NFL Old School Game of the Week: "The Hit" Propels Giants to Victory over Broncos

During the 1980s, the most famous New York Giants linebacker was Lawrence Taylor who almost single-handily transformed the Giants from a bottom feeder into a winner as New York ended a 18-year absence from the postseason in Taylor's rookie year which was followed five years later with the Giants winning their first Super Bowl.

Taylor was not the only Giants linebacker as he played alongside future Hall-of-Famer Harry Carson as well as all-pro Brad Van Pelt in the early part of the 80s and then Carl Banks in the later part of the decade.

Another name in the Giants' linebacker corps as Gary Reasons, who had been selected in the fourth round of the 1984 NFL Draft out of Northwestern State, who would go to be a member of the Giants' two Super Bowl championship squads in 1986 + 1990 as he played 122 games for the Giants with 80 of those as a starter.

Reasons' most famous moment would come in week 14 of the 1989 regular season when the Giants traveled to Denver to take on the Broncos on a snowy day in Denver where Reasons would etch his name in New York Giants lore.

The Giants came into the game with a 9-4 record but had lost three of their previous four games to fall behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the race for the NFC East division title.

The Giants were led by head coach Bill Parcells, who was in his seventh season as the New York head coach having led the Giants to their first NFL title since 1956 as he help guide New York to a win in Super Bowl XXI, ironically over the Broncos in a 39-20 triumph thanks in large part to quarterback Phil Simms MVP performance in which he completed 22 of 25 passes for 268 yards and threw three touchdowns.

However, ever since that win in January of 1987, the Giants had not made the playoffs as they finished with a losing record in 1987 then had their playoff hopes for 1988 dashed in the final game of the regular season as the New York Jets eliminated their crosstown rival from playoff contention(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2023/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-jets-derail.html).

The Giants would go into the game with the Broncos a wounded animal as Taylor would be sidelined because of back spasms while running back Ottis Anderson was recovering from hemorrhoid surgery, though he would give it a go.

On the other side of the field were the Denver Broncos with a 10-3 record who were looking to secure the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs if they could defeat the Giants.

Led by one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in John Elway, the Broncos were hoping to return to the postseason after missing the playoffs in 1988 following two straight trips to the Super Bowl which both ended in defeat.

Strangely in 1989, it was not Elway that was the biggest reason for Denver's success as rookie running back Bobby Humphrey had given the Broncos the running game they had lacked in previous seasons as well as one of the top defenses in the league with the addition of another rookie in safety Steve Atwater.

With the absence of Taylor and the limitation of Anderson, the Giants were given a difficult task in defeating the Broncos which was made even more challenging with the game would be played in a steady snow with temperatures at 23 but with a wind chill of near zero.

The Broncos would get the ball to start the game as they would drive from their 25-yard-line to the Giants' 44-yard-line until they were forced to punt the ball to the Giants who would begin their opening possession of the game at their 15-yard-line.

Following a four-yard run by Anderson to start the drive, fullback Maurice Carthon would carry the ball on the next three plays as he gained 31 yards to move the Giants to the 50-yard-line as Anderson would catch a seven-yard pass from Simms to set up 3rd & 1 when Carthon get the ball again as he run for three yards to pick up a New York 1st down at the Denver 40-yard-line.

A holding penalty would push the Giants back to their 49-yard-line as Carthon would catch two straight passes for 16 yards to set up 3rd & 5 when Simms hit wide receiver Stephen Baker for 11 yards to move the sticks and give New York a 1st down at the Denver 24-yard-line.

Three straight runs by Anderson totaled 10 yards to give the Giants another 1st down as Lewis Tillman would carry the ball on the last play of the first quarter as he gained one yard to bring up a 3rd & 9 at the Broncos' 13-yard-line.

Simms would then complete a 10-yard pass to George Adams to give the Giants a 1st & goal situation when Anderson punched it in for a three-yard touchdown to end the 15-play, 85-yard drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock and give New York a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.

