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1990 NFL

1990 Los Angeles Raiders: Ending A Playoff Drought

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After a great run through the 1970s and the first part of the 1980s—a stretch that included three Super Bowl victories—the proud Raider franchise was in a bit of a dry spell. The 1990 Los Angeles Raiders came into the season looking to snap a four-year postseason drought. They did just that in the first full season under head coach Art Shell, reaching the AFC Championship Game.

Shell, who had been a Hall of Fame offensive tackle, on some of the best Raider teams, had taken over midstream in 1989. Inheriting a 1-3 team, Shell went 7-5 and created some optimism for the ’90 season. That optimism would be fueled this year by a defense that ranked seventh in the NFL in points allowed.

The front four was the key to the defensive success. Greg Townsend was a Pro Bowler at one end, with 12 ½ sacks. On other end, Howie Long’s best years were behind him, but the future Hall of Famer was still productive at age 30. Scott Davis recorded ten more sacks coming up the middle.

The Raider offense had two more Pro Bowlers in the trenches. Steve Wisniewski was in his second year at left guard and beginning a long and productive career. Don Mosebar was one of the league’s top center. They paved the way for a running game that included another future Hall of Fame player in Marcus Allen.

Allen ran for nearly 700 yards. That figure is low, because he had to share duty with someone who was doing a little moonlighting. Bo Jackson spent the first month of the football season playing baseball in Kansas City. After he got to the Raiders in October, Bo averaged 5.6 yards per carry and made the Pro Bowl.

Jay Schroeder was at quarterback and he had the big downfield arm that owner Al Davis traditionally loved. Even though Schroeder’s 55 percent completion rate was below average, his 8.5 yards-per-attempt was the best in the NFL. And with a 19-9 TD/INT ratio, he was pretty good at steering clear of mistakes. He had big play threats in Mervyn Fernandez and Willie Gault. And the Raider offense was a respectable 13th for points scored.

The Raiders’ ancient rival, the Denver Broncos, had been to the Super Bowl three of the past four seasons, and they were coming to the Los Angeles Coliseum to open the 1990 campaign. L.A. trailed 6-0 at the half. But they got two defensive touchdowns in the third quarter. Four sacks—two from Long—helped put away the 14-9 win.

Los Angeles went on the road to play Seattle. Prior to the realignment of 2002, the Seahawks were an AFC West team, along with the division’s four current occupants. The Seahawks were a respectable team in 1990. And the Raider offense was again extremely sluggish. They trailed 10-3 after three quarters. Schroeder finally opened up. He threw a touchdown pass to Fernandez and finished the day 10/17 for 236 yards. The Raiders pulled out a 17-13 road win in the old Kingdome.

Pittsburgh had gone to the playoffs in 1989 and would contend to the final week this season. The Raiders led 6-3 after three quarters, keyed by two sacks from outside linebacker Aaron Wallace. A TD run from Allen gave them some breathing room and a 66-yard Schroeder-to-Fernandez scoring strike sealed the 20-3 win.

They still hadn’t scored an offensive touchdown prior to the fourth quarter. But with the defense playing this well, it wasn’t coming back to bite. Facing a good Chicago Bears team, Wallace got two more sacks and the Raiders finished with six sacks overall. Townsend recovered a fumble for a touchdown and L.A.s 24-10 win pushed the record to 4-0.

It set up a big game at Buffalo, one of the AFC’s top teams. This time the offense got off to a better start and the Raiders took a 24-14 lead. This time it was L.A.’s opponent doing all the strange scoring in the fourth quarter. The Raiders allowed a blocked punt to be returned for one score. They lost three fumbles for the day and one of them was taken to the house in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles took their first loss, 38-24.

Schroeder came out firing back home against Seattle. He went 19/26 for 235 yards and no mistakes. Three early touchdown passes put the Raiders up 21-0 and they hung on to win 24-17. That set the stage for Bo to make his season debut at home against San Diego. He carried twelve times for 53 yards, a couple scores and the Raiders won again, 24-9. They were going into the bye week at 6-1 and riding high.

With Denver going through a down year, Kansas City had emerged as the primary challenger for L.A. in the AFC West. The Raiders and Chiefs would play twice in the next four weeks.

The first game in KC on the first weekend in November was a defensive war. What the Raiders could not overcome was sloppiness. They lost the turnover margin 3-1 and committed eleven penalties. The result was a 9-7 loss. That was followed by a poor showing at home against mediocre Green Bay. The Raiders were flagged ten more times, committed four more turnovers and watched an early 13-3 lead disappear, turning into a 29-16 loss.

A road trip to playoff-bound Miami on Monday Night was now an even bigger game for L.A. And they responded. Bo and Marcus combined to pound away on the ground, gaining 99 and 79 yards respectively. The Raider defense held the Dolphins to 14 yards on the ground. Dan Marino was kept firmly in check. Los Angeles got a big 13-10 win.

The good running continued when Kansas City rolled into the Coliseum on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The Raiders’ ground edge was 155-97. Schroeder made big plays, turning nine completions into 202 yards. But he was also sacked five times. They Raiders turned the ball over three times while forcing none. The defense did not play well. And it created a 27-24 loss.

Los Angeles and Kansas City were tied for first at 7-4 and of course the Raiders had lost the tiebreaker. The good news was that prior to this season, the NFL had expanded the number of wild-card berths per conference from 2 to 3 (each conference had just three divisions prior to 2002). Miami and Buffalo were having big years in the AFC East and the runner-up would claim one berth. There were three teams in the AFC Central jousting at 6-5. The Raiders/Chiefs runner-up was in good position to snag a wild-card.

So long as they took care of business that is. And that’s what the Raiders starting doing. They went to Denver. Gault caught nine balls for 99 yards. Bo ripped off a big 62-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 23-20 win.

A Monday Night visit to Detroit set up a running back battle between Bo and the great Barry Sanders. Both were ready. Bo went for 129 yards. Barry went off for 176. Schroeder was the difference. He went 12/19 for 195 yards and threw a couple second-half TD passes to help bring the Raiders from behind. They won a shootout 38-31.

At 9-4, L.A. was now very comfortable for getting into the playoffs. Kansas City was still holding serve, at 9-4 themselves. Both teams would play contenders from the AFC Central on December 16. In the early afternoon window, the Chiefs lost in Houston. Los Angeles took the field in the 4 PM ET window against Cincinnati, knowing the division was now theirs for the taking.

Schroeder went 10/20 for 163 yards, with three touchdowns and no mistakes. Bo’s eight carries went for 117 yards. The Raiders won 24-7. They went to Minnesota the following Saturday. In the late afternoon against a collapsing opponent, Schroeder threw a 17-yard TD pass to Fernandez and a 47-yard strike to Sam Graddy. The Raiders took a quick 14-0 lead, later went ahead 28-10, and then held on to win 28-24.

A home date with San Diego was all that stood between L.A. and the division crown, one that would net them the 2-seed and a first-round playoff bye. For three quarters, the Raider offense reverted to September form. They weren’t running the ball and trailed 12-10. To lose a game where they were a 10 ½ point home favorite would be a disaster that would drop them to the 5-seed and make the first playoff game next week in Miami.

Schroeder was still stretching the field and his 11/22 line went for 162 yards. He played mistake-free. The Raiders got the fourth-quarter touchdown they needed and clinched the division with a 17-12 win.

