Follow Us:

[BigBlueBruiser]

Erik Howard’s memories of the play remain vivid more than two decades later. The former Giant will never forget fighting through blockers to knock the ball out of Roger Craig’s hands, forcing the fumble that helped lead New York to its second Super Bowl title and ended the San Francisco 49ers’ quest for a third straight championship. That play from the NFC championship game on Jan. 20, 1991, is among the most famous between the teams and is one of many being recalled leading into Sunday’s conference title game. “The thing I remember the most was the silence was deafening in the crowd,” Howard said. “It was so loud in there and the fans were so excited. The Super Bowl was in their grasp. Then to all of a sudden have a turnover at that stage of the game and it’s over. It’s such a vivid memory.” Seven plays later, Bahr kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired, sending the Giants to a Super Bowl they won 20-19 over Buffalo. “I got over that on that same day,” Craig said this week. “It was no big deal. It was just a loss that we had. It wasn’t meant to be for us to go to the championship that year. The defense made a good play on the ball. They had a perfect hit. It doesn’t really change your life. I’m too positive a person to let something like that dictate your life.” Steve Young, who replaced Joe Montana that game, said there was talk about whether they should hand the ball to Craig or run a bootleg. “Then in the end, we obviously called the running play,” he said. “And forever more, whoever won the discussion, or what to do, was on the hook.”

Source: Associated Press