1990 San Francisco 49ers season

1990 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerEddie DeBartolo Jr.
General managerJohn McVay and Carmen Policy
Head coachGeorge Seifert
Offensive coordinatorMike Holmgren
Defensive coordinatorBill McPherson
Home stadiumCandlestick Park
Results
Record14–2
Division place1st NFC West
PlayoffsWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Redskins) 28–10
Lost NFC Championship
(vs. Giants) 13–15
All-Pros
Pro Bowlers

The 1990 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 41st season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 45th overall. the team entered the 1990 season heavily favored to win their third consecutive Super Bowl. The season was highlighted by their victory over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 13. Throughout the season, the 49ers and the Giants were the two best teams in the NFL and they met again in the NFC Championship Game.

Between 1988 and 1990, the 49ers set a league record with 18 consecutive road victories. Jerry Rice had a career year by becoming the fourth receiver in the history of American football to have at least 100 receptions in one season. The 49ers won their fifth consecutive NFC West Division Title. Dating back to 1989, the 49ers completed a fifteen-game unbeaten streak in the regular season (5 victories in the last 5 games of 1989 and 10 victories in the first ten games of 1990).

The 49ers lost in the final seconds of the NFC Championship Game on a field goal by the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants, denying them a chance at a "three-peat" in the Super Bowl.

Following this season, the 49ers left team stalwarts Roger Craig (RB) and Ronnie Lott (FS) unprotected and let them go to the Los Angeles Raiders via Plan B free agency. Quarterback Joe Montana remained on the roster for the next two seasons, but never started another game for the 49ers. This would ultimately be the de facto final season for Montana as the 49ers starting quarterback, Montana would sit out all of 1991 and most of the 1992 season due to an elbow injury.

Montana had the NFL's highest salary in 1990 at $4 million, and the 49ers had the league's highest team payroll ($26.8 million).[3]

Offseason

NFL draft

= Pro Bowler [4] = Hall of Famer
Main article: 1990 NFL draft
1990 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 25 Dexter Carter RB Florida State
2 48 Dennis Brown DE Washington
2 54 Eric Davis CB Jacksonville State
3 69 Ronald Lewis WR Florida State
4 93 Dean Caliguire C Pittsburgh
6 166 Frank Pollack DT Northern Arizona
8 221 Dwight Pickens WR Fresno State
9 249 Odell Haggins DT Florida State
10 277 Martin Harrison DE Washington
11 290 Anthony Shelton SS Tennessee State

Staff

1990 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

  • Owner/president – Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.
  • Executive vice president/general counsel – Carmen Policy
  • Vice president of football administration – John McVay
  • Administrator of football operations – Neal Dahlen
  • Administrator of college scouting – Tony Razzano
  • Administrator of pro personnel – Allan Webb
  • Executive administrative assistant – Dwight Clark

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway

Roster

1990 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
47 active, 9 reserve, 2 practice squad

Regular season

Quarterback Stats
Player Comp % Yards TDs/INTs
Joe Montana 61.7 3,944 26/16
Steve Young 61.3 427 2/0

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 10 at New Orleans Saints W 13–12 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 68,629 Recap
2 September 16 Washington Redskins W 26–13 2–0 Candlestick Park 64,287 Recap
3 September 23 Atlanta Falcons W 19–13 3–0 Candlestick Park 62,858 Recap
4 Bye
5 October 7 at Houston Oilers W 24–21 4–0 Astrodome 59,931 Recap
6 October 14 at Atlanta Falcons W 45–35 5–0 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,921 Recap
7 October 21 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–7 6–0 Candlestick Park 64,301 Recap
8 October 28 Cleveland Browns W 20–17 7–0 Candlestick Park 63,672 Recap
9 November 4 at Green Bay Packers W 24–20 8–0 Lambeau Field 58,835 Recap
10 November 11 at Dallas Cowboys W 24–6 9–0 Texas Stadium 62,966 Recap
11 November 18 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–7 10–0 Candlestick Park 62,221 Recap
12 November 25 Los Angeles Rams L 17–28 10–1 Candlestick Park 62,633 Recap
13 December 3 New York Giants W 7–3 11–1 Candlestick Park 66,092 Recap
14 December 9 at Cincinnati Bengals W 20–17 (OT) 12–1 Riverfront Stadium 60,084 Recap
15 December 17 at Los Angeles Rams W 26–10 13–1 Anaheim Stadium 65,619 Recap
16 December 23 New Orleans Saints L 10–13 13–2 Candlestick Park 60,112 Recap
17 December 30 at Minnesota Vikings W 20–17 14–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,590 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 6: at Atlanta Falcons

  • October 14, 1990 – Joe Montana set a 49ers record by throwing for 476 yards in one game and throwing six touchdown passes.
  • October 14, 1990 – Jerry Rice set a 49ers record with 5 touchdown receptions and 30 points in one game.

Week 9: at Green Bay Packers

  • November 4, 1990 – In a game versus the Green Bay Packers, Joe Montana threw for 411 yards and 3 touchdown passes.