After a week off, the Raiders ended up with a rematch against the Bengals. Bo would carry the ball six times for 77 yards, but the last one was a disaster. Even though it went for over thirty yards, he badly injured his hip on the tackle. This generational talent was not only lost for the rest of the season, but his football career was over. And his baseball career never regained its former allure.

In the short-term, L.A. was in a tough fight that was tied 10-10 in the fourth quarter. What they still had was Marcus Allen and the great veteran always did seem to save his best games for the biggest moments. Today he carried 21 times for 140 yards. Schroeder found tight end Ethan Horton for a 41-yard touchdown pass to get the lead. Townsend’s three sacks helped make it stand up. An insurance field goal wrapped up the 20-10 win.

Another trip to Buffalo was at hand. The Bills were surging and installed as a seven-point favorite. To say this game didn’t go well for the Raiders…well, that does understate the case. Schroeder was awful, going 13/31 for 150 yards and five picks. There was no running game, because when you fall behind 41-3 by halftime, there really isn’t room for running the football. The final ended up 51-3. At the time, the margin of defeat was the worst in playoff history. It’s since been eclipsed, but remains the worst rout in a conference championship game.

That’s an unfortunate ending, because the bigger picture is that Raider football was back. And while Shell would never again have a team this good, it was the start of a nice stretch where the franchise made the postseason three times in four years.

1990 New Orleans Saints: A Series Of Fortunate Events

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After earning the franchise’s first-ever playoff berth in 1987, the New Orleans Saints had gone through modest decline. Off an 11-win campaign in ’87, the Saints won 10 games in 1988 and went 9-7 in 1989. But they were left out of the playoff party both times. The 1990 New Orleans Saints continued the decline in terms of W-L record. But a series of well-time events got them back into the playoffs.

New Orleans was wracked by quarterback controversy. Bobby Hebert was the established starter, but a contract dispute would keep him out for the entire 1990 season. The Saints tried backup John Fourcade, but without success. They swung an early season trade to get Steve Walsh. While that provided for some improvement, Walsh’s numbers of 54% completion rate, 6.0 yards-per-attempt and 12/13 TD-INT ratio were still subpar.

Eric Martin was the best receiver, catching 63 passes for over 900 yards. But there was a steep drop in production after him. The Saints weren’t going to win games throwing the football.

Nor were they going to do so by running it. Craig Heyward and Reuben Mayes were both respectable enough, sharing duties and each rushing for over 500 yards. There was no Pro Bowl talent on the offensive line. And the Saints’ offense ranked 22nd in what was then a 28-team NFL for points scored.

Where New Orleans did win games was on defense. This was the side of the ball where head coach Jim Mora came from. It was where the Saints had two Pro Bowl linebackers in Vaughn Johnson and the great Pat Swilling, who recorded eleven sacks. The New Orleans defense ranked a solid eighth in the league for points allowed.

The season started off with a big-time test—the two-time defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers came to the Superdome for Monday Night Football. In this era, the 49ers were a division rival. Prior to the realignment of 2002, the Saints and Atlanta Falcons were in the NFC West, along San Francisco and the L.A. Rams.

The New Orleans defense played well and kept a potent attack led by Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana under control. But Fourcade was awful, going 12/34 for 186 yards and throwing three interceptions. The Saints turned it over five times on the night and took a tough 13-12 loss.

It was more of the same at Minnesota a week later. Facing a team that had been in the playoffs three years’ running, Fourcade again threw three picks. The offense as a whole again turned it over five times. This week they added ten penalties to the mix. And this week, the defense did not play well in a humiliating 32-3 loss on the late Sunday afternoon stage.

New Orleans desperately needed a win and a bad Phoenix Cardinals team came in for Week 3. With no offense, the game was tied 7-7 in the third quarter. But Mayes was running well today. He went for 99 yards on 16 carries, including three touchdowns down the stretch. The Saints pulled away to a 28-7 win and were off the schneid going into an early bye week.

Fourcade came out of the bye and played well in Atlanta. He got the scoring started with a 68-yard TD strike to Floyd Turner. Fourcade went 10/17 for 235 yards, with no mistakes. He had the Saints ahead 24-21 and driving for a potential insurance touchdown. But that drive bogged down inside the 10-yard line and ended with a field goal. The Falcons scored a late touchdown and handed New Orleans a 28-27 loss.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys had two young quarterbacks. They were clearly going with Troy Aikman. But Walsh was also well-regarded. With the Saints desperate, the Cowboys milked New Orleans for three high draft picks. Even though it was smaller in scope than Dallas’ famous trade of Herschel Walker to Minnesota a year earlier, you can argue that was even more one-sided. Because Walker was at least a pretty good NFL player. Walsh was never more than what he would be this year, which was a modestly competent backup if your legitimate starter is out with an injury (or contract dispute).

Anyway, Walsh did play well in his debut, a home game with lowly Cleveland. He went 15/26 for 243 yards. Martin caught eight balls for 153 yards. The Saints led 25-6 in the fourth quarter and held on to win 25-20.

But the offense quickly reverted to type over the next two weeks. They went to the playoff-bound Houston Oilers, fell behind 20-3 after three quarters and lost 20-10. In a home game with lowly Detroit, Walsh was unable to get the ball down the field and also threw three interceptions. A game that was tied 10-10 in the third quarter ended up a 27-10 loss. That’s in spite of the defense holding Detroit’s outstanding runner, Barry Sanders, to ten yards on the ground.

At 2-5, this was looking like one big lost season. But the NFL had just expanded its postseason from 5 teams per conference to 6. The NFC was top-heavy, with a lot of mediocrity around the playoff bubble. And the Saints got back in the race.

The running game unleashed at home against playoff-bound Cincinnati. Both Heyward and Mayes went for 100-plus yards in a 21-7 win. Heyward tacked on 155 more in a 35-7 rout of a bad Tampa Bay team. The record was up to 4-5.

Walsh played well at Washington, where the Redskins, bound for the postseason themselves. He went 23/38 for 274 yards. But losing the turnover battle 4-1 meant the Saints lost the football game 31-17. Atlanta’s return visit to New Orleans was a defensive battle. Heyward ran for 88 yards. Trailing 7-3 in the fourth quarter, Walsh found Martin a six-yard scoring toss to pull out a 10-7 win.

It set up a road game at Dallas on the first Sunday of December. It was Walsh’s return home. And more important, the Cowboys were one of several teams that were trying to get traction in the push for the 6-seed. New Orleans took a 10-0 lead by the second quarter. But they bogged down after that. In a game that was played pretty evenly both ways, the Saints lost 17-13.

They were 5-7 as the season turned into its final quarter. The Vikings and Green Bay Packers were tied for the lead in the race for the final playoff berth at 6-6. The Cowboys were nestled in between at 6-7. The standings said the Saints had a chance. But they had head-to-head losses to Minnesota and Dallas. New Orleans trailed Green Bay in conference record. If the Saints were going to qualify, it wouldn’t be via tiebreaker.

When they went to Los Angeles and trailed the Rams 20-10 in the third quarter, it looked like the faint playoff hopes would finally be put of their misery. Then backup running back Gill Fenerty took off on a 60-yard touchdown run. Walsh threw a short TD pass to Martin. The Saints won 24-20. The Vikings and Packers lost. With the Cowboys on a bye, there was now a four-way tie at 6-7.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were another team on the playoff bubble. Their visit to New Orleans turned into a complete display of defensive dominance both ways. Walsh went 8/26 for 95 yards. The Steeler attack fared no better. The only scoring came on five field goals and four of them were from over 40 yards. But the Steelers had three of those field goals.

