The No Punt Game is the nickname given to a
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
game held between the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
and
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
on September 13, 1992 at
Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...
in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. The game is notable for being the first game in NFL history not to feature a single
punt by either team, as the Bills and 49ers, led by quarterbacks
Jim Kelly
James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United Stat ...
and
Steve Young
Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccane ...
, respectively, combined for 1,086 total yards of offense, with both quarterbacks passing for over 400 yards. Promoted as a potential
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
"preview", the No Punt Game featured several players now enshrined in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
, including Kelly, Young,
Andre Reed,
James Lofton
James David Lofton (born July 5, 1956) is an American former professional football player and coach. He is a former coach for the San Diego Chargers but is best known for his years in the National Football League as a wide receiver for the Gre ...
,
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championshi ...
,
Thurman Thomas
Thurman Lee Thomas (born May 16, 1966) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Bills in the second round of the ...
and
Bruce Smith
Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...
, and is now remembered as one of the greatest games ever played.
Background
During the late 1980s and early 1990s,
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
anchor
Chris Berman
Christopher James Berman (born May 10, 1955), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for '' SportsCenter'' on ESPN since 1979, joining a month after its initial launch, and hosted the network's '' Sunday NFL Coun ...
regularly predicted for seven consecutive years through his alter ego, "The Swami", that the Bills and 49ers would match up during Super Bowl; one or the other – but never both – made it during that span. Likewise, this game was promoted as a "potential Super Bowl preview" by television announcers
Dick Enberg
Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including N ...
and
Bob Trumpy
Robert Theodore Trumpy Jr. (born March 6, 1945) is a former professional American football tight end who played for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1968 through 1977. He was a two-time National Football League Pro Bowler and a two-time American Footb ...
.
The starting quarterbacks for the two teams,
Steve Young
Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccane ...
and
Jim Kelly
James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United Stat ...
, had both played in the
United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
before joining the NFL. During a 1985 game between Young's
Los Angeles Express and Kelly's
Houston Gamblers
The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing ...
, Los Angeles jumped to a 33–13 lead, but the Gamblers came back under 574 passing yards from Kelly, winning 34–33 in what is now called "The Greatest Game No One Saw", due to
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
deciding to air the
New Jersey Generals
The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...
game as the sole USFL game to be broadcast that week.
By 1992, Kelly had become entrenched as the Buffalo Bills' franchise quarterback, while Young was substituting for injured 49ers starter
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", ...
.
Buffalo had appeared in the previous two Super Bowls, while San Francisco had missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years despite finishing 10–6
the previous season.
Game summary
The game started slowly, with neither team scoring on their opening possession, due to San Francisco kicker
Mike Cofer missing a 33-yard field goal and Jim Kelly getting strip-sacked by the 49ers defense on the ensuing Bills drive. After that, all other drives in the first half aside from a Bills kneeldown at the end resulted in a score. Much like the aforementioned USFL Game, Young's 49ers jumped to an early lead over Kelly's Bills, leading 24–13 after halftime. However, Buffalo would respond with two unanswered touchdown passes from Kelly to tight end
Pete Metzelaars
Peter Henry Metzelaars (born May 24, 1960) is a former American football tight end who played for the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, and Detroit Lions in a sixteen-year career in the National Football League. Following his pl ...
, the latter of which occurred after Bills defender
Bruce Smith
Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...
forced 49ers running back
Keith Henderson to fumble. The 49ers would retake the lead with their own long touchdown pass from Young to receiver
John Taylor. After both quarterbacks threw interceptions on the next two drives, Kelly marched the Bills 72 yards in the 4th quarter, culminating with an 11-yard
Thurman Thomas
Thurman Lee Thomas (born May 16, 1966) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Bills in the second round of the ...
touchdown run to retake the lead 34–31. The 49ers had one last chance to tie or take the lead, but Cofer missed a 47-yard field goal attempt wide-right with 1 minute remaining, allowing Buffalo to kneel out the clock and claim victory.
In addition to neither 49ers punter
Klaus Wilmsmeyer nor Bills punter
Chris Mohr being called to punt,
a first in NFL history, several other offensive milestones were reached in the game. Young and Kelly became just the third pair of NFL quarterbacks to each surpass 400 yards passing in a game, combining for 852 passing yards. This was the only game in to feature any 400-yard passers.
4 receivers topped 100 yards during the game, and 18 plays went for more than 20 yards, with 5 of those surpassing 40 yards.
Bills cornerback
Nate Odomes
Nathaniel Bernard Odomes (born August 25, 1965) is a former professional American football cornerback who played for the Buffalo Bills (1987–1993), Seattle Seahawks (1994–1995), and the Atlanta Falcons (1996). Before his NFL career, he p ...
was later quoted saying "You saw two of the finest offensive teams on the field today, and two not-so-good defensive teams." Likewise, 49ers linebacker
Mike Walter quipped, "I feel as a defensive guy that I have to go over and apologize to the offensive guys." Despite the perceived lack of defensive play, both teams were able to force three turnovers on each other.
Box score
Starting lineups
Officials
*Referee:
Red Cashion
Mason Lee "Red" Cashion (November 10, 1931February 10, 2019) was an American football official for 25 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), where he was the referee for two Super Bowls.
Biography
Cashion started officiating in 1952 whil ...
(#43)
*Umpire: Dave Hamilton (#42)
*Head Linesman: Sid Semon (#109)
*Line Judge: Charles Stewart (#62)
*Back Judge: Dick Creed (#61)
*Side Judge: Tom Fincken (#47)
*Field Judge: John Robison (#46)
Aftermath and legacy
Buffalo and San Francisco both finished the season strong following the game, but would both see their seasons end with playoff losses to the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
, the eventual Super Bowl champions. The 49ers would only lose one more game in the regular season, finishing with a 14–2 record and the number 1 seed in the NFC, but lost in the
NFC Championship Game
The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
to Dallas 30–20. Buffalo would finish second in the AFC East with an 11–5 record and the number 4 seed in the AFC. In the playoffs, the Bills overcame a 35–3 lead by the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
in the AFC wild card game, now known as "
The Comeback", to win 41–38. Buffalo would make it to the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
, but lost to Dallas 52–17.
Since the "No Punt Game", there have been three other regular season games with zero punts by either team. Two came in : during week 4 as the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
defeated the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
38–17,
and in week 8, as the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
beat the Packers 44–23.
In week 4 of , the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
defeated the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
42–30 in a game with no punts.
The first playoff no-punt game occurred during the
2003–04 NFL playoffs as the #3 seed
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
led by
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...
,
Edgerrin James
Edgerrin Tyree James (; born August 1, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami for the Miami Hurr ...
, and
Reggie Wayne
Reginald Wayne (born November 17, 1978) is a former American football wide receiver who played 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Miami, and was drafted ...
defeated the #2 seed
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
led by
Trent Green
Trent Jason Green (born July 9, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for fifteen seasons. He played college football for Indiana University. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in ...
,
Dante Hall
Damieon Dante Hall (born September 20, 1978) is an American former football wide receiver and return specialist who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is nicknamed the "Human Joystick" and the "X-Factor". Hall was a ...
, and
Priest Holmes
Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...
, by a 38–31 score in the Divisional round.
See also
*
2018 Kansas City Chiefs–Los Angeles Rams game
References
External links
Bills vs. 49ers Week 2, 1992 Full Game(via the NFL's official
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel)
{{NFL on NBC
National Football League games
1992 National Football League season
Buffalo Bills
San Francisco 49ers
1992 in sports in California
September 1992 sports events in the United States
Nicknamed sporting events
American football competitions in California
Sports competitions in San Francisco