College Football Old School Game of the Week: Miami Stops 2-Point Conversion to Preserve Win over FSU

The rivalry between the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida State Seminoles really took off in the late 1980s and early 1990s as both teams ascended to national championship contenders as Miami won four national championships between 1983 + 1991 while Florida State finished 14 straight seasons ranked in the top 5 starting in 1987.

So when the two teams met in the 1980 season, it was not a big game on a national level as it was not shown on live television but that did not mean nothing on the line as the two teams prepared to face off for the 24th time since 1951.

Miami came into the game with a 3-0 record under head coach Howard Schellenberger, who was beginning his second season as the Miami head coach after two stints as the offensive coordinator of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, including being the OC during their undefeated 1972 season.

With sophomore quarterback Jim Kelly leading the offense, Schellenberger was hoping to get Miami to a bowl game in the second year of his five-year plan which at the end he believed Miami would win a national championship.

On the other side were the Seminoles, who also came into the game 3-0 but ranked #9 in the country as they began the 1980 season ranked #13 following a undefeated regular season in 1979 as FSU would lose the Orange Bowl game 24-7 to the Oklahoma Sooners to finish the season with a 11-1 record.

The Seminoles were led by head coach Bobby Bowden, who was in his fifth season as the Florida State head coach after leading FSU back from the doldrums after winning just one game during the 1973 + 74 seasons.

On the field, the Seminoles' strength was their defense, led by All-American nose tackle Ron Simmons and All-American defensive back Bobby Butler, that had given up just one touchdown over the first three games of the season.

The Seminoles hoped that their defense would lead the way to another victory over the Hurricanes as the Noles had won the previous two meetings.

  After both teams punted on their initial possessions of the game, the Hurricanes would get the ball at their 36-yard-line as Kelly would complete passes of 19 yards to tight end Andy Baratta and 19 yards to wide receiver Pat Walker to help set up a 47-yard field goal attempt by kicker Dan Miller.

But Miller's kick would sail wide left and no good to keep the game scoreless as the Seminoles would take over at their 20-yard-line.

The Canes would force the Seminoles to go three-and-out to get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as they advanced to their 41-yard-line when Kelly completed a seven-yard pass to running back Chris Hobbs only for him to fumble when he was hit by FSU linebacker Paul Piurowski as defensive tackle James Gilbert would recover the ball to give the Noles possession at the Miami 48-yard-line.

The two teams would trade punts until early in the second quarter when running back Michael Whiting lost the football after a 10-yard catch as Miami defensive back John Swain would make the recovery to give the Hurricanes the football at the Florida State 37-yard-line.

Miami seemed poised to cash in the turnover into points as they moved to the FSU 15-yard-line until fullback Gregory Anderson dropped a pitchout from Kelly as Seminoles defensive end Jarvis Coursey would fall on the football at the Florida State 22-yard-line.

The game was still scoreless when the Hurricanes took over at their 24-yard-line with 2:28 to go before halftime as three running plays for 26 yards put Miami at the 50-yard-line when Kelly threw a bomb intended for wide receiver Larry Brodsky, who collided with Florida State free safety Gary Henry as the pass went over Brodsky's head to fall incomplete.

However, Henry would be called for pass interference which in 1980 was a spot foul penalty meaning that the Hurricanes would get the ball at the Florida State one-yard-line where Kelly would sneak it for the touchdown for the only points of the first half as Miami would go into the halftime break up 7-0.

Jim Kelly completed 13 of 22 passes for 172 yards and ran for one touchdown.

Following an exchange of punts to start the second half, the Seminoles got the ball at their 41-yard-line when they drove into Miami territory for the first time in the game as quarterback Rick Stockstill completed four of six passes for 47 yards on a 10-play, 48-yard drive that culminated with a 26-yard field goal by Bill Capece to put Florida State on the scoreboard and cut the Hurricanes' lead to 7-3 midway through the second quarter.

The Hurricanes would start their next possession at their 20-yard-line as Kelly would complete passes of 22 yards to wide receiver Jim Joiner, 15 yards to Walker, and 11 yards to running back Mark Rush on a drive to the Florida State five-yard-line that would end with a 22-yard field goal by Miller to push the Miami lead back to seven points at 10-3 with 2:08 left in the third quarter.