The 9-6 loss was another moment that should have ended New Orleans hopes. But Minnesota and Green Bay were both in the throes of a full-scale meltdown. Both lost and neither would win again this season. The Cowboys had won to go to 7-7. The standings said they were in control. But early the following week, Aikman was knocked out for the year. Dallas had no viable backup. As it turns out, getting Walsh was huge for the Saints, if only to get him away from the Cowboys.

There was still this little matter of needing to win their remaining games. And one of them was at San Francisco. The 49ers had locked up the 1-seed. They were resting Montana. Although facing backup Steve Young really didn’t qualify as a major break. New Orleans was still a nine-point underdog. But they recovered four fumbles and got a couple sacks from defensive lineman Renaldo Turnbull. A 13-10 win, coupled with a Dallas loss, kept the season alive.

The season finale with the Rams was on Monday Night. So the Saints watched on Sunday as the Cowboy offensive collapse continued. Playing without Aikman, Dallas scored only 10 points combined in the final two weeks. They lost again in the finale. New Orleans now controlled their own fate.

Walsh came out and threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Turner to get the scoring started. A short TD run by Heyward made the lead 14-3 in the second quarter. It had the feel of a night where the party could start early. But Los Angeles didn’t quit. The Rams chipped away and tied the game 17-all in the fourth quarter. Walsh led one final drive.

The Saints reached the 12-yard line in the closing seconds. Their Hall of Fame kicker, Morten Andersen, trotted on for the kick that would send them to the playoffs. It was blocked.

Except there was a flag on the field. Offsides on the Rams. Andersen got another chance. The 24-yarder was good. The ending to the finale was like the season itself—nothing that looked particularly pretty, but enough to put you in the postseason.

New Orleans went on to play Mike Ditka’s Chicago Bears. Playing in the late afternoon on Sunday, the temperatures were down to nine degrees with the wind chill and it was a defense-oriented game. An early 10-0 deficit was too much to overcome. Field goals kept the Saints within 10-3 and then 13-6. But Walsh only went 6/16 for 74 yards. Fourcade came in and went 5/18 for 79 yards. They were outrushed 189-65 and finally lost 16-6.

The season was over. It wasn’t a great year by any stretch. But it was a playoff year. Hebert came back the following season. And this was the start of a four-year stretch where the Saints got into the postseason three times.

1990 Dallas Cowboys: An Emerging Dynasty’s Embryonic Moment

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It was the second year of the Jimmy Johnson era in Dallas. The first year had gone inauspiciously to say the least—a 1-15 finish. The 1990 Dallas Cowboys showed signs of life, staying in contention for the playoffs to the final week of the season and setting the stage for a great era in franchise history.

The Dallas personnel was still a mix of the too old and the still-developing. Troy Aikman was in his second year at quarterback and while he made progress, the mistakes were still too frequent—an 11-18 TD/INT ratio. Michael Irvin, a future Hall of Fame wide receiver, only caught 20 balls—though he averaged better than twenty yards a pop.

Aikman and Irvin were two parts of what became known as “The Big Three” in Cowboy lore. The third element was rookie running back Emmitt Smith and he made an immediate splash. Smith ran for over 900 yards, won Offensive Rookie of the Year and was the team’s only Pro Bowl selection.

Even though no other players were Pro Bowl-bound in 1990, Johnson continued to develop talent like tight end Jay Novacek, center Mark Stepnoski, right tackle Nate Newton and linebacker Jack Del Rio.

The signs of progress came early. Dallas beat San Diego 17-14 to start the season. They swept a pair of October games with Tampa Bay (the schedule formula prior to 2002 had a conference’s two fifth-place teams playing twice the following season).

Nor were the early losses that disturbing—Dallas dropped three games to NFC East playoff teams in the Giants and Redskins. Two of the three were competitive. The only real disappointment of the first seven weeks was a 20-3 loss at the mediocre Phoenix Cardinals.

The Cowboys dropped another tough game to a future playoff team, a 21-20 decision at home to the Eagles and appeared to hit a wall. Dallas lost 24-9 at a bad New York Jets team and were predictably manhandled at home by the two-time defending champion San Francisco 49ers, 24-6.

With a record of 3-7, a full-scale meltdown that would obscure the early season progress was a real possibility. Instead, the next four games were when Johnson’s Cowboys showed their mettle.

Dallas traveled west to play the Los Angeles Rams, on hard times in 1990, but coming off a strong seven-year run. Emmitt rushed for 154 yards, winning a ground battle with Ram back Cleveland Gary, who ran for 103. The game was tied 21-21 into the fourth quarter before the Cowboys got a field goal that won it.

A bigger breakout game came on Thanksgiving Day against Washington. Emmitt rolled up 132 yards on the ground, while the Redskins got away from their own traditionally strong rushing attack. The result was a 27-17 win for Dallas.

After a 10-day break, the Cowboys came back to host New Orleans in what was a critical game in an NFC wild-card picture that was filled with mediocre teams on the fringe competing for the 6-seed. The Saints were led by quarterback Steve Walsh, who had been drafted by Dallas before being traded.

It was a trade that Johnson, Walsh’s college coach at Miami, would often second-guess in his darker moments before Aikman was established on the road to the Hall of Fame. On this late Sunday afternoon, Aikman played efficiently, going 15/21 for 177 yards. Walsh also threw for 177 yards, on 18/27 passing. An evenly played game was decided by a single red-zone stop—Dallas won, 17-13.

The Cowboys had a late bye week and the results left them tied for the final wild-card spot. Dallas, New Orleans, Minnesota and Green Bay were all 6-7.

But the young and coming Cowboys were the peaking team and they crushed the Cardinals on December 16 (prior to 2002 the Cards were an NFC East rival). Emmitt ran for 103 yards, the defense shut down Phoenix back Johnny Johnson and the final was 41-10. The Packers, Vikings and Saints all lost. Improbably, Dallas controlled their playoff destiny with two weeks to go.

Then disaster struck at Philadelphia. Aikman was knocked out after one pass attempt and lost for the rest of the season. Dallas was stuck with Babe Laufenberg as the season hung in the balance. In the rain at old Veterans Stadium, Laufenberg threw four interceptions, one of which was brought back to the house. The Cowboys lost 17-3.

It almost didn’t matter—Green Bay and Minnesota had each lost on Saturday. If New Orleans could lose at San Francisco in the late afternoon window, Dallas would be in the playoffs. Even though the 49ers had clinched the #1 playoff seed and were resting quarterback Joe Montana, the backup QB was still Steve Young—another future Hall of Famer. But the Saints defense sacked Young four times, recovered four fumbles and stayed alive with a 13-10 win.

Dallas had to either win on Atlanta the following Sunday or hope that New Orleans lost to Los Angeles on the final Monday Night of the season. The game against the Falcons was a disaster. Emmitt was held to 34 yards rushing. Atlanta’s Mike Rozier rolled up 155 yards on the ground and the Cowboys lost 26-7.