After forcing the Broncos to go three-and-out on their ensuing possession, the Giants got the ball back at their 46-yard-line as a 24-yard pass from Simms to Mark Ingram would put the Giants in Denver territory only for the drive to stall as Simms was sacked by Broncos defensive end Alphonso Carreker for a seven-yard loss that would force the Giants to punt the ball back to the Broncos.

The drive began with an apparent 50-yard run by Humphrey which was called back because of a holding penalty on left tackle Gerald Perry that would push the Broncos back 10 yards as they would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Giants, who would get great field position as rookie Dave Meggett returned the ensuing punt 26 yards to the Broncos' 36-yard-line.

However, the Giants would go backwards as a tripping penalty on center Bart Oates plus a quarterback sack by defensive end Ron Holmes that dropped Simms for a 12-yard-loss would put the Giants in a 3rd & 31 situation or as Parcells said after the game "3rd & Arkansas".

Seemingly content to punt the ball back to the Broncos, Simms threw a screen pass in the left flat for Meggett, who made the catch despite bobbling the ball at his 45-yard-line, then got two key blocks by Oates and left guard William Roberts to help spring Meggett loose as he dodged the tackle attempts of Atwater and Tyrone Braxton on his way for a stunning 57-yard touchdown that increased the Giants' lead to 14-0 midway through the second quarter.

The Broncos would get the ball back at their 23-yard-line for their next possession as it took Denver one play to get into Giants territory as Elway completed a 42-yard pass to Vance Johnson to give Denver a 1st down at the New York 35-yard-line.

After the next three plays netted five yards, the Broncos were faced with a 4th & 5 at the Giants' 30-yard-line when Reeves decided to go for the 1st down as he felt a field goal from 47 yards out would be difficult in the snowy conditions.

The gamble would not pay off as Elway would throw an incomplete pass to give the ball back to the Giants at their 30-yard-line with 4:14 left before the end of the first half.

It seemed that the Broncos had forced a three-and-out as the Giants lined up to punt at their 39-yard-line when Reasons had his first big moment of the game as he had the ball snapped to him on a fake punt that only gained two yards but enough for a 1st down at the New York 41-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

From there, the Giants would drive to the Broncos' 30-yard-line when with one second left, Parcells would send in the field goal unit in hopes of increasing the lead to 17 points after thirty minutes of play.

But Bjorn Nittmo's kick would sail wide right of the uprights to keep the score at 14-0 in favor of the Giants as the first half came to an end.

The third quarter would begin with the two teams traded punts until the Broncos got the ball at their 28-yard-line when they put together their best drive of the game as they drove to the Giants' 10-yard-line thanks to four straight 3rd down conversions as Denver seemed poised to get on the scoreboard.

An eight-yard run by Humphrey on 1st & goal would put the Broncos at the Giants' two-yard-line as fullback Mel Bratton tried to dive it into the end zone from the two-yard-line, picking up one yard to set up 3rd & 1 when Humphrey was stopped by Reasons for no gain to force a 4th & 1 at the one-yard-line.

The Broncos would go try for the touchdown as Elway would take the snap and handed off to Humphrey, who tried to dive into the end zone, only to be met mid-air by Reasons as the rookie running back was stopped in his tracks for an one-yard loss but more importantly gave the ball back to the Giants with their 14-0 still intact.

The Giants would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Broncos as a 18-yard return by Ricky Nattiel would put Denver at the New York 32-yard-line as the fourth quarter got underway.

After two straight incomplete passes, Elway would threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Michael Young to finally put Denver on the scoreboard as they cut the Giants' lead to 14-7 just 31 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The two teams would exchange punts until 5:27 remained in regulation when the Broncos took over possession at their 20-yard-line hoping for Elway to deliver another 4th quarter comeback.

The drive would began with Elway completing a 10-yard pass to Johnson, which was followed by an incomplete pass and then two consecutive completions to Johnson for 15 yards to put the Broncos at their 45-yard-line as Elway would hit tight end Clearance Kay for 13 yards to move Denver into Giants territory with a 1st down at the New York 42-yard-line.