Miami would get a golden opportunity to increase their lead when on the first play of the Seminoles' ensuing possession Stockstill would be picked off by Hurricanes linebacker Mike Scott Nichols to give Miami the ball at the FSU 30-yard-line.

The Hurricanes would only move two yards on three plays as they would call on Miller to kick a 45-yard field goal only for the kick to sail wide left and no good to keep the score at 10-3 as Florida State would begin their next possession at their 28-yard-line.

However, the Seminoles would turn it over on the first play from scrimmage as Stockstill would fumble the football following a sack by defensive end Mike Goedeker as Charles Cook would make the recovery to give Miami the ball at the Florida State 19-yard-line.

But for the second time in a row, the Hurricanes could not convert the turnover into points as Miller would miss another field goal attempt, this one from 35 yards out, as the game moved into the fourth quarter with Miami still ahead 10-3.

The two teams would trade punts until there was 4:32 to go in the fourth quarter when the Seminoles took over at their 45-yard-line with Florida State needing a touchdown.

After a seven-yard pass from Stockstill to wide receiver Hardis Johnson started the drive, the Seminoles would gain no yards on the next two plays to set up a do-or-die 4th & 3 when Stockstill completed a 11-yard pass to Dennis McKinnon to give Florida State a 1st down at the Miami 37-yard-line.

A holding penalty would push the Seminoles back 15 yards to their 48-yard-line to set up 1st & 25 as Stockstill would find Johnson for 17 yards which was followed by an one-yard pass to Whiting to make it 3rd & 7 when Stockstill connected with Johnson again, this time for 15 yards to put Florida State at the Miami 19-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass on 1st down, Stockstill would complete an eight-yard pass to Whiting to give FSU a 3rd & 2 at the Miami 11-yard-line when Stockstill found a wide open Sam Childers in the end zone for the touchdown to bring the Seminoles to within a point at 10-9 with 39 seconds to go in the game.

Bowden now had a decision to make as the game would most likely end in a 10-10 tie if he sent in the kicking unit to make the extra point as there was no overtime in college football in 1980 or he could keep the offense on the field and go for a two-point conversion that would give Florida State a 11-10 lead.

Bowden decided to go for the win as Stockstill took the snap, dropped back and threw a pass intended for wide receiver Phil Williams, only for the ball to bounce off Miami nose tackle Jim Burt's helmet to fall incomplete and keep the score at 10-9 in favor of the Hurricanes.

Despite a bruised shoulder, FSU quarterback Rick Stockstill(11) completed 19 of 30 passes for 182 yards and threw one touchdown.

The Seminoles would attempt an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff but Miami would recover the kick as Kelly took two knees to run out the clock as the Hurricanes would come away with the 10-9 victory.

Florida State would recover from the Miami loss to upset the Nebraska Cornhuskers 18-14 in Lincoln one week later as the Seminoles would win the remaining games of the regular season to finish with a 10-1 record as they would earn a second straight invitation to play Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the second year in a row.

The Seminoles would fall to the Sooners 18-17 as Oklahoma quarterback J.C. Watts threw a 11-yard touchdown pass to Steve Rhodes, then hit Forrest Valora with the two-point conversion with 1:33 to go in the game as Florida State would finish the season ranked #5 in both the AP and coaches poll with a 10-2 record.

As for Miami, they would lose their next three games before going a four-game winning streak to end the regular season as the Hurricanes would be invited to play Virginia Tech in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

Behind Kelly's 11-of-22 for 179 yards and one touchdown performance, the Hurricanes would knock off the Hokies 20-10 to finish the 1980 season with a 9-3 record as Miami would be ranked #18 in both the AP and Coaches polls.

Schellenberger would lead the Hurricanes to the national championship in 1983, the fifth season of his tenure as the Miami head coach.

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.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Kelly + Buffalo Outgun Young + 49ers in the "No Punt Game"

Bills quarterback Jim Kelly would throw for 403 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-33 passing in the famous "No Punt Game".

For seven straight years in the 1990s, ESPN's Chris Berman would predict that the Super Bowl would feature the Buffalo Bills out of the AFC going up against the San Francisco 49ers of the NFC.

While the Bills would make four Super Bowls in a row and the 49ers would play in the NFC title game  six out of seven years between 1988 and 1994, neither team would meet each other in the Super Bowl.