There was still hope—New Orleans, at 7-8, was hardly a sure thing to win the next night. But Johnson harbored no illusions, telling reporters “the Saints can get ready to play Chicago (the 3-seed in the NFC).” That’s what happened. The Saints and Rams were tied 17-17 with two seconds to play. A potential game-winning field goal by New Orleans was blocked, but L.A. was flagged for being offsides. A second attempt was good and Dallas was done for the year.

The 1990 Dallas Cowboys still sent a shot across the bow of the rest of the NFL. The following year they won 11 games, made the playoffs and reached the second round. In 1992 they started a dynastic run of what would be three Super Bowl titles in four years.

1990 Houston Oilers: More Of The Same–For Better And For Worse

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The Houston Oilers decided to change horses in midstream coming into the 1990 season. Even though Jerry Glanville led the franchise to the playoffs each year from 1987-89, postseason disappointments cost him his job. The 1990 Houston Oilers were entrusted to Jack Pardee, who started a four-year run that was—for better and for worse—more of the same.

On the good side, more of the same meant future Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon spreading the field to a variety of good receivers. Moon made another Pro Bowl at age 34. His completion percentage of 62% and his TD-INT ratio of 33/13 were dazzling by the standards of the time. His 8.0 yards-per-attempt was excellent for any era.

Wide receiver Drew Hill was another 34-year-old Pro Bowler and he caught 74 balls for over 1,000 yards. The Oilers had a young dynamic target in Haywood Jeffires, who also caught 74 and cleared the 1K mark in receiving yardage. The balanced passing attack included Ernest Givins (72 catches and a Pro Bowl), along with Curtis Duncan who caught 66 more. Houston routinely put four receivers onto the field at a time when such a strategy was not in vogue.

The Oilers could also do the work in the trenches. They had a Pro Bowler in guard Mike Munchak (a future head coach with the organization after they moved to Tennessee) and 1st-team All-Pro Bruce Matthews, who ended up in the Hall of Fame.

It added up to an offense that was the second-most prolific in the league and they covered for a defense that was average. Houston had a strong defensive line, with William Fuller, Ray Childress and Sean Jones combining for 28 ½ sacks. They had aggressive players in the secondary, with Richard Johnson intercepting eight passes and Cris Dishman picking off four more. But there were also enough breakdowns to keep the Houston D ranked 14th in what was then a 28-team league.

The season did not start well. The Oilers went to Atlanta, where Glanville was now in charge, and he took his revenge in a 47-27 thrashing. Houston then traveled to Pittsburgh, who had eliminated them in the previous year’s wild-card game and lost again, 20-9.

Things started to look upward the next five weeks. Houston got on track with wins over subpar teams in Indianapolis and San Diego. A 24-21 loss to the two-time defending champion San Francisco 49ers was no shame. The Oilers responded by winning the next two home games against eventual playoff teams. They dropped 48 on Cincinnati in a blowout win, then churned out a victory over New Orleans.

But the offense sputtered the next two weeks against weaker competition. The mediocre New York Jets came into the Astrodome, sacked Moon five times and used a fourth quarter defensive touchdown to steal a 17-12 upset.

Houston then went west to face the Los Angeles Rams, who had been a playoff perennial through the 1980s, but were falling apart in 1990. A 40-yard touchdown pass from Moon to Hill got the game off to a good start, but the Rams pounded the Oilers on the ground, took control and won 17-13.

The positive was that no one had taken control of the old AFC Central, a division that then included the Bengals, Steelers and Browns. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh were 5-4. Even going into their bye week at 4-5, the Oilers were squarely in the mix. They also had two games coming up with lowly Cleveland, another recent perennial contender that was beginning a collapse this season. Houston got back to .500 with a win at the Dawg Pound.

That set up a Monday Night showdown with Buffalo at the Astrodome. The Bills were in the middle of a big year, one that would see them make the first of four consecutive Super Bowl trips. Houston trailed 17-13 in the third quarter, but they were playing some of their best defense of the year. The Oilers held multi-talented Buffalo runner, Thurman Thomas, to just 54 yards.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo White was giving Houston a rushing attack. He finished the night with 125 yards. Moon was both efficient and made big plays, going 16/22 for 300 yards. Hill went over 100 yards receiving. The Oilers rallied and won 27-24.

There was a letdown overtime loss at a competitive Seattle team the following week, but the Oilers got well when the Browns came to town, opening up for 58 points. The win moved their record to 7-6 and the AFC Central race was a three-way dead heat.

A difficult road trip to playoff-bound Kansas City awaited on December 16. Moon and Jeffires took over against one of the league’s best defenses. They connected on an 87-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter. Jeffires caught nine passes for 245 yards. Moon finished 27/45 for 527 yards—just 27 yards short of the all-time record. Houston pulled away to win 27-10.

If there’s one thing the Houston Oilers of this era could do well, it’s dash hopes after they had been raised. With a division title in their grasp, they went to Cincinnati and laid an egg in a 40-20 loss. Worse, Moon was injured and would be unavailable for the season finale with Pittsburgh.

Cody Carlson was behind center for a prime-time Sunday Night game that was a de facto playoff matchup. The winner was going to the postseason, the loser was going home. Carlson met his moment—he went 22/29 for 247 yards and three touchdowns. One of them was a 53-yard strike to Jeffires in the second quarter that gave the Oilers a shocking 31-7 lead. They coasted him to a 34-14 win.

The win gave the Bengals the division title, the Oilers a wild-card berth and sent the Steelers home. It also gave Houston a rematch with Cincinnati in the wild-card round. But it did not end well—Moon was still out, Carlson’s magic was gone and another blowout loss went down at old Riverfront Stadium. This time the Oilers lost 41-14.

Pardee would spend three more years producing playoff teams in Houston, all of which were better than this edition. But he also spent three more years producing heartbreak. The 1990 Houston Oilers were part of a seven-year run that was remarkably consistent—for better and for worse.

The Disastrous Season Of The 1990 New England Patriots

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Today, the New England Patriots are the gold standard of the NFL, with their five Super Bowl titles in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. To say that wasn’t always the case would be an understatement. The 1990 New England Patriots are a case study of the franchise’s bad old days—they were a hideous football team on the field and were in trouble off of it.

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There was nothing in the team’s recent history that suggested a complete train wreck prior to 1990. Ray Berry coached the team to a decent run in the late 1980s that included a trip to the Super Bowl, another AFC East title and a couple more winning seasons. But when the Pats bottomed out in 1989, going 5-11, a coaching change was made. Rod Rust, a successful defensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, got the opportunity.

The season opened at home against the Miami Dolphins. The Patriot defense picked off Dan Marino three times and led 21-6 at the half. Even though problems defending the run led to a Dolphin comeback and a 27-24 loss, it was still a competitive showing against a team that would ultimately make the playoffs.

Rust’s defense continued its ballhawking ways in Week 2, picking off Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Jeff George four times. This time, New England got a running game, with 96 yards from John Stephens and they scraped out a 16-14 win on the road.

It was the day after this game that the season began to unravel and it happened in the locker room. Lisa Olson, a beat reporter covering the team for The Boston Herald, alleged that she’d been sexually harassed. The allegations were that players deliberately exposed themselves to her, presumably unhappy with her presence in the locker room.

The team owner at the time was Victor Kiam and over the course of the season, he would be caught making more lewd jokes at Olson’s expense. The league office eventually had to investigate and sided with Olson, fining both the offending players and the team for failing to respond.

