1990 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1990 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 41st season in the National Football League and their 45th overall. the team entered the 1990 season heavily favoured to win their third consecutive Super Bowl. The season was highlighted by their defeat of 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. The two teams would meet again in the NFC Championship Game.

1990 San Francisco 49ers season
Head coachGeorge Seifert
(2nd season)
General managerJohn McVay and Carmen Policy
(Since 1983)
OwnerEddie DeBartolo, Jr.
(Since 1977)
Home fieldCandlestick Park
Results
Record14–2
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) 28–10
Lost NFC Championship (Giants) 13–15
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros

This was the season the 49ers debut the stitched up authentic name and numbers on jerseys.

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 were the closest team in NFL history to "three peat" in the Super Bowl, losing in the final seconds on a field goal by the Giants in the NFC Championship Game. The season ended on quite a haunting note, because the Giants' Leonard Marshall made a devastating hit on 49er quarterback Joe Montana, knocking him out of the game. Subsequent to this, Giant nose tackle Erik Howard fought through a double-team block by 49er center Jesse Sapolu and 49er guard Guy McIntyre to force 49er running back Roger Craig to fumble by getting his helmet on the football with only a few minutes left while the 49ers were driving to run out the game clock. Erik Howard dropped to one knee and managed to turn his shoulders perpendicular to the line of scrimmage in an effort to neutralize the double-team block. 49er guard Guy McIntyre released from the double-team block on Erik Howard in order to attempt a block on onrushing Giant inside linebacker Pepper Johnson allowing Erik Howard to knife through the protection and lay a hit on 49er running back Roger Craig. The ball was recovered by Giant outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor after he beat a block at the line of scrimmage by 49er tight end Brent Jones and a subsequent block by 49er fullback Tom Rathman to position himself just behind where Roger Craig was located along the line of scrimmage to catch the football after Giant nose tackle Erik Howard's hit forced it out of Craig's grasp. The Giants took over possession and began driving to kick the game-winning field goal. They ended up winning 15–13. The words of announcer Pat Summerall, "There will be no three-peat!" still haunt 49ers fans.

Following the 1990 season, the 49ers left team stalwarts Roger Craig and Ronnie Lott unprotected and let them go to the Los Angeles Raiders via Plan B free agency. Joe Montana would remain on the 49ers' roster for the next two seasons, but would never start another game for the 49ers.

Offseason

NFL Draft
= Pro Bowler [3] = Hall of Famer
Round #Pick #PlayerPositionCollege
125Dexter CarterRunning BackFlorida State
248Dennis BrownDefensive EndWashington
254Eric DavisCornerbackJacksonville State
369Ronald LewisWide ReceiverFlorida State
493Dean CaliguireCenterPittsburgh
6166Frank PollackTackleNorthern Arizona
8221Dwight PickensWide ReceiverFresno State
9249Odell HagginsDefensive TackleFlorida State
10277Martin HarrisonDefensive EndWashington
11290Anthony SheltonSafetyTennessee 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 final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 active, 4 inactive, 2 practice squad

Regular season


Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 10, 1990 (Mon) at New Orleans Saints W 13–12
68,629
2 September 16, 1990 Washington Redskins W 26–13
64,287
3 September 23, 1990 Atlanta Falcons W 19–13
62,858
4 Bye
5 October 7, 1990 at Houston Oilers W 24–21
59,931
6 October 14, 1990 at Atlanta Falcons W 45–35
57,921
7 October 21, 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–7
64,301
8 October 28, 1990 Cleveland Browns W 20–17
63,672
9 November 4, 1990 at Green Bay Packers W 24–20
58,835
10 November 11, 1990 at Dallas Cowboys W 24–6
62,966
11 November 18, 1990 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–7
62,221
12 November 25, 1990 Los Angeles Rams L 17–28
62,633
13 December 3, 1990 (Mon) New York Giants W 7–3
66,092
14 December 9, 1990 at Cincinnati Bengals W 20–17 (OT)
60,084
15 December 17, 1990 (Mon) at Los Angeles Rams W 26–10
65,619
16 December 23, 1990 New Orleans Saints L 10–13
60,112
17 December 30, 1990 at Minnesota Vikings W 20–17
51,590

Game summaries

Week 6
  • 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
  • November 4, 1990 – In a game versus the Green Bay Packers, Joe Montana threw for 411 yards and 3 touchdown passes.

Week 13 vs Giants
See also: 1990 New York Giants season
Week Thirteen: New York Giants (10–1) at San Francisco 49ers (10–1)
1 2 34Total
Giants 0 3 003
49ers 0 7 007

at Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California

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
  • 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

NFC Divisional Playoff
San Francisco 49ers 28, Washington Redskins 10
1 2 34Total
Redskins 10 0 0010
49ers 7 14 0728

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

NFC Championship Game
New York Giants 15, San Francisco 49ers 13
1 2 34Total
Giants 3 3 3615
49ers 3 3 7013

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

  • Date: January 20, 1991
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), passing clouds
  • Game attendance: 65,750
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

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.

Awards and Records

Milestones
  • Jerry Rice, First 100 reception season [5]
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References
  1. "1990 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. "1990 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  4. Associated Press Athlete of the Year (male)
  5. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440
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