The closest thing we got to a Bills-49ers Super Bowl was a Week 2 matchup that would see NFL history be made.

Both teams entered the game coming off Opening Day wins as the 49ers took care of the New York Giants 31-14 while the Bills would destroy the Los Angeles Rams 40-7.

The Bills were coming off back-to-back Super Bowl losses and hoping to make a run at a third straight appearance under head coach Marv Levy.

The Bills were one of the most complete teams in the NFL at that time as their famous no-huddle offense was led by quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, and wide receivers Andre Reed and James Lofton.

Plus, they had quarterback sack master Bruce Smith at defensive end and all-pro linebacker Cornelius Bennett on the defensive side.

While the Bills had been in the Super Bowl the previous two years, the 49ers had not having lost in the 1990 NFC Championship Game, then missing out on the playoffs in 1991.

By this time, Steve Young was fully entrenched as the 49ers' starting quarterback as he taken over the starting quarterback job from Joe Montana who had suffered an elbow injury in the 1991 preseason that kept him on the sidelines for two years.

Much like Kelly, Young had a strong cast of supporting characters on offense which featured running back Ricky Watters, who was in his first year in the 49ers' backfield, and the wide receiver tandem of John Taylor and the greatest wide receiver of all time, Jerry Rice.

With all this talent on offense on both teams, many fans were hoping for a shootout much like the one Kelly and Young had in the United States Football League(USFL) where Kelly lead the Houston Gamblers back from a 20-point 4th quarter deficit to defeat Young and the Los Angeles Express 34-33 as Kelly threw for 574 yards and five touchdowns on 35-of-54 passing while Young threw for 255 on just 13 completions.

The fans at Candlestick Park and watching on NBC would get that shootout and one of the best quarterback duels in NFL history.

The 49ers got the ball to start the game as they came out throwing as Young completed five of his first six passes for 53 yards in leading the San Francisco offense from their 22-yard-line to the Bills' 15-yard-line.

But that is where the drive started to unravel as Watters lost nine yards on a 1st down carry, which was followed by an incomplete pass, then a 10-yard pass to Rice, who was hit by Bills strong safety Henry Jones, leaving the All-Pro receiver with a concussion.

49ers kicker Mike Cofer would come on to attempt a 33-yard field goal but his kick sailed wide right and no good as San Francisco came with no points on their opening drive and had lost Rice for the rest of the game.

The Bills would take over at their 20-yard-line and would drive to their 47-yard-line until Kelly was sacked by 49ers defensive end Pierce Holt, knocking the ball loose which was recovered by linebacker Tim Harris at the Buffalo 40-yard-line.

Four plays later, the 49ers were in the end zone as Young completed a pass to Odessa Turner, who made the catch at the 10-yard-line, then ran in untouched for the 23-yard touchdown to put San Francisco ahead 7-0 with 3:26 left in the first quarter.

The Bills would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line and would quickly drive to the 49ers' 27-yard-line as Kelly connected with tight end Pete Metzelarrs for 20 yards and then Reed for 23 until the San Francisco defense rose up and forced Buffalo to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Steve Christie to cut the 49ers lead to 7-3 with 18 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

San Francisco would begin its next possession at its 20-yard-line where after four plays picked up 18 yards they were faced with a 3rd & 6 when Young threw a short pass to Turner for the 1st down, who then cut upfield for a 57-yard gain to give the 49ers 1st & goal from the five-yard-line.

Rathman would get the ball on the next two plays with the last one being for a two-yard touchdown which increased the 49ers' lead to 14-3 with 11:53 to go in the second quarter.

Down by 11, the Bills needed a response as they took over at their 27-yard-line only to have Kelly throw two straight incomplete passes to start the drive.

But on 3rd down, Kelly threw a screen pass to Thomas, who turned into a 24-yard gain and a 1st down at the San Francisco 49-yard-line.

After Thomas was dropped for an one-yard-loss on 1st down, Kelly would hit Reed for 30 yards and another 1st down at the 49ers' 20-yard-line, which was followed by another incomplete pass, then a 20-yard touchdown strike to Thomas to bring the Bills to within four point at 14-10 with 9:35 left in the second quarter.

