By Darin 🏈 The Twilight of a Dynasty
On January 20, 1991, the San Francisco 49ers stood on the precipice of football immortality. No team in the Super Bowl era had ever won three consecutive championships, and with the “Air Montana” offense firing on all cylinders, a “three-peat” felt like an inevitability. But standing in their way was a bruised and battered New York Giants squad that specialized in one thing: ruinous, physical defense. What unfolded at Candlestick Park was a low-scoring, bone-crushing slugfest that shifted the power dynamics of the NFL in a single afternoon.
A Defensive Masterclass
The game was a brutal war of attrition where touchdowns were non-existent for the visitors. The Giants’ defensive coordinator, Bill Belichick, crafted a game plan that suffocated the 49ers’ high-powered attack. The most pivotal physical moment occurred in the fourth quarter when Giants defensive end Leonard Marshall delivered a thunderous, clean hit on Joe Montana, knocking the legendary quarterback out of the game with a bruised sternum and cracked ribs.
Article from Jan 21, 1991 The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Despite the loss of Montana, the 49ers held a 13-12 lead and had the ball with under three minutes remaining. They needed only a few first downs to run out the clock and secure their ticket to Super Bowl XXV.
The Fumble and the Kick
The game—and the 49ers’ dynasty—turned on a single play. Running back Roger Craig took a handoff up the middle, but Giants nose tackle Erik Howard fought through the line and put his helmet squarely on the football. The ball popped loose, and Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor snatched it out of the air.
With the door kicked open, backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler moved the Giants into field goal range. As the clock hit zero, kicker Matt Bahr—who had already accounted for all of New York’s points—drilled a 42-yard field goal. It was his fifth field goal of the day, sealing a 15-13 victory and prompting Pat Summerall’s iconic call: “There will be no three-peat!”
