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“There was no panic,” Jumbo Elliott said afterward. “We can pass when we have to. We’re not one-dimensional.”

Even when trailing in the fourth quarter and facing a third and seven deep in their own territory, panic never permeated the Giants’ huddle.

Each of the Giants’ skill players—Anderson, Ingram, Baker, Meggett, and Cross—had come up with a clutch third-down play. Now came time for Mark Bavaro to contribute to the Giants’ incredible string of clutch performances.

Matched up man-to-man with linebacker Shane Conlan, Bavaro beat the all-pro to the outside, snagged a Hostetler pass, and made his way upfield to ensure the Giants’ eighth third-down conversion in thirteen attempts.

“He is a money player,” Frank Gifford told viewers.

Bavaro’s seventeen-yard reception put New York near midfield. Hostetler soon turned right back to his “money player,” hitting Bavaro with a play-action pass over the middle that netted nineteen. Wincing from the tackle of two Bills defenders, the already aching Bavaro—all week long, the twenty-seven-year-old addressed speculation about whether or not injuries would force him to retire—walked to the sideline, knelt on the ground, and was looked over by the trainers and the team physician. Thanks to a long television time-out, Bavaro returned to the field a play later.

“He’s the toughest guy on our team,” Jumbo Elliott said that week.

Even without the franchise’s leading receiver from 1985 through 1990, the Giants’ passing game continued to sparkle. Negotiating the Buffalo zone coverage, Hostetler threaded a pass to Mark Ingram, adding thirteen more yards. Ingram wisely decided against lateraling the football to a teammate at the end of the play: “I saw a few words come out of [Parcells’] mouth that you can’t say on television.”

Steely third-down heroics were soon needed again. An Anderson run and a short pass to Bavaro—his third catch of the drive—didn’t get the Giants much. But offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt found the situation manageable. Needing only five yards for the first down allowed the Giants the option of running the football on third down, which they did.

A simple draw play—Hostetler dropping into the pocket as if he were going to pass, then quickly handing the ball to running back Dave Meggett—was the call. Only momentarily frozen by Hostetler’s fake, Buffalo’s linebackers reacted well, filling the running lanes. With the middle of the line too crowded, Meggett bounced to the outside. He ran away from the grasp of Cornelius Bennett, niftily eluded Leonard Smith, and dove toward the three-yard line.

Although Mark Ingram flashed the first-down arm signal, the referees were not as certain, and the yardage sticks were brought out for a measurement. As it turned out, Ingram was right. Meggett had made the first down by three lengths of the football.

First and goal at the three shifted the Giants into their standard goal-line offense of three tight ends and two backs. Because their offense had historically been very efficient inside the ten-yard line, New York seemed destined to put the ball in the end zone. Although surrendering a field goal would still cost Buffalo the lead, the difference between a one-point deficit (20-19) and a five-point deficit (24-19) was immense.

Along the left side of the line, Bavaro, front-side guard William Roberts, and lead blocker Maurice Carthon cleared a path for Ottis Anderson to fire through. But a split-second after Hostetler handed off the ball, nose tackle Jeff Wright lassoed Anderson’s legs and brought him down four yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Anderson made up the lost four yards on the next play, following Carthon’s lead block up the middle, returning the line of scrimmage to the three. Shane Conlan and Carlton Bailey teamed up to make the hit, setting up yet another immense third-down showdown.

Running the ball on third down near the goal line was too risky, so a pass play was the choice. Hostetler received the snap, stepped backward, and scanned the field. Rather