It would take the 49ers two plays to get inside the Bills' red zone as Young would connect with Mike Sherrard for a 39-yard catch-and-run which was followed by a 20-yard run by Watters to put San Francisco at the Buffalo 12-yard-line.

However, the Bills' defense would allow five more yards on the next three plays, forcing the 49ers to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Cofer to extend San Francisco's lead to 17-10 with 6:53 left in the first half.

Filling in for the injured Jerry Rice, 49ers wide receiver Mike Sherrard caught six passes for 159 yards.

Back came the Bills with a 10-play, 80-yard drive which included another big play on a screen pass as Kelly threw a short pass to Thomas who turned into a 43-yard reception, leading to Christie's 28-yard field goal to make it a 17-13 game with 2:31 before halftime.

That was plenty of time for the 49ers to drive down and put up some points on the board as San Francisco took over at its 20-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass to start the drive, Young found Sherrard again at the 49ers' 33-yard-line, who then proceeded to run down the left sideline before he was knocked out of bounds at the Buffalo 24-yard-line.

Five plays later, Young found Taylor for a seven-yard touchdown to extend the San Francisco lead to 24-13 with 11 seconds left in the first half.

Kelly would take a knee to run out the clock in the first half came to a close with the 49ers on top 24-13 which saw Young throw for 257 yards while Kelly threw for 193.

But the fireworks were far from over.

The Bills would begin the second half with the ball at their 20-yard-line where it took them just five plays to get back into the end zone as Kelly found Metzelaars for a 47-yard touchdown to make it a four-point game at 24-20 just 2:27 into the third quarter.

Young and the 49ers would get the ball back at their 22-yard-line and drove into Buffalo territory where they faced a 3rd & 1 at the Bills' 44-yard-line when running back Keith Henderson lost the football after a hit by Smith, leading to a recovery by Bennett at the Bills' 40-yard-line.

After a two-yard run by Thomas to start the drive, Kelly would complete four straight passes as he hit Beebe for 13 yards, then Reed on back-to-back completions that totaled 21 yards, and then finishing it off with a 24-yard touchdown to Metzelaars to give the Bills their first lead of the game at 27-24 with 6:51 remaining in the third quarter.

Now trailing for the first time in the game, the 49ers got the ball at their 20-yard-line where after an one-yard pass to Rathman, Young threw a short pass to Taylor, who made the catch at the 29-yard-line, then spun around a defender as he made his way to the Buffalo 47-yard-line to complete a 32-yard reception.

49ers quarterback Steve Young would account for nearly 500 yards of total offense as threw for 449 and three touchdowns on 26-of-37 passing and ran for 50 yards on seven carries.

Watters would run the ball two straight times for 11 yards to pick up another 1st down when after a delay of game penalty pushed the 49ers back five yards, Young found tight end Jamie Williams, who was filling for an injured Brent Jones, at the Buffalo 28-yard-line, only for Williams to fumble the ball after the catch.

The ball was recovered by cornerback Nate Odomes whose 12-yard return gave the ball back to the Bills at their 39-yard-line.

Kelly and the Bills would drive to the 49ers' 40-yard-line until running back Kenneth Davis was stripped of the football by San Francisco linebacker Mike Walter, who was also recovered the fumble at the 40-yard-line.

Watters would run for 16 yards to start the drive but a sack of Young for 10 yards and an incomplete pass lead to a 3rd & 20 from the 49ers' 46-yard-line.

That is when Young threw a pass over the middle to Taylor, who made the catch at the Buffalo 32-yard-line and then ran into the endzone for a 54-yard touchdown to give the lead back to the 49ers at 31-27 with six seconds left in the third quarter.

Following the ensuing kickoff, the Bills would get the ball at their 29-yard-line to start the 4th quarter as Kelly would lead the Bills to the 49ers' 17-yard-line until he was picked off by 49ers strong safety Merton Hanks on a pass intended for Reed, giving the ball back to San Francisco at its 11-yard-line.

The 49ers would move the ball to the Bills' 48-yard-line when disaster nearly struck as Young fumbled a 3rd down snap, only to pick up and run for a nine-yard gain and a 1st down at the Buffalo 39-yard-line.

But on the very next play, Young would be intercepted by Odomes to give the Bills the ball back at their 28-yard-line with 6:48 left in regulation for Kelly to lead Buffalo to the go-ahead touchdown.