Elway would then two passes to Humphrey for 24 yards to move the Broncos to the Giants' 42-yard-line as a three-yard run by Bratton would set up a 2nd & 7 as the two-minute warning hit.

Two incomplete passes later, the Broncos were faced with a 4th & 7 at the Giants' 15-yard-line when Elway threw a pass intended for Johnson in the end zone only for running back Steve Sewell to mistakenly think the pass was intended for him as he tried to catch the ball but ended being unsuccessful as Denver turned it over on downs.

Needing one 1st down to end the game, the Giants would go three-and-out as the Broncos spent all three of their timeouts to preserve as much time as possible as New York would punt the back to Denver who would take over at their 23-yard-line with 1:15 left in regulation.

After two incomplete passes to begin the drive, Elway would hit Young for 22 yards to give the Broncos a 1st down at their 45-yard-line as a five-yard run by Elway and a spike to stop the clock would set up 3rd & 5 at the 50-yard-line when Elway found Mark Jackson for 16 yards and a Denver 1st down at the Giants' 34-yard-line.

From there, Elway would threw two passes into the end zone but neither of them connected for what would be the game tying touchdown as time expired with the Giants on top 14-7 in what Parcells called one of the greatest wins he had ever had since he became the New York head coach.

Despite the loss, the Broncos would clinch home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a 37-0 rout of the Phoenix Cardinals in the penultimate week of the season as Denver would finish the regular season with a 11-5 record while the Giants would win their remaining two games of the regular season that cupped with a Eagles loss, gave the NFC East to New York with a 12-4 record.

In the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, the Broncos would slip past the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-23 while the Giants would be eliminated by the Los Angeles Rams 19-13 in overtime on Jim Everett's game-winning 30-yard touchdown pass to Flipper Anderson(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2021/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-flippers.html).

The Broncos would go on to defeat the Cleveland Browns 37-21 in the AFC Championship Game to earn Denver its third trip to the Super Bowl in four years where they would be destroyed by the San Francisco 49ers 55-10 in the most lopsided game in Super Bowl history.

As for the Giants, they would redeem themselves one year later as they would win they second Lombardi Trophy in five years thanks in large part to a key contribution from Reasons in the Giants' 15-13 upset win over the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game as Reasons ran for 30 yards on a fake punt to set up a key field goal by Matt Bahr.

Reasons would be cut by the Giants after the 1991 season as the linebacker played one more season in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals before ultimately retiring following the 1992 season after a nine-year career.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Bills Blitz Broncos With 20 Points in 77 Seconds

Buffalo linebacker Cornelius Bennett scored a touchdown and recovered a fumble in the Bills' comeback win against the Broncos.

The Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s were defined by their no-huddle offense which would helped propel the Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances.

But in week 4 of the 1990 NFL season, it would be the Bills' defense and special teams that would spark a 4th quarter comeback win for the ages as the Bills hosted the Denver Broncos.

Buffalo came into the game with a 2-1 record under head coach Marv Levy, who was in his fourth full season as the Bills' head coach as he helped turn around Buffalo from a bottom dweller to a Super Bowl contender as the Bills won the AFC East division title in 1988 and 1989.

The Bills had adapted a no-huddle offense with quarterback Jim Kelly running the show with a roster which featured running back Thurman Thomas and wide receivers Andre Reed and James Lofton as Buffalo averaged 21 points through their first three games of the season.

On defense, the Bills were led by defensive end Bruce Smith who had recorded four straight seasons of double-digit sacks  and featured Cornelius Bennett and Darryl Talley in the linebacking corps as Buffalo prepared to host the defending AFC Champions.

The Denver Broncos also came into the game with a 2-1 record under head coach Dan Reeves who along with quarterback John Elway had led the Broncos to three Super Bowl appearances in the previous four seasons.

Elway was aided in the backfield with running back Bobby Humphrey, who had ran for 1,151 yards and scored seven touchdowns in his rookie season in 1989 to help Denver make the Super Bowl that year.

