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).
New York Giants
Main article: 1990 New York Giants season
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, 3113, the 101 Giants were defeated on Monday Night Football in a 73 defensive battle with the 101 San Francisco 49ers, who had won the previous two Super Bowls and ultimately finished the regular season with an NFL best 142 record. Then, in their 1713 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 133, good enough to win the NFC East and earn the second seed in the NFC playoffs.
Buffalo Bills
Main article: 1990 Buffalo Bills season
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
Tags: alexander, Bart Oates, Bowl, Coach Bill Parcells, Dallas Cowboys, Dave Meggett, Division Rival, Kickoff Returns, Monday Night Football, New York Giants, Nfl Owners, Nfl Record, Offensive Success, Pepper Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles, Power Football, Pro Bowl Selections, Pro Bowlers, Punt Return, San Franci, SUMMER, SUPER, Super Bowl Xviii, Super Bowl Xxv
