Giants 15 - San Francisco 13 in the NFC Championship Game
The underdog Giants abruptly derailed the 49'ers big for an unprecedented Super Bowl "three-peat" with a smothering defense, patient offense and opportunistic play in the 4th quarter.
As they had done in the regular season meeting, New York's defense frustrated San Francisco's normally explosive offense. The game was tied 6-6 at the half, and midway through the 3rd quarter, John Taylor parlayed a long punt return and missed gamble on an interception by Everson Walls into a 13-6 lead.
Jeff Hostetler and Ottis Anderson continued to chip away with advances into 49'er territory and add Matt Bahr field goals. In the 4th quarter, after Leonard Marshall knocked Joe Montana from the game, Gary Reason took a direct snap from the punt formation and advanced 30 yards for a field goal to close the gap to 13-12. An exchange of punts preceded the Roger Craig fumble just before the two-minute warning and set up Bahr's 42-yard kick as time expired.
This marked just the second occasion where the Giants came from behind to win a post season game in the fourth quarter - the first being the 1934 NFL Championship Game against the 13-0 Bears.
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Now, to write that sentence - "The New York Giants beat the 49ers 15-13 in the 1990 NFC Championship Game at Candlestick Park" - is to traffic in the world of the ghastly understatement, the modern equivalent being something like, "There has been some media coverage of Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow."
But for 49ers fans over the past two decades, it's been too hard to write the truth. Today, all 49ers fans must come to grips with that truth:
On Jan. 20, 1991, the New York Giants gutted a fan base, essentially ended Joe Montana's 49ers career, shooed Ronnie Lott off the field in his last 49ers game and created a universe where the words "Matt Bahr," "Leonard Marshall" and "Roger Craig fumble" become the unspeakable.
How fucking awesome is that last paragraph?!
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That was the 2011 run for me. I had gone through a deep depression, the details of which I won't go into, but it was a tough time period for me. The emergence of Victor Cruz, Eli's awesome season, the deep playoff run and eventual Super Bowl win was my only solace at the time, but damn was it amazing.
That's why I scoff at the people that say "It's just a game..."
They just don't understand...
I also remember that sense of dread that we wouldn't be able to stop the Niners and get the ball back to win......and then the fumble that LT recovered...It was almost like Craig handed it to him. I remember jumping up and down in my living room because we needed to get the ball back in the worst way and we did.
Such a brilliant game!
Erik Howard rarely gets the credit he deserves for knocking the ball loose from Craig
Erik Howard rarely gets the credit he deserves for knocking the ball loose from Craig
Iron Hands. Loved MC, but he should never have been allowed to do anything but block. That was painful. I remember my dad and I thinking that Bill was pulling out every trick in his bag and they were working, but nothing to show for it.
And only because we tried to step in front for the INT