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| Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler came off the bench to complete 11 of 21 passes for 180 yards and throw a touchdown in the Giants' comeback win over the Cardinals. |
There are some games in a NFL season that later turn out to be a preview of things to come for the rest of that season.
For the New York Giants, such a game occurred in Week 7 of the 1990 NFL season when they hosted the Phoenix Cardinals.
The Giants were off to a 5-0 start under head coach Bill Parcells, whose formula of a strong running game and strong defense were still being used as the Giants were considered Super Bowl favorites.
The offense was led by former Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, who was the league's highest rated passer entering the Cardinals game, and wily old veteran Ottis Anderson in the backfield at running back, plus one of the league's top defenses which was led by linebacker Lawrence Taylor.
While the Giants had Super Bowl aspirations, the Cardinals were just trying to figure out how to get their franchise moving since their move from St. Louis to Phoenix back in 1988.
The Cardinals were led by head coach Joe Bugel, famous for being the offensive line coach for the Washington Redskins during two Super Bowl championships in 1980s, who was trying to build a winner in Phoenix(They would not be called the Arizona Cardinals until 1994)with second-year quarterback Timm Rosenbach and rookie running back Johnny Johnson.
If the Cardinals could knock off the Giants, they were push their record back to .500 as they stood 2-3 entering the New York game and perhaps could their season moving in the right direction.
A player that did not figure to be a factor in the game as Giants backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler, who was in his seventh season in the NFL and had made only two career starts in his previous six seasons.
Hostetler was at the point of thinking he should retire from the NFL since he didn't feel he was going to get an opportunity to showcase his talents in New York.
But in this upcoming game and later down the road, Hostetler would showed the world what he could do.
The Giants got the ball to start the game at their 30-yard-line and it appeared were set to punt after failing to pick up a 1st down following three plays that gained nine yards.
The Giants did line up in a punt formation but then had Hostetler, who was lined up as one of the protect man, get behind center and pitch out to running back Lee Rouson, who ran for three yards and the 1st down at the New York 42-yard-line.
Seven plays later, the Giants were in the end zone as Anderson punched it in for a four-yard touchdown to give New York a 7-0 lead with 8:49 left in the first quarter.
The Cardinals would begin their initial possession of the game at their 28-yard-line where on the first play from scrimmage, Johnson ran for 28 yards to the Giants' 44-yard-line, which was soon followed by a 16-yard pass from Rosenbach to Terrance Flagler for a Phoenix 1st down at the Giants' 24-yard-line.
The drive would stall as the Cardinals would pick only three yards on the next three plays, forcing them to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Al Del Greco to cut the Giants' lead to 7-3 with 5:43 to go in the opening period.
Following an exchange of punts, the Giants got the ball at their 23-yard-line where two runs by Anderson picked up four yards setting up 3rd & 6 when Simms dropped back to pass, only to get crushed by Cardinals linebacker Ken Harvey and cornerback Cedric Mack, leaving Simms with a concussion and sprained left ankle.
Simms would walk off on his power but would not return to the game as Hostetler warmed up on the sidelines while the Giants punted the ball back to the Cardinals.
After a three-and-out by the Cardinals, Hostetler and the Giants' offense came out onto the field with the ball with the ball at their 37-yard-line.
Hostetler's first play from scrimmage was a good one as he hit tight end Mark Bavaro for 19 yards and a 1st down at the Cardinals 44-yard-line.
Following an eight-yard run by Lewis Tillman on 1st down, disaster nearly struck for the Giants as fullback Maurice Carthon was stripped of the football by Cardinals linebacker Freddie Joe Nunn, only for Hostetler to land on the football at the Phoenix 35-yard-line.
The next play was a 10-yard run by Anderson for a 1st down at the Cardinals' 25-yard-line from where the Giants drove to inches with a 1st down on the next three plays.
Instead of going with a Matt Bahr field goal, Parcells decided to go for the 1st down, but this time was unsuccessful as Hostetler was stopped for no gain, giving the ball back to the Cardinals at their 16-yard-line.
The Cardinals would go three-and-out forcing them to punt the ball back to the Giants, who got a 27-yard return by Dave Meggett to the Phoenix 30-yard-line, which was followed by a 19-yard run by Anderson to set up a 34-yard field goal by Bahr to increase the New York lead to 10-3 with 4:15 left in the second quarter.
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| Giants running back Ottis Anderson ran for 88 yards on just 11 carries and scored one touchdown. |
The Cardinals would get the ball at their 35-yard-line to start their next drive when Rosenbach got hot as he completed six of seven passes for 58 yards on a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a bit of trickery by the Cardinals as Rosenbach hit offensive tackle Luis Sharpe, who lined up as an eligible receiver, for an one-yard touchdown that with Del Greco's extra point tied the game at 10 with 23 seconds to go in the first half.
The Giants would get the ball back at their 35-yard-line with enough time to drive to the Cardinals' 39-yard-line to allow Bahr to attempt a 56-yard field goal with one second left in the half.
Bahr's kick was short and the two teams went into the halftime break still tied 10-10 with the Cardinals set to get the ball to start the second half.
