Wide Right II (Super Bowl XLVI)

Lore & Background

The game is known for Bills placekicker Scott Norwood's last-second missed field goal attempt that went wide right of the uprights, starting a four-game losing streak in the Super Bowl for the Bills. The game became the first (and so far only) Super Bowl decided by one point and the first Super Bowl in which neither team committed a turnover. The Giants set a Super Bowl record-holding possession of the ball for 40 minutes and 33 seconds. The Giants also overcame a 12–3 second-quarter deficit and made a 75-yard touchdown drive that consumed a Super Bowl-record 9:29 off the clock. 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, Pete Rozelle). Anderson also recorded one reception for seven yards. The NFL in its 100 Greatest Games series ranked it at number 10.

Reader's Guide

The game was held at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on January 27, 1991, and was the last time a Super Bowl would be held at Tampa Stadium (replaced by the Raymond James Stadium). A memorable performance of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' by Whitney Houston and the Florida Orchestra preceded the game. Jazz musician John Clayton arranged the piece. ABC, which broadcast the game in the United States, did not air the halftime show (which was headlined by the American boy band New Kids on the Block) live. Instead, the network televised a special ABC News report anchored by Peter Jennings on the progress of the ongoing Gulf War, then aired the halftime show on tape delay after the game.

Did You Know?

• This was the first Super Bowl to feature two teams representing the same state, even though the Giants technically play in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
• As with Super Bowl XXI, Phil Simms, who quarterbacked the victor Giants, would notably state 'I'm going to Disney World!' immediately after the game on live television.