New England fell apart after the Olson incident. They were a flawed team, to be sure—a revolving door at quarterback was used by veterans Steve Grogan and Marc Wilson, along with 23-year-old Tom Hodson. But with Stephens, a previously productive runner and a Pro Bowl left tackle in Bruce Armstrong there was no reason for this team to end up as the league’s most unproductive offense. The incompetence on this side of the ball was complemented by the second-worst defense in the NFL.

And the blowout losses started to rain down. There were five straight against a difficult portion of the schedule that included eventual playoff teams in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Buffalo, along with the rematch at Miami. Seattle, the weakest team in this stretch, still finished 9-7 in 1990. Only at Miami, in a 17-10 Thursday night loss, were the Patriots competitive.

If nothing else, New England could play well against Indianapolis. The Colts were in the AFC East prior to the realignment of 2002 and they came to Foxboro on November 11. The Patriot pass defense found its early season mojo and only allowed six completed passes. They outrushed Indy 175-54. Yet…they still lost a 13-10 decision.

The Pats went to Buffalo the following Sunday and again competed. Against a Bills team that would come within one play of winning the Super Bowl, New England only trailed 7-0 in the fourth quarter. Finally, an 80-yard touchdown run by Thurman Thomas ended the upset bid, 14-0. And the Patriot season effectively shut down.

New England was crushed by the subpar Phoenix Cardinals on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. They were crushed by eventual playoff team Kansas City. They were crushed by Rust’s old employer in Pittsburgh. They were lifeless at home in the rain against the Redskins. The only close game was the finale against the New York Giants. The Giants had nothing to play for and the game was played in awful weather. The Patriots lost 13-10, bringing an end to the miserable 1-15 campaign.

Rust took the fall and was fired after just one season. The front office tried to rejuvenate things with old-fashioned college enthusiasm, hiring Syracuse head coach Dick MacPherson. Over the next two years, he won eight games. It wasn’t until the hiring of Bill Parcells and the drafting of quarterback Drew Bledsoe prior to the 1993 season that a light at the end of tunnel appeared.

In 1994, Robert Kraft bought the team and the organizational dysfunction eventually went away. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The Collapse Of The 1990 Cleveland Browns

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To young football fans, the Browns struggling through an awful season is pretty much par for the course. But the world of 1990 was different. In that world, the Browns were coming off a strong decade, where they made the playoffs each year from 1985-89, including three appearances in the AFC Championship Game. The complete collapse of the 1990 Cleveland Browns came as a surprise.

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Bernie Kosar’s decline at quarterback began. The 54% completion rate was doable in that era, but it was low for Kosar and was accompanied by a mediocre 6.1 yards-per-attempt. And the 15 interceptions Kosar threw in 13 starts were exceptionally out of character.

The only two strong points on the team were defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry, a 1st-team All-Pro and wide receiver Webster Slaughter, who caught 59 balls for 847 yards. Beyond that, the Browns were at or near the bottom of the league in both offense and defense.

That didn’t stop the season from starting on a good note. The Pittsburgh Steelers had made the playoffs in 1989 and would contend to the final week in 1990. The Browns defense came up big in the home opener in the late afternoon TV window. Anthony Blaylock returned a fumble 30 yards for the game’s only touchdown in the third quarter, Cleveland forced three turnovers and got out of the gate with a 13-3 win.

But three straight losses followed, including a 34-0 humiliation in Kansas City, where former Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer had taken up residence. It set up a big Monday Night date against an all-to-familiar foe in the Denver Broncos.

Denver, led by the great John Elway at quarterback, had been the team who stopped Cleveland in all three of their AFC Championship Game appearances. Two of them, in 1986 and 1987, had been particularly gutwrenching. The Broncos were off to a 2-2 start and both of these AFC powers needed a win.

It was Cleveland who got it. The Browns defense had trouble with the Denver ground game, allowing over 100 yards to Bobby Humphrey and they trailed 29-20 in the fourth quarter. For once though, Cleveland turned the tables on Elway. Kosar finished 24/38 for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Slaughter caught seven balls for 123 yards and they got out of old Mile High Stadium with a 30-29 win.

But this is where the season falls apart. The next four weeks were difficult and Cleveland could not meet the challenge. They lost to eventual playoff teams in the New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals to dig themselves a 2-5 hole. On deck were the two-time defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers and the eventual AFC champion Buffalo Bills.

Cleveland went to San Francisco and gave a noble effort. The forced the legendary Joe Montana into a poor game, 17/37 for just 185 yards and were tied 17-17 in the fourth quarter. But a late 49er field goal won the game. A week later at home, the Browns were non-competitive in a 42-0 loss to the Bills.

Owner Art Modell used the bye week to fire head coach Bud Carson and replace him on an interim basis with Jim Shofner. The moved changed nothing. Down the stretch, the Browns lost twice to the Houston Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans who were a division rival prior to 2002) and gave up 93 points in the process. Cleveland lost decisively to the Los Angeles Rams, another team who collapsed in 1990 after a strong run in the 1980s.

The only two notable games were a 13-10 home win over a poor Atlanta Falcons team where Kevin Mack rushed for 80 yards. And to Cleveland’s credit, they didn’t mail in the Week 17 finale in Cincinnati where the Bengals were playing for the division title. Mack rushed for 85 yards and the game was tied 14-14 into the fourth quarter before Cincy got a touchdown to win it.

By rights, the offseason should have been the greatest in the history of the league—the Browns made the right hire for their new head coach, grabbing the highly touted defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. A guy named Bill Belichick. He got the franchise back on track, building the Browns back to respectability over the next three years (prior to the era of free agency, a five-year window to rebuild was considered the norm).

When Cleveland returned to the playoffs in 1994 under Belichick, won a postseason game (ironically over New England) and got off to a 3-1 start in 1995, it looked like good times were back in the Dawg Pound. But Modell then decided to move the franchise to Baltimore for 1996 and everything fell apart. The rest of 1995 was a lost season and Cleveland didn’t get an NFL team back until 1999. It was then they became the Browns so many of us know and pity. But in 1990, their collapse to a three-win season was a bit more surprising.

1990 Miami Dolphins: Don Shula Gets Back To The Playoffs

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The legendary Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula was in a slump. The man who won two Super Bowls in the 1970s and reached two more in the first half of the 1980s, spent four consecutive years out of the money from 1986-89. The prime of the equally legendary quarterback Dan Marino, was going to waste thanks to a poor defense. The 1990 Miami Dolphins got it turned around, with excellent defensive play and Marino taking them back into the postseason and kickstarting a new era of contention in South Beach.

Marino’s numbers weren’t great in 1990, but by the standards of the time they were acceptable—he completed 58 percent and his TD/INT ratio was 21-11. He stayed away from mistakes and distributed the ball to a wide range of targets, from speedy Mark Duper to possession receiver Jim Jensen to fullback Tony Paige to Pro Bowl tight end Ferrell Edmunds. It was enough, that in spite of a pedestrian running game and a young offensive line, Miami at least was league average offensively.

And average was all the offense needed to be as they get a long-awaited lift on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive end Jeff Cross was a Pro Bowler, with 11 ½ sacks. John Offerdahl was one of the best inside linebackers in football. Corner Tim McKyer, along with safeties Jarvis Williams and Louis Oliver were ball hawks in the secondary. The Dolphins finished fourth in the NFL in points allowed.