The Cardinals got the ball at their 30-yard-line and went to their running back Johnson to lead them down the field as he carried the ball eight times for 39 yards to set up a 3rd & goal from the Giants' five-yard-line when Rosenbach took the ball on a quarterback draw and was tackled short of the end zone at the one-yard-line by New York defensive lineman Eric Dorsey and Erik Howard to set up 4th & goal.
Phoenix could have gone for the touchdown but Bugel decided to play it safe and go for the field goal which he got as Del Greco made the 18-yard chip shot to give the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 13-10 with 8:17 left in the third quarter.
The Giants got the ball back at their 25-yard-line where one play after an one-yard-run by Anderson, Hostetler was sacked by Harvey causing a fumble that was recovered by Phoenix defensive end Ron Saddler at the New York 31-yard-line.
The Cardinals would drive 14 yards before settling for a 34-yard field goal by Del Greco to increase the Phoenix lead to 16-10 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter.
After another exchange of punts, the Giants had the ball at the Cardinals' 35-yard-line where they drove to the Phoenix 26-yard-line when they were faced with a 4th & 1 situation.
Once agian, Parcells decided to go for it and once again the Giants were denied a 1st down as Carthon was stopped for no gain by Cardinals free safety Mike Zordich.
The Giants would force another three-and-out to get their offense the ball back at their 25-yard-line only to have Hostetler get picked off by Cardinals strong safety Tim McDonald, whose 20-yard return gave Phoenix the ball at the New York 25-yard-line.
The New York defense would hold strong not allowing a yard as the Cardinals were pushed back three yards on three plays as they ended up settling for a 45-yard field goal by Del Greco which increase Phoenix's lead to 19-10 with 5:38 left in the fourth quarter.
| Cardinals running back Johnny Johnson would run the ball 30 times for 108 yards. |
At this point, many Giants fans began to rush for the exits as it looked like their beloved Giants were going to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten at the hands of the lowly Cardinals.
But that is when the fun began.
The Giants would begin its next possession at their 23-yard-line and went to a no-huddle offense in effort to score as quickly as possible.
The drive began with a Hostetler seven-yard run on 1st down, followed by an incomplete pass, and then a five-yard run by Meggett to give the Giants a 1st down at their 35-yard-line.
Hostetler would hit Mark Ingram for 11 yards and another 1st down at the Giants' 46-yard-line, which was followed by another run by Hostetler this time for five yards, and then an 11-yard run by Meggett to give New York a 1st down at the Cardinals' 38-yard-line.
Following an incomplete pass, Hostetler dropped back and went deep for Stephen Baker, who got behind McDonald and cornerback Lorenzo Lynch, to catch Hostetler's 38-yard touchdown pass to cut the Cardinals' lead to 19-17 with 3:21 to go in the game.
The Giants could have gone with an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but Parcells decided to kick it deep, giving the ball back to the Cardinals at their 20-yard-line.
The Cardinals put the game in Johnson's hands, who carried the ball four straight times gaining 13 yards to set up a crucial 3rd & 9 from the Phoenix 33-yard-line.
That is when Rosenbach kept the ball on a quarterback bootleg only to be stopped four yards shy of the 1st down, forcing the Cardinals to punt the ball back to the Giants who would take over at their 29-yard-line with 58 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Hostetler hit Ingram, who made a sliding catch to give the Giants a 1st down at the Cardinals' 45-yard-line.
Hostetler's next pass would be incomplete by the Giants would catch a break as Lynch was called for holding giving the Giants five free yards and a fresh set of downs at the Cardinals' 40-yard-line.
Following two incomplete passes, Hostetler found Lionel Manuel for a 17-yard reception at the Phoenix 23-yard-line when the Giants ran to the line so that Hostetler could spike the ball which he did with three seconds remaining in the game.
Bahr would come on to attempt the game-winning 40-yard field goal, which he made right down the middle as the clock expired to give the Giants an unlikely 20-19 win and improve their record to 6-0 while dropping the Cardinals to 2-4.
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| Hostetler raises his arms in celebration after Matt Bahr kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired. |
While the Cardinals would go on to finish the season with a 5-11 record, the Giants would continue to improve on their best start in team history as they moved to 10-0 until a late season slump where they lost three of their next four games dropped them to 11-3.
Even worse, they lost Simms for the year as he broke his foot in a 17-13 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Hostetler would come in and fill in for Simms for the rest of the season as he lead the Giants to two straight wins to end the regular season, including a 24-21 win over the Cardinals as New York clinched the NFC East title with a 13-3 record good enough to earn the #2 seed in the NFC and a first round bye.
In the Divisional Playoffs, the Giants would rout the Chicago Bears 31-3, then stunned the two-time defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 15-13 as Bahr kicked five field goals, including the game-winning 42-yard field goal as time expired to send New York to Super Bowl XXV where they faced off with the Bills.
Using a ball-control offense that took up 40 minutes off the clock and behind Hostetler's 222 passing yards, the Giants would upset the Bills 20-19 as Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal in the final seconds to preserve the Giants' second Super Bowl title in five years.
Hostetler would spend the next two years in New York competing with Simms for the starting quarterback job before being signing with the Los Angeles Raiders as a free agent before the 1993 NFL season where he spent four years as he lead the Raiders to a playoff spot in the 1993 season, then spent the 1997 + 98 seasons with the Washington Redskins before his retirement after a 15-year career in the NFL.
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