Super Bowl Monday_ From the Persian Gulf to the Shores of West Florida - Adam Lazarus [86]
Rather than trying to avoid another miscue between quarterback and receiver, the Giants offensive staff turned right back to Hostetler and Baker via a familiar approach.
Back in October, the post-corner route—a receiver running toward the center of the field (“the post”), then breaking sharply downfield to the sidelines (“the corner” of the end zone)—had produced a thirty-eight-yard touchdown in Hostetler’s fourth-quarter comeback against Phoenix. Three months later, Baker ran the post-corner in the divisional round and hauled in a Hostetler pass for the Giants’ first touchdown against Chicago.
“When we got back in the huddle, the coaches called the same play we used to beat the Cardinals and also in the playoff game against the Bears. So he called my number.”
Prior to the start of the play—called “back green X flag”—Hostetler read a blitz in the Buffalo formation: from the shotgun, he could see an expanded view of the field. At the snap, six members of the Bills front seven charged toward him. Although linebacker Ray Bentley breached the offensive line, Hostetler found enough time to float the ball toward the left corner before being touched.
“The line blocked well, and Hostetler made one of the best throws I think he’s ever made because I didn’t give him a lot of room to lead me,” Baker said. “So he had to throw it on the line, and he put it there like a dart, and I ended up getting both feet down. I was so happy, I took the ball and spiked it like I did a reverse slam dunk on a basketball hoop.”
Baker’s clutch catch—in a narrow space between cornerback Nate Odomes and the sideline of the end zone—brought the Giants back into the game. Bahr nailed the extra point, and the Giants trailed just 12-10 with only twenty-five seconds showing on the clock.
“That was a very special moment,” Baker remembered. “It got us back into the game; that was the most important thing.”
The Bills, content to go into halftime ahead by two points, did not run another play. From his own thirteen-yard line, Jim Kelly took a knee, and the first-half clock expired. As both teams jogged into the locker room, one fact was clear: Buffalo had the lead, but the Giants had momentum.
“They’re not used to going into halftime in a tough game,” Giants Safety Mark Collins said. “They’re used to being 21 or 35 points up on people and coasting.”
Ottis Jerome (O. J.) Anderson stares at the camera during Super Bowl XXV. The New York Giants running back would finish the game with twenty-one carries, 102 yards rushing, one touchdown, and be named the Most Valuable Player. Michael P. Malarkey / Getty Images Sport
Buffalo’s Bruce Smith tackles Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler (#15) in the end zone midway through the second period. The safety increased the Bills’ lead to 12-3, but Hostetler’s ability to protect the ball and prevent a Buffalo touchdown proved to be a critical moment in Super Bowl XXV. Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images Sport
In the final minute of the first half, New York’s Stephen Baker catches a fourteen-yard touchdown pass beside Bills cornerback Nate Odomes (#37). The reception capped a ten-play, eighty-seven-yard drive that cut Buffalo’s lead to 12-10. Bill Waugh / Associated Press
With the Persian Gulf War just ten days old and a significant fear of stateside terrorism, Tampa Stadium featured unprecedented measures for Super Bowl XXV. A Blackhawk helicopter—the same craft used by the military in the Gulf region—patrolled the area day and night of the Bills-Giants game. George Rose / Getty Images Sport
After Buffalo’s first drive of the third quarter ended with a punt, Bills quarterback Jim Kelly shouts instructions and encouragement to his offensive linemen. Mark Duncan / Associated Press
Thurman Thomas (#34) outruns Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor (#56) to score on the first play of the fourth quarter. The thirty-one-yard touchdown regained the lead for Buffalo, 19-17. Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images Sport
Buffalo head coach Marv Levy, James Lofton (#80), Jamie Mueller (#41), Gary Baldinger (#99),