Miami sent an early message that this season would be different. The Buffalo Bills, the two-time defending AFC East champs came south in Week 2. Renowned for an explosive offense, the Bills were shut down and held to 44 yards rushing. Miami’s defense chased quarterback Jim Kelly from the game, held a shutout into the fourth quarter, and won 30-7. It was the highlight of a 4-1 start to the season where the only loss came to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

Over the next seven weeks, the Dolphins held serve. The won all five games they played against mediocre opponents and lost to eventual playoff teams in the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins. Miami was 9-3 and a game back of Buffalo in the AFC East race, although they still had a game coming up with the Bills and the tiebreaker in hand if they won it.

Before that though, there was a big Sunday Night home game against the playoff-bound Philadelphia Eagles. Marino threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to get the scoring started and the Dolphins led 10-0. But Philly counterpart Randall Cunningham threw two scoring passes of his own and Miami trailed 20-10 into the fourth quarter against one of the league’s great defenses.

Marino rallied his team again. He capped off a night where he went 27/54 for 365 yards and no interceptions, by tying the game in regulation and then pulling out a 23-20 win in overtime.

The Dolphins were 11-3 when they went to Buffalo for the regular season’s penultimate game to settle the AFC East. Kelly was injured for the Bills, but the Miami rush defense did not play well. They allowed 154 yards to Thurman Thomas, while their own Sammie Smith could only generate 28 yards on the ground. The result was a 24-14 loss in the rain and having to settle for a wild-card berth.

Miami was the 4-seed and hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in a late Saturday afternoon kickoff on wild-card weekend. This would be one of the more underrated playoff games of all time, a feather in the cap for Marino’s career.

It didn’t start well—in fact, it went poorly for three quarters. Only a playoff-record 58-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich even had the Fish on the board. But the defense made red-zone stops and the deficit was still a manageable 16-3.

Marino flipped a 1-yard touchdown pass to Paige and then got the ball back on his own 15-yard line. A quick 37-yard strike to Edmunds got the drive rolling and it was capped off when Marino rifled an out pattern to Mark Clayton for a 12-yard touchdown pass. The Chiefs came roaring back and attempted a 52-yard field goal on the final play, but it came up just short. The Dolphins had their first playoff win since 1985.

Another trip to Buffalo was the reward, again with inclimate weather. Playing in a steady snowfall, the proud Miami defense finally collapsed. They dug themselves a 27-10 hole in the second quarter and while Marino closed the gap to 30-27, they never got the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. Buffalo promptly drove for another touchdown and the final ended up 44-34.

The season was still a step forward and Miami contended for the rest of Shula’s coaching career, which went through 1995. They made the playoffs three more times, but Buffalo was the hurdle they couldn’t get past, losing the AFC Championship Game to the Bills at home in 1992 and losing a wild-card game in Buffalo in ‘95.

1990 Philadelphia Eagles: Buddy Ryan’s Last Run

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Buddy Ryan was feeling the pressure in Philadelphia. Since arriving as head coach in 1986, the renowned defensive guru had turned a struggling team into a steady playoff contender. But the Eagles had not advanced deep into the postseason under Ryan. Between the desire of the fan base for more and Ryan’s prickly personality, it added up to a hot seat. The 1990 Philadelphia Eagles proved to be the last ride for Ryan in Philadelphia.

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The defense got the headlines in Philadelphia, thanks to a ferocious defensive front. Reggie White, the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle was at the peak of his career. Jerome Brown was a 1st-team All-Pro. Future ESPN radio personality Mike Golic manned the middle. Seth Joyner and Clyde Simmons could both bring pressure off the edge. Opposing quarterbacks had reason to be nervous.

But not as nervous as Philadelphia’s own quarterback, Randall Cunningham, could make opposing defenses. A gifted athlete with a rifle arm, Cunningham finished with a 30-13 TD/INT ratio, averaged 7.5 yards-per-attempt and also led the Eagles in rushing with 942 yards.

There were some decent supporting pieces, notably Keith Jackson, the 1st-team All-NFL tight end. Keith Byars caught 81 balls out of the backfield. But Cunningham was the reason the Eagles could let Cris Carter walk to Minnesota and still finish as the third-best scoring offense in the league. The more heralded defense finished 12th .

Philadelphia did not respond well to the must-win pressure early in the season. Losses to fellow NFC East contenders in the New York Giants and Washington Redskins were disappointing, both caused by an offensive line that couldn’t protect Cunningham. Losses to non-contenders in the Phoenix Cardinals and Indianpolis Colts were simply aggravating. The Eagles were 2-4 and in an early hole.

Their backs to the wall, Philly ripped off five straight wins. The most famous was a Monday Night beatdown of Washington in Veterans Stadium. The Eagles dominated the ground game, winning rush yards 165-50 and they scored three third-quarter touchdowns to break open a tie game.

But what makes this game stand the test of time in history is that the Birds knocked out two Redskins quarterbacks and nine players overall, making this “The Bodybag Game”. It gave the Eagles new life…and the Redskins a grudge to nurture.

The biggest win though came on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The Giants came to the Vet with a 10-0 record. They went home the victims of a 31-13 thrashing. Cunningham played efficient football, going 17/31 for 229 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. The defense forced his counterpart, Phil Simms, into an erratic game and also shut down the New York ground game. The Eagles weren’t going to catch the Giants in the NFC East, but Philly’s playoff prospects had brightened considerably.

Tough losses to AFC contenders in the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins followed. In a visit to Buffalo, Philadelphia dug themselves a 24-0 hole, as the defense gave up two long touchdown passes to Jim Kelly. Cunningham led a furious rally, keyed by a 95-yard touchdown pass to Fred Barnett and the lead was cut to 24-23, but fell just short in a 30-23 final.

Philadelphia went to Miami for a Sunday Night date. The Eagles dominated the ground game, rushing for 257 yards, with both Cunningham and Thomas Sanders leading the way. They led 20-10 in the fourth quarter. But the defense again failed against a top quarterback. Dan Marino rallied the Dolphins into a tie and then won 23-20 in overtime.

In the playoff format of 1990-2001, each conference had three divisions and there were three wild-card spots. Even at 7-6, Philadelphia still held down the second wild-card spot and the schedule ahead was soft. The Eagles easily won home games over mediocre teams from Green Bay and Dallas. When Washington lost in Indianapolis, Philadelphia vaulted into the top wild-card spot. They sealed it and the accompanying home playoff game with a win at Phoenix (the Cardinals were an NFC East rival prior to 2002).

A rematch of The Bodybag Game opened Wild-Card Weekend on Saturday afternoon with Eagles-Redskins. On a dank day, nothing went right for the Eagles in the first half. With a 1st-and-goal on the 2-yard line, pass protection broke down, Cunningham was sacked and they had to settle for a field goal. A 96-yard fumble return for a touchdown was nullified by instant replay and the Redskins were able to kick a field goal.

Philadelphia might have led 17-3 at the half instead of trailing 10-6. It didn’t get better in the second half. Ryan, grasping at straws, benched Cunningham for Jim McMahon. The gambit predictably failed and the Eagles lost 20-6.

Ryan was fired and offensive coordinator Rich Kotite elevated. The result was more the same with Kotie and after him, Ray Rhodes. They won games, made the playoffs and never made it past the second round. The franchise still awaits its first Super Bowl title.