Many experts believed that if Humphrey had another strong year, the Broncos could make the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five seasons.

 The Broncos got the ball to start the game as they relied on Humphrey to drive down the field as he carried the ball seven times for 50 yards on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with Humphrey punching it in from one yard out to give Denver a 7-0 lead with a little over eight minutes left in the first quarter.

After the Bills punted on their opening possession of the game, the Broncos got the ball back at their 36-yard-line as Denver would move into Buffalo territory until Humphrey fumbled the football when he was hit by Bills strong safety Leonard Smith, which was recovered by cornerback Nate Odomes.

The Bills would drive from their 29-yard-line to the Denver 38-yard-line until fullback Jamie Mueller lost the football when he was hit by Broncos nose tackle Greg Kragen who also recovered the fumble to give the Broncos the ball back at their 35-yard-line.

The Broncos would hold the ball for the rest of the first quarter and into the second quarter as they drove to the Bills' 32-yard-line until they were forced to attempt a 49-yard field goal by David Treadwell, which was blocked by Talley, who then scooped up the loose football and ran it back 16 yards until he was tackled at the Buffalo 45-yard-line.

After Thomas was dropped for an one-yard-loss on 1st down and an incomplete pass on 2nd down, Kelly connected with Lofton for 19 yards on 3rd & 11, which he followed it up with an 18-yard pass to Reed to put the Bills at the Broncos 19-yard-line.

However the drive would stall as Thomas would be stopped for no gain on 1st down which was followed by two straight incomplete passes, forcing Scott Norwood to attempt a 37-yard field goal, which unfortunately for the Bills, bounced off the right upright and no good to keep the score 7-0 with 9:59 left in the second quarter.

Following a Denver punt, the Bills would have the ball at their 21-yard-line when Kelly was picked off by Broncos free safety Steve Atwater to give Denver the ball at the Buffalo 30-yard-line.

That is when Elway hit Vance Johnson for 25 yards to give the Broncos a 1st & goal at the Bills' five-yard-line as Humphrey would run for three yards on 1st down as the two-minute warning hit.

After the timeout, Elway would find running back Steve Sewell for a two-yard touchdown to increase the Broncos' lead to 14-0  with 1:57 left in the first half.

Broncos running back Bobby Humphrey ran for 177 yards on 34 carries and scored one touchdown.

Buffalo would start its ensuing possession at its 28-yard-line as a quarterback sack and an incomplete pass would bring up 3rd & 17 when Kelly completed a 21-yard pass to Lofton to give the Bills a 1st down at their 42-yard-line.

From there, running back Don Smith would get his hand on the ball on three of the next five plays as he caught two passes for 24 yards and ran it once for 10 yards to put the Bills at the Denver 24-yard-line.

A five-yard pass to Al Edwards and two incomplete passes later, the Bills would attempt another field goal, this one from 37 yards out, which this time Norwood would make which cut the Broncos' lead to 14-3 as the first half came to a close.

After the Bills went three-and-out to start the second half, the Broncos would have the ball at their 23-yard-line when Elway was picked off by Bills cornerback Kirby Jackson to give Buffalo the ball at its 49-yard-line.

However, the Bills would not be able to convert the turnover into points as Kelly was sacked by Broncos defensive lineman Andre Townsend on 3rd & 5 at the Denver 34-yard-line, which led to Buffalo punting the ball back to Denver, who would take over at its 20-yard-line.

Two plays later, Bruce Smith would make his presence felt as he sacked Elway, causing a fumble that was recovered by Talley at the Denver 10-yard-line as an incomplete pass and a quarterback sack would force 3rd & goal when Don Smith ran it in for a 12-yard touchdown to cut the Broncos' lead to 14-9 as Frank Reich mishandled the snap on the extra point.

The Broncos would be forced to punt on their ensuing possession to give the ball back to the Bills who took over at their 20-yard-line when Thomas mishandled a Kelly handoff and fumbled the football, which was recovered by Kragen to give Denver the ball at the Buffalo 19-yard-line.

