I think how the Giants looked at the end of the regular season was a big factor in the 'upset' talk...they had been 'efficient' on offense with Phil Simms at QB, but they struggled to beat bad teams when Hostetler took over. I think the bigger upset was the Giants beating SF on the road. Lots of 3-peat talk, one of the most physical games I've ever seen, and, really, the Giants were incredibly lucky to win. The Niners probably run out the clock if Roger Craig doesn't fumble, and Bahr's FG was a tricky kick in the old Candlestick winds.conace21 wrote:I do think Super Bowl XXV was an upset, though not nearly at the level as two others that Hoodie would be involved in (2001 and 2007 seasons.) There's the old adage "It's not how you start, it's how you finish." New York did start out 10-0, but they lost three of six down the stretch, all with Simms starting (including the Buffalo game where he was injured.) As previously mentioned, they just barely scraped by San Francisco.
Buffalo, on the other hand, started slowly. They had a bad loss early to Miami, and then needed a lot of special teams and defensive plays in order to come back against Denver and the Raiders. But the Bills finished hot, especially when they got the no-huddle offense working full-time. 95 points in two playoff games. It is very understandable how most observers thought the K Gun would keep firing.
I don't really consider SB XXV to be an upset...from the game itself, I thought the Bills probably should have won because Thurman Thomas was clearly the best player on the field that day.
Comparing the 1986 Giants to the 1990 Giants, I would give the 1986 Giants the edge simply because Joe Morris was a great RB in the mid-80's and Mark Bavaro was the best TE in the game.