1990 Kansas City Chiefs: A Playoff Era Begins

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The 1990 Kansas City Chiefs marked the second year under the leadership of head coach Marty Schottenheimer and one of the most talented staffs in NFL history. It marked a breakout year for the franchise and in ways both good and unfortunate, set the tone for the 1990s.

Schottenheimer took over a dead franchise in 1989 and immediately posted a winning season. With an uncanny eye for coaching talent, Marty had Bill Cowher as his defensive coordinator, Tony Dungy and Bruce Arians as position coaches and Herm Edwards in scouting.

This was a team built on running the football and playing defense. Barry Word and Christian Okoye combined to rush for over 1,800 yards. Defensively, the Chiefs could get after the quarterback with outside linebacker Derrick Thomas (20 sacks and 1st-team All-NFL) along with an elite pair of corners in Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross. On the defensive front, Kansas City got 16 ½ more sacks from the combination of Neil Smith on the edge and Dan Saleaumua inside.

Kansas City ranked fifth in the league in points allowed and all this team needed was a competent game-manager to play quarterback. Steve DeBerg, at age 36, filled the bill. He finished the season with a 23/4 TD-INT ratio, still averaged 7.8 yards-per-attempt and helped the offense also finish in the Top 10 in scoring. Stephon Paige was the preferred target, but DeBerg also spread the ball to Emile Harry, Robb Thomas and Todd McNair out of the backfield.

The Chiefs were up and down in September and October, going 4-3 against a schedule that did not include any eventual playoff teams. A 24-23 loss at defending AFC champ Denver on the Monday Night of Week 2 was aggravating, while a 34-0 whitewash of Schottenheimer’s former team, Cleveland, was heartening. But Kansas City went into its bye week at the end of October still a borderline playoff team and two games back of the Los Angeles Raiders in the AFC West.

November marked a turning of the corner. The Chiefs hosted the Raiders and the KC defense was ready. They forced three turnovers, held Bo Jackson to 40 yards on the ground, forced Jay Schroeder into a 10/31 for 139 yards passing performance and allowed kicker Nick Lowery’s three field goals to be enough in a 9-7 win.

The month ended with another win over the Raiders, this one at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Kansas City had a tougher time containing Bo and were outrushed 155-97. But the Chiefs continued to be the more opportunistic team, recovering three fumbles and not turning the ball over themselves. They broke open a 17-17 tie in the third quarter with ten unanswered points and won 27-17.

Kansas City was tied for first and held the tiebreaker, but the losses to teams not as good as they were continued to add up. Seattle, an AFC West rival prior to 2002, missed the playoffs, but on November 11, they completed a season sweep of the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium. The result was Kansas City went into the final three games with no margin for error.

On December 16, it caught up to them. Warren Moon and the Houston Oilers, desperately needing a win for their own playoff hopes came into Arrowhead Stadium and the KC defense had an off-day. Moon threw for 527 yards, just shy of a single-game record and the Chiefs lost 27-10. The Raiders won at home over playoff-bound Cincinnati the same day and closed out the season with two more wins.

Thus, instead of being AFC West champs, the #2 seed and having a bye, Kansas City dropped to #5 and was forced to travel to Miami for the wild-card round of the playoffs.

The playoff game was a microcosm of the season, both good and bad. The Chiefs played well and built a 16-3 lead. But that lead could have been larger, as Kansas City kept settling for field goals. In the fourth quarter, Dan Marino got hot for the Dolphins and led a pair of touchdown drives. Trailing 17-16, DeBerg had moved the Chiefs to what appeared to be the Miami 26-yard line before a holding penalty negated a key play. Lowery was instead forced to try a 52-yard-field goal on the final play—it came up just short.

The Kansas City Chiefs were back as a contender and this marked the start of a eight-year run that saw seven playoff trips. It was also the first of several postseason heartbreaks that included notable crushing losses in 1995 and 1997. The tone for the Marty-Ball Era in Kansas City had been set.

The 1990 San Francisco 49ers: A Three-Peat Bid That Just Misses

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The mission for the 1990 San Francisco 49ers was clear after their 55-10 pounding of the Denver Broncos in the previous season’s Super Bowl. Winners of two straight titles, the 49er players began chanting “Three-Peat!” in the locker room. The ‘90 Niners came awfully close, but ended up just short.

Joe Montana was 34-years-old, but the quarterback delivered a vintage year, winning his second straight MVP award throwing to 1st-team All-Pro wide receiver Jerry Rice, who caught 100 passes. John Taylor was a potent deep threat himself and tight end Brent Jones worked underneath.

While Montana was the face of the franchise, the defense was still the cornerstone of this team. The great safety Ronnie Lott was 1st-team All-Pro. So was defensive end Charles Haley, who recorded 16 ½ sacks. Defensive end Kevin Fagan was another Pro Bowler and the 49er defense ranked 2nd in the league in points allowed.

The one weakness on the 49ers was the running game—fullback Tom Rathman and halfback Roger Craig were both excellent pass-catchers, but nobody in the San Francisco backfield ran for 500 yards. The running game was kept the 49ers ranking “only” eighth in the league in scoring.

San Francisco survived pass protection problems in their Monday Night Opener at New Orleans. Montana was sacked six times, but defensive dominance was enough and the 49ers escaped 13-12. The win keyed a 10-1 start to the season that included victories over playoff contenders in the Redskins, Houston Oilers and Steelers.

San Francisco beat Washington 26-13 in Week 2, quickly solving the pass protection problems and allowing Montana to throw for 344 yards. The 49ers went to Houston in early October and fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter. Montana eventually tied it with a 78-yard touchdown strike to Taylor and led his team to a 24-21 win. Two weeks later at home, the 49ers spotted the Steelers a 7-zip lead, then reeled off 27 unanswered points.

The rest of the NFC West was collapsing. One year earlier, the Los Angeles Rams made the NFC Championship Game. But in 1990, Los Angeles collapsed and while New Orleans (an NFC West team prior to 2002) made the playoffs, they finished 8-8. So even though it was aggravating to lose the first game of the season to the Rams on November 25, it wasn’t going to stop the 49ers from coasting to another division title.

MONDAY NIGHT PRELUDE

The real fight was for homefield advantage. The New York Giants were also 10-1, and also lost their first game on November 25. The 49ers and Giants were set for a Monday Night showdown out west on December 3. Further heightening the stakes was that by kickoff, the Chicago Bears were 10-2 and in the mix.

Monday Night’s battle was about defense. Montana and couterpart Phil Simms each completed less than half their passes. But the 49ers got four sacks while the Giants got none. And while New York had to settle for a field goal on their second quarter drive, San Francisco found the end zone on theirs. The 7-3 score stood up.

The 49ers won their next two games and secured the #1 seed in the NFC. Steve Young played the last two games in Montana’s stead, the 49ers split and San Francisco went into the playoffs at 14-2.

The Redskins came in for the divisional round and took a 10-7 lead after a quarter. Montana threw second-quarter touchdown passes to Rice and Mike Sherrard to put San Francisco in control, 21-10.

