , which meant the Giants could be a step ahead of him all game if they alternated their cover plans from drive to drive . The contrast in strategies was evident during the first period . After forcing the Bills to punt on the opening drive of the game , the Giants consumed 6 : 15 off the clock by marching 58 yards in 10 plays to score on a 28 - yard field goal from Matt Bahr . In that drive , New York ran five rushing plays and five passing plays . But the Bills struck right back on their ensuing possession with a five - play , 66 - yard drive that took 1 : 23 off the clock , including a tipped 61 - yard completion from quarterback Jim Kelly to receiver James Lofton that set up Scott Norwood ' s 23 - yard field goal to tie the game at 3 - 3 . After forcing the Giants to punt on their ensuing possession , the Bills ' offensive strategy started to work to perfection . Kelly led the Bills on a 12 - play , 80 - yard scoring drive that consumed 4 : 27 and moved the ball so effectively that the team never faced a third down . Kelly completed six consecutive passes ( four to Andre Reed ) for 62 yards , and running back Don Smith capped it off with a one - yard touchdown run to give Buffalo a 10 - 3 lead . Smith ' s 1 - yard touchdown run was his only carry of the game and the last carry of his career . Reed ' s 5 first quarter receptions were a Super Bowl record . After trading punts , the Giants were pinned at their own 7 - yard line . On second down , defensive lineman Bruce Smith sacked quarterback Jeff Hostetler in the end zone for a safety , increasing the Bills ' lead 12 - 3 . On the play , Smith had a chance to force a fumble since Hostetler was holding the football with only his throwing hand . But to his credit , Hostetler held the ball away from Smith , helping to ensure that only 2 points would be surrendered . Later on , the Giants got the ball at their own 13 - yard line with 3 : 43 left in the second quarter . New York abandoned their long drive strategy and employed a quick strike attack of their own , as Hostetler led the Giants 87 yards and scored on a 14 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Stephen Baker with just 25 seconds left in the half to cut New York ' s deficit to 12 - 10 . The Giants opened the third quarter and resumed their original game strategy by driving 75 yards in 14 plays to score on Ottis Anderson ' s one - yard touchdown run , taking the lead at 17 - 12 . The drive consumed a then Super Bowl record nine minutes and 29 seconds ( since surpassed by the Giants in Super Bowl XLII ) , and included four successful third down conversions . The highlight was a 14 yard pass to wide receiver Mark Ingram on 3rd down and 13 yards to go . Ingram caught a short pass and broke five Buffalo tackles to get the first down and keep the drive alive . After forcing Buffalo to punt on its ensuing possession , New York drove to the Bills ' 35 - yard line . But on fourth and two , Smith tackled Anderson for a 2 - yard loss . Buffalo then took over and stormed down the field , advancing 63 yards in just four plays and scoring on a 31 - yard burst from running back Thurman Thomas on the first play of the fourth quarter , regaining the lead at 19 - 17 . Thomas ' fourth quarter touchdown run marked 1 , 000 points scored in Super Bowl history ( 1 , 001 with the extra point ) . However , before the Bills ' defenders had a chance to catch their breath , they found themselves back on the field trying to contain another long Giants drive . This one went for 14 plays and 74 yards , half of which came off passes from Hostetler to tight end Mark Bavaro , and took another 7 : 32 off the clock . The Bills managed to halt the drive at their own 3 - yard line when linebacker Cornelius Bennett broke up Hostetler ' s third down pass , but Bahr kicked his second field goal to give New York a 20 - 19 lead . On the Bills ' ensuing possession , they could only advance to their own 41 - yard line before having to punt , enabling the Giants to take more time off the clock . The Bills finally forced New York to punt and took the ball at their own 10 - yard line with 2 : 16 remaining . Kelly then led them down the field with a mix of scrambles , short passes , and Thomas runs . Buffalo drove to the Giants ' 29 - yard line , setting up Norwood for a 47 - yard field goal attempt with eight seconds left . However , his kick sailed wide right , less than a yard outside of the goalpost upright . There were many impressive performances in the game by players from both teams . Jim Kelly completed 18 of 30 passes for 212 yards with no interceptions , while adding another 23 yards on six rushing attempts . Jeff Hostetler completed 20 of 32 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown , and rushed for 10 yards . Dave Meggett recorded 129 combined net yards ( 48 rushing , 18 receiving , 37 punt return , 26 kickoff return ) . But the best performances came from both teams ' starting running backs . Ottis Anderson rushed for 102 yards , caught a pass for seven yards , and scored a touchdown . Thurman Thomas scored a touchdown , rushed for 135 yards , and caught five passes for 55 yards , giving him 190 total yards from the line of scrimmage . Thomas ' 135 yards are the most yards rushing for a member of a losing team . This was also only the second Super Bowl to have two 100 - yard rushers . The defensive game plan for the Giants , written by defensive coordinator Bill Belichick , has been included in the Pro Football Hall of Fame . The Giants ' triumph helped Belichick and wide receivers coach Tom Coughlin make their names and eventually land head - coaching jobs with the Cleveland Browns and Boston College , respectively . Currently , Belichick is head coach of the New England Patriots , while Coughlin went from Boston College to be the first - ever head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars , and is currently the head coach of the Giants . Giants head coach Bill Parcells retired shortly after winning his second Super Bowl with 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 - 1996 , the New York Jets from 1997 - 1999 , and the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 - 2006 . Both Coughlin and Belichick have gone on to win Super Bowls as head coaches : Belichick with the Patriots in Super Bowls XXXVI , XXXVIII , and XXXIX ; Coughlin with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII , ironically against Belichick ' s Patriots . This was the first Super Bowl in which neither team committed a turnover . The only other Super Bowl to date without a turnover is Super Bowl XXXIV , in which the St . Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 23 - 16 . Starting lineups . Source :