1988 Cincinnati Bengals season
After coming off a disappointing 1987 season, the Bengals tied for the best record in the NFL in 1988, secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and won the AFC Championship by defeating the Buffalo Bills 21–10.
During the strike-shortened 1987 season, quarterback Boomer Esiason and head coach Sam Wyche had openly feuded, and the team finished with a miserable 4–11 record.
Wide receiver Tim McGee and Pro Bowl tight end Rodney Holman were also major threats, combining for 75 receptions, 1,213 yards, and 9 touchdowns.
Multi-talented running back James Brooks was also a key contributor, gaining a total of 1,218 combined rushing and receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Bengals' offensive line was led by such Pro Bowl players as right guard Max Montoya and left tackle Anthony Muñoz.
Muñoz was named the NFL Offensive Lineman of the Year for the third time in his career, and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl for the 8th consecutive season.
On the evening of January 21, 1989, the night before the game, Stanley Wilson told the coaching staff that he had left his playbook in his hotel room before the final team meeting.
Unfortunately for Cincinnati, they had no choice but to leave Wilson off the roster, which may have contributed to their loss to San Francisco, in part due to the number of short yardage situations they faced throughout the game.
Just like their previous game, the Bengals didn't get much of a performance from NFL MVP Boomer Esiason, who completed only 11-of-20 passes for 94 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Bengals took over the game in the second half, forcing Buffalo to start all of their drives from inside their own 23-yard line and holding them to 53 yards, two first downs, and zero points.
Late in the third quarter, Bengals running back Stanley Wilson gained six yards on a fake punt attempt, and Cincinnati drove to score on Woods' second touchdown of the game, increasing their lead to 21–10.
The Bills responded with a drive into Bengals territory, but safety David Fulcher picked off a desperate fourth down pass from Kelly in the end zone.
After the two teams traded punts on their first drives of the game, the 49ers, aided by a roughing the passer penalty and a 17-yard screen pass to Tom Rathman on 3rd-and-10, marched 73 yards from their own 3-yard line to the Bengals 24.
On the 49ers next drive, Montana threw a pass to wide receiver Jerry Rice, who first tipped it to himself and then made a one-handed catch before stepping out of bounds at the San Francisco 45-yard line.
Then after reaching the Cincinnati 42-yard line, Montana spotted defensive back Lewis Billups trying to cover Rice one-on-one and made him pay for it by completing a pass to the receiver at the 10.
Then on third down, Fulcher forced a fumble from 49ers running back Roger Craig, and Bengals defensive end Jim Skow recovered the ball on his own 41-yard line.
Cincinnati then drove to the San Francisco 42-yard line, but after 2 incomplete passes and defensive end Danny Stubbs's 8-yard sack on Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason, they were forced to punt.
But after Esiason's third down pass intended to wide receiver Eddie Brown was overthrown, they were forced to settle for kicker Jim Breech's 34-yard field goal with 1:15 left in the half.
On their opening possession in the second half, the Bengals managed to get a sustained drive going, moving the ball 61 yards in 12 plays and taking 9:15 off the clock.
Cincinnati then forced San Francisco to punt, but on the first play of their next drive, 49ers rookie linebacker Bill Romanowski intercepted a pass from Esiason at the Bengals' 23-yard line.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Montana completed a 44-yard pass to Rice, and then Craig ran for 7 yards, moving the ball to the Bengals 31-yard line.
But after Craig was tackled for a 1-yard loss on the next play, Fulcher broke up a third down pass intended for Taylor, and then Cofer's ensuing 49-yard field attempt sailed wide right.
The Bengals took over from their own 32-yard line following the missed field goal, and retook the lead with a 10-play, 46-yard drive, featuring a 17-yard reception by backup receiver Ira Hillary on third down and 13, along with 21 yards on three carries from Ickey Woods and a 12-yard play-action sideline pass to James Brooks.
In order to calm his teammates in the huddle just before the final game-winning drive, Montana pointed into the stadium crowd and said "Hey, isn't that John Candy?"
Assuming that the Bengals would expect him to throw the ball near the sidelines (to enable the receivers to step out of bounds to immediately stop the clock), Montana first threw a pair of completions in the middle of the field, one to Craig and one to tight end John Frank.
After that, Cross committed an illegal man downfield penalty, which at the time was a 10-yard foul, moving the ball back to the 45-yard line and bringing up second down and 20 to go with just 1:15 left in the game.
But Montana overcame the situation on the next play with a 27-yard completion to Rice, who caught the ball at the 33, evaded 3 Bengal defenders, and ran to the 18-yard line before Rickey Dixon managed to tackle him to prevent a touchdown.