Week 13: vs. New York Giants

Week Thirteen: New York Giants (10–1) at San Francisco 49ers (10–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 3 003
49ers 0 7 007

at Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California

Game information

It was the second highest rated Monday Night game ever at the time. The game had a 42% share and a 26.9 rating.

Week 14: at Cincinnati Bengals

  • December 9, 1990 – The 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime. Mike Cofer kicked a 23-yard field goal to give the 49ers a 20–17 victory.

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) San Francisco 49ers 14 2 0 .875 4–2 10–2 353 239 W1
(6) New Orleans Saints 8 8 0 .500 4–2 6–6 274 275 W2
Los Angeles Rams 5 11 0 .313 2–4 3–9 345 412 L4
Atlanta Falcons 5 11 0 .313 2–4 3–9 348 365 W2

Postseason

See also: 1990–91 NFL playoffs

Schedule

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue
Wild Card First-round bye
Divisional January 12, 1991 Washington Redskins (5) W 28–10 1–0 Candlestick Park
NFC Championship January 20, 1991 New York Giants (2) L 13–15 1–1 Candlestick Park

NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (5) Washington Redskins

NFC Divisional Playoffs: (5) Washington Redskins at (1) San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Redskins 10 0 0010
49ers 7 14 0728

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

The Redskins opened up the scoring with an 8-play, 78-yard drive that culminated in Rypien's 31-yard touchdown completion to receiver Art Monk. San Francisco struck back by driving 74 yards in eight plays to tie the game on a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Tom Rathman. A key play of the drive was an unnecessary roughness call against Redskins cornerback Darrell Green for throwing Jerry Rice to the ground during a tackle, turning Rice's reception into a 25-yard gain. Green was stunned by the penalty, stating he didn't realize the call was against him until he made his way to the sidelines. Near the end of the quarter, Redskins kicker Chip Lohmiller made a 44-yard field goal that put Washington back in front at 10–7.

Montana quickly rallied the 49ers back in the second quarter, leading them on an 80-yard scoring drive that saw San Francisco fool Washington with a halfback option play in which running back Harry Sydney completed a 28-yard pass to tight end Brent Jones. On the last play of the drive, Montana fired a 10-yard pass to Rice in the end zone, who caught the ball between two defenders to retake the lead for San Francisco at 14–10. The team was aided by another controversial call on the drive; Jones caught his 47-yard reception in the air and landed with a foot out of bounds, but officials ruled he had been forced out in the air by safety Alvin Walton. At the time, a reception made by a player forced out of bounds still counted as a catch. This rule was changed in 2008. Then after a punt, Montana again went to work, completing a 32-yard pass to halfback Roger Craig and a 47-yarder to Jones before finishing off the 89-yard possession with an 8-yard scoring toss to Mike Sherrard.

Sherrard's touchdown made the score 21–10 going into halftime, and it turned out to be the final score of the day for the offenses of both teams. Washington advanced inside the 49ers' 15-yard line three times in the second half, but failed to score on all of them. On their second possession of the half, they advanced 66 yards to the 49ers' 7-yard line before Johnnie Jackson picked off a third down pass intended for Monk in the end zone. Early in the fourth quarter, Monk caught three passes for 63 yards on a drive to the San Francisco 15, only to see Rypien get hit as he threw a pass, which floated right into the hands of cornerback Darryl Pollard. Linebacker Monte Colemanquickly gave the Redskins another chance to get back in the game, intercepting a pass from Montana and returning it 18 yards to the 49ers 19-yard line with 10:28 left in regulation. Faced with fourth down and 5 from the 14, Rypien threw the ball to receiver Gary Clark in the end zone.  Eric Davis seemed to make contact with Clark before the ball arrived, but no flag was thrown and the pass fell incomplete, causing a turnover on downs. In the closing minutes of the game, 49ers linebacker Charles Haleydeflected a pass from Rypien into the arms of 295-pound defensive tackle Michael Carter, who rumbled 61 yards to the end zone to make the final score 28–10.

This was the third postseason meeting between the Redskins and 49ers. The teams split the previous two meetings.

NFC Championship: vs. (2) New York Giants

NFC Championship: (2) New York Giants at (1) San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 3 3 3615
49ers 3 3 7013

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

Just like the regular season game between the two teams won by the 49ers 7–3, the championship game was mostly a defensive battle. San Francisco running back Roger Craig's fumble with 2:36 left in the game led to Giants kicker Matt Bahr's 42-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Bahr was New York's only scorer with 5 (of 6) field goals. Despite not scoring a TD in eight quarters against the 49ers, the Giants moved on to Super Bowl XXV with their victory. The 49ers ended their season but in 1991 they missed playoffs finishing 10-6

Awards and records

Milestones

  • Jerry Rice, First 100 reception season [6]

References

  1. ^ "1990 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1990 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ^ Goldberg, Dave (December 12, 1990). "Forty-Niners also have super payroll". Victoria Advocate. Texas. Associated Press. p. 4B.
  4. ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  5. ^ Associated Press Athlete of the Year (male)
  6. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440
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