1990 Playoffs: Giants 20, Bills 19 Quiz

Answer: Tampa

This was only the second time the Super Bowl had been played there. The first was Super Bowl XVIII between the Raiders and the Redskins.

Answer: The Bills scored a safety

Bruce Smith of the Bills tackled Jeff Hostetler in the end zone after Hostetler had stumbled over another teammate. It was just the fourth safety in Super Bowl history, and the first time ever that a team lost a Super Bowl after scoring a safety.

Answer: 5

The Giants scored first to move ahead 3-0 (1). The Bills tied it at three, scored a touchdown to move ahead 10-3 (2), and tacked on a safety to lead 12-3 in the second quarter. Giant touchdowns in the second and third quarter moved them ahead 17-12 (3).

The Bills scored in the fourth quarter to take a 19-17 lead (4). Matt Bahr's 21-yard field goal midway through the final period was the fifth lead change, and last points of the game, putting the Giants ahead for good, 20-19. Five of the previous 10 Super Bowls had been decided by 20 points or more, and certainly none had this many lead changes.

Answer: Simms had been injured during the regular season

Simms was having his best year in the NFL, until being injured late in the regular season. Hostetler's admirable handling of the quarterbacking duties through the postseason made him the team's first string quarterback for most of the following two seasons, with Simms seeing limited duty during that time.

After Hostetler was traded to the Raiders in 1993, Simms had a solid season as the starter and then retired.

Answer: Third down efficiency

Although virtually even in passing yards (214 for the Giants, 205 for the Bills), rushing yards (172-166), yards penalized (31-35), and turnovers (none for either team), the Giants converted nine of 16 third downs into first downs. The Bills were successful only once in eight tries. All 20 of New York's points were scored on drives in which they converted a third down.

The most critical of these was early in the fourth quarter. They faced a third and seven on their own 26. A 17 yard pass to Mark Bavaro kept the drive alive, as they ate up more than half the period driving toward the field goal that provided their winning points.

Answer: Thurman Thomas

Thurman Thomas' 135 rushing yards in 15 carries, plus his five catches for 55 yards, would have made him an obvious MVP had the Bills won. Ottis Anderson (21 carries for 101 yards; one catch for seven yards) played an excellent game and was named MVP. But, Thomas' numbers made a strong case for him to be the first MVP from a losing team since Dallas' Chuck Howley in Super Bowl V.

Answer: Mark Ingram

Ingram's five catches for 74 yards, and Andre Reed's eight catches for 66 yards, led the Giants and the Bills respectively.

Answer: The 1991 Gulf war had just begun

Super Bowl XXV was played January 27, 1991, 11 days after the U.S. had launched the first offensive in the 1991 war. Also noteworthy was Whitney Houston's stirring rendition of the National Anthem.

Answer: 5

Most of the plays wound up with the ball in-bounds, keeping the clock running. The Bills made the most of the time by using the two-minute warning, their final time out, an instant replay review, and Jim Kelly stopping the clock with a deliberate spike with eight seconds left.

Answer: 6 field goals in 10 tries

Buffalo fans have long maintained that if Norwood had a second chance, he'd have made the kick. Statistically, they are probably right. But he missed the one chance he had, and will probably be remembered longer for his miss than if he'd made it.