Running back Sammy Winder would get his hands on the next two plays as he caught a 13-yard pass from Elway on 1st down, which got three yards added to it after Bills linebacker Shane Conlan was called for a late hit, which Winder followed up with a three-yard touchdown to give the Broncos their largest lead of the game at 21-9 with 4:43 left in the third quarter.

The Bills would drive into Denver territory on their ensuing possession until Kelly was dropped for a 13-yard loss on a quarterback sack by linebacker Karl Mecklenburg, forcing another Buffalo punt as the Broncos would take over att their 28-yard-line with 61 seconds left in the third quarter.

From there, the Broncos would hold the ball for the next four and a half minutes as they drove to the Bills' six-yard-line when David Treadwell came on to attempt a 24-yard field goal that would increase the Denver lead to 15 points.

However, the Bills would turn the game around when Odomes came in to block the kick which led to Bennett picking up the football at his 20-yard-line and running down the left sideline for a 80-yard touchdown that cut the Broncos' lead to 21-16 with 10:27 to go in the fourth quarter.

Denver would starts its next possession at its 29-yard-line as Humphrey ran for one yard to start the drive which was followed by Elway's 2nd down pass being deflected by Bills defensive end Leon Seals as the ball would fall into the hands of Leonard Smith, who then ran it in for a 39-yard pick-six to give Buffalo its first lead of the game at 22-21.

Norwood would miss the extra point as his kick hit the left upright to keep the score 22-21 with 9:27 left in the fourth quarter.

Things would get worse for the Broncos on the ensuing kickoff when Vance Johnson was tackled at his 10-yard-line only to lose five more yards because of an illegal block penalty which meant the Broncos would start its next possession at their five-yard-line.

But the drive would only last one play as Elway fumbled the snap from center leading to a recovery by Bennett at the Broncos' two-yard-line as it took only Buffalo one play to get into the end zone as Kenneth Davis punched it in for a two-yard touchdown, the Bills' third touchdown in 77 seconds as Norwood would make the extra point to make it 29-21 in favor of the Bills with 9:10 left in the fourth quarter.

Bruce Smith had two sacks and forced a fumble in the Bills' win over the Broncos.

Following a Denver three-and-out, the Bills got the ball back at their 45-yard-line as they took four minutes off the clock as they drove to the Broncos' 30-yard-line when Norwood come on to attempt a 48-yard field goal, which sailed wide right to keep the score at 29-21.

Even though they were down eight points, the Broncos needed two scores as the two-point conversion did not exist in the NFL in 1990 as they got the ball back at their 30-yard-line with 3:37 left on the clock.

Three incomplete passes later, Elway would hit Ricky Nattiel for 20 yards on 4th down, which was followed by another Elway-to-Nattiel completion for 11 yards, and then a 14-yard pass to Mark Jackson for a 1st down at the Buffalo 25-yard-line.

After a false start penalty pushed them back five yards, the Broncos would turn to Winder, who got his hands on the ball on the next three plays, gaining 20 yards to set up Elway's 10-yard touchdown pass to Nattiel that with the extra point brought the Broncos to within one point at 29-28 with 1:35 left in the game.

Now, the Broncos would attempt an onside kick in hopes of getting the ball back with a chance to drive for a potential game-winning score.

However, Bills tight end Pete Metzelaars would recover the onside kick to allow Kelly to take two knees to run out the clock as Buffalo would come away with the 29-28 win despite being outgained 410-197.

The loss to the Bills would begin the Broncos' downfall as they would finish with a 5-11 record, the firs time Denver had finished with a losing record since 1982.

As for the Bills, the win over the Broncos would be the second win in an eight-game winning streak as Buffalo would finish with a 13-3 record to earn the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs where the Bills would defeat the Miami Dolphins 44-34 in the Divisional Round, then destroyed the Los Angeles Raiders 51-3 in the AFC Championship Game to earn a trip to Super Bowl XXV, where they would fall to the New York Giants 20-19 as Norwood missed a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal in the final seconds.