The drive would begin with a six-yard pass to Reed, then two straight runs by Thomas that gained eight yards, which was followed by a 16-yard completion to Metzelaars to give Buffalo a 1st down at the San Francisco 42-yard-line.

After a six-yard run by Thomas on 1st down and an incomplete pass on 2nd down, Kelly would find Lofton for 10 yards and a 1st down at the 49ers' 26-yard-line.

Thomas would pick up four more yards on 1st down which was followed by a quarterback sack by 49ers linebacker John Johnson that dropped Kelly for a 10-yard-loss and pushed the Bills back to the 32-yard-line where they faced 3rd & 16.

Kelly would connect with Reed for 12 yards, leading to a 4th & 4 situation at the 20-yard-line with 3:37 left in the game.

Knowing a field goal would would no them no good and the fact that the Buffalo defense had not stopped the 49ers all game, the Bills went for the 1st down which they got as Kelly found Lofton for nine yards.

On the very next play, Kelly handed the ball off to Thomas who ran up the middle for the 11-yard touchdown to give Buffalo a 34-31 lead with 3:04 left in the game.

Bills running back Thurman Thomas carried the ball 19 times for 85 yards, caught four passes for 91 yards, and scored two touchdowns.

That was plenty of time for Young to drive the 49ers down the field for the game-tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown as the 49ers had all three timeouts and the two-minute warning still to come as they would begin their ensuing drive at their 20-yard-line.

The drive started with a bang as Young found Sherrard for 21 yards and a 1st down at the San Francisco 41-yard-line, which was followed by an eight-yard run by Watters to set up 2nd & 2.

But an incomplete pass and an one-yard run by Young would set up a do-or-die 4th & 1 at the 50-yard-line with 1:47 to go.

That is when Young took the snap and ran around the left side for three yards and the 1st down at the Bills' 47-yard-line.

The 49ers would get five free yards as Smith was called for offsides to make it 1st & 5 when Young found Sherrard again this time for 12 yards and a 1st down at the Bills' 30-yard-line.

But then is when 49ers left tackle Steve Wallace got called for holding during a six-yard pass to Rathman, pushing the 49ers back 10 yards to the Bills' 40-yard-line to make it 1st & 20.

Young would hit Rathman for 11 yards, then fire two straight incomplete passes, forcing a 4th & 9 from the 29-yard-line when head coach George Seifert sent in Cofer to try and tie the game with a 47-yard field goal.

But just like in the first quarter, Cofer's kick sailed wide right and no good, giving the ball to the Bills with 54 seconds left as Kelly would take three knees to run out the clock as the Bills would come away with the 34-31 win.

In all, the two teams combined for 67 points and 1, 084 yards of total offense as both  quarterbacks would throw for over 400 yards in the first game in NFL history where neither team punted the football.

A rematch seemed plausible as the 49ers would finish the regular season with the best record in the league at 14-2 to earn home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs while the Bills would lose three of their final five games to finish with a 11-5 record earning them a Wild Card spot.

It was in the Wild Card round where the Bills famously pulled off the greatest comeback in NFL history as Frank Reich, filling for an injured Kelly, lead the Bills back from a 35-3 deficit to a 41-38 overtime win over the Houston Oilers, then lead Buffalo to a 24-3 upset win over the AFC's #1 seed, the Pittsburgh Steelers while the 49ers defeated the Washington Redskins 20-13 in the Divisional Round as both teams earned trips to their respective conference championship games.

Kelly would return for the Bills as they knocked off the Miami Dolphins 29-10 to win thier third straight AFC title but the 49ers fell to the Dallas Cowboys 30-20 in the NFC Championship Game as the Cowboys advanced to Super Bowl XXVII where they would destroy the Bills 52-17.

The Bills and 49ers would again make it all the way to the championship round the following season with the Bills knocking off the Kansas City Chiefs, who had traded for Montana in the offseason, 30-13 in the AFC Title Game while the 49ers lost to the Cowboys 38-21 in the NFC Title Game.

The 49ers would finally get past the Cowboys in the 1994 NFC Championship Game to advance to the Super Bowl but the Bills were not there as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1987.

So while Berman's dream of a Bills-49ers Super Bowl never came, he still has this classic to watch over and over again.