The defense took it from there. Three times in the second half, the Redskins drove to the red zone. The 49ers got an interception and stopped the ‘Skins twice on downs. San Francisco got one more turnover when defensive tackle Michael Carter intercepted a pass and ran 61 yards for a touchdown to seal the 28-10 win.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP CRUSHER

The Giants were back for the NFC Championship Game and again defenses controlled. In a battle of field goals, Montana appeared to strike the big blow in the third quarter when he hit Taylor on a 61-yard touchdown pass for a 13-6 lead. New York got two more field goals to cut the lead to a point when disaster struck.

Montana was knocked out of the game. With less than three minutes to play, Craig fumbled and the Giants recovered. New York got one last field goal for the 15-13 upset.

Montana’s injuries kept him off the field for two years. By the time he recovered he was a Kansas City Chief. By the time the 49ers won another Super Bowl in 1994, it was Young at the helm. 1990 was the end of an era.

The 1990 Buffalo Bills Start An AFC Dynasty

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The 1990 Buffalo Bills were looking to take the next step. Marv Levy started as head coach in 1987 for a struggling team and by 1988, they were in the AFC Championship Game. They won another AFC East title in 1989. The 1990 edition broke through and reached the franchise’s first Super Bowl.

It started with an explosive offense that led the NFL in scoring. Jim Kelly was a Pro Bowl quarterback and ran a no-huddle attack with efficiency and explosion. Kelly’s favorite target was Pro Bowl receiver Andre Reed, with veteran James Lofton and tight end Keith McKeller mixed in.

The best all-around talent was running back Thurman Thomas. A 1st-team All-Pro, Thomas ran for nearly 1,300 yards. He was an able pass-catcher and his 49 receptions were second on the team. There were two Pro Bowl offensive lineman blocking for him, in center Kent Hull and left tackle Wil Wolford.

An outstanding linebacking corps produced three more Pro Bowlers in Darryl Talley, Shane Conlan and Cornelius Bennett. One of the best pass-rushers of all time in Bruce Smith was at defensive end, and Smith recorded nineteen sacks. The Buffalo defense ranked sixth in the league.

A visit to Miami in Week 2 was the only negative of the early going—the Bills rushed for 44 yards, and were manhandled 30-7. But they won consecutive home games against the Broncos and Raiders, scoring special teams touchdowns in both. Buffalo was 4-1 at the bye.

The Bills ripped off eight wins in their next nine games. The only loss was 27-24 on Monday Night in Houston to the playoff-perennial Oilers. The wins included a victory over playoff-bound Philadelphia 30-23, where Kelly lit up a good defense for 334 yards.

This nine-game stretch culminated on December 15 in the Meadowlands against the Super Bowl-contending Giants. Buffalo’s defense made two big red zone stops that were the difference in a 17-13 win.

There were two downsides. Kelly was injured and out until the playoffs. Furthermore, Buffalo had only had the ball for 22 minutes. It was a foreshadowing of how the season would end.

AFC EAST SHOWDOWN

Buffalo was 12-2, had a one-game lead on Miami and could clinch both the East and the #1 seed in the AFC when the Dolphins came north. But that head-to-head loss of Week 2 meant a Miami win could relegate the Bills to the 4-seed.

Frank Reich got the start at quarterback and delivered in the rain. He was a sharp 15/21 for 234 yards and no interceptions. The Bills dominated the ground game, with Thomas rushing for 154 yards. Buffalo won 24-14, gave key players some rest the following week in a loss to the Redskins and rolled into the postseason at 13-3.

PLAYOFF EXPLOSION

Kelly was back for the early afternoon kickoff on January 12 that started Divisional Round Weekend and it was a Round Three with Miami. Undeterred by the steady snow, Kelly fired a 40-yard touchdown strike to Reed on the game’s opening drive. Kelly later threw a 44-yard pass to Lofton that set up a field goal, tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Lofton and put his team ahead 27-10 late in the second quarter.

Marino rallied the Dolphins and the lead was cut to 30-27 in the fourth quarter. But Buffalo drove it immediately back down the field and Thomas ran for a touchdown. Immediately following, Kelly threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Reed to stretch the lead to 44-27 and it ended 44-34.

The AFC Championship Game against the Raiders was more of the same. In spite of 18mph winds, Kelly again opened with a touchdown pass on the game’s first drive, this time to Lofton. The Bills’ defense forced seven turnovers. Thomas ran for 138 yards and caught five more passes.

How bad was the carnage? Las Vegas oddsmakers set the Over/Under on combined points for this game at 37. Buffalo beat that number by themselves by halftime. It was 41-3 at intermission and the 51-3 final still constitutes the worst blowout in a conference championship game.

SUPER BOWL HEARTBREAK

All the momentum was with Buffalo and they were a (-6.5) favorite over the New York Giants. Thomas was fantastic, with 135 yards rushing, 55 more receiving and a big touchdown run in the fourth quarter. But the Giants held the ball for a record 40:33. Trailing 20-19, Kelly drove his team for a last-second 47-yard field goal try, but it hooked right.

This was still the start of one of the great franchise runs in the history of sports. Buffalo would reach an unprecedented four straight Super Bowls. Even though they never got the last win of the year, the sustained excellence that started in 1990, as the culmination of a gradual build, was impressive indeed.

The Playoff Roller-Coaster Of The 1990 Cincinnati Bengals

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The 1990 Cincinnati Bengals were looking for a comeback season. After coming within 34 seconds of winning the Super Bowl in 1988, the Bengals had gone up and down for much of 1989 and missed the playoffs. The up-and-down roller-coaster didn’t stop in 1990, but they did get back into the postseason and won a game when they got there.

Quarterback Boomer Esiason and big-play wideouts Eddie Brown and Tim McGee brought the flash, but the Bengals really thrived on a power running game. James Brooks was consistent and physical, and 1990 was no exception. He ran for over 1,000 yards and made the Pro Bowl. Up front, future Hall of Fame left tackle Anthony Munoz was 1st-team All-NFL in 1990 and tight end Rodney Holman was another Pro Bowler.

The offense ranked 7th in the NFL in points scored and covered for a defense that only ranked 19th. The Bengals D had a couple good individual talents, notably Pro Bowl strong safety David Fulcher. They also hit with the 12th overall pick in the draft, as outside linebacker James Francis stepped in and recorded eight sacks. But there was not enough consistency.

Cincinnati started 5-2 against a soft schedule. Decisive losses at Seattle and the division rival Houston Oilers were disappointing, but not game-changers.

The same couldn’t be said about a Sunday Night trip to lowly Atlanta when the Bengals turned the ball over four times and lost 38-17. Or coming home to face mediocre New Orleans and being pounded on the ground by Craig Heyward and Reuben Mayes in a 21-7 loss. Cincinnati went into the bye week, at 5-4.

Two games in three weeks against the Pittsburgh Steelers loomed and the running of Brooks got Cincinnati back on track. Brooks ran for 105 yards in the rain at home, the Bengals played mistake-free and they won 27-3. Two weeks later on the road they used the ground game and tempo control to grind out a 16-12 win.

But in between, Cincinnati stumbled and lost to mediocre Indianapolis. The Bengals entered the final quarter of the season at 7-5. They still led the Steelers and Oilers by a game in the race for the AFC Central (a division that included Cleveland)

The schedule turned against them, with games against the two-time defending champion San Francisco 49ers and the playoff-bound Los Angeles Raiders in consecutive weeks. The Bengals didn’t play badly, but they lost both games. At 7-7, Cincinnati was now a game back of both Pittsburgh and Houston.

The Oilers came to town on December 23 and immediately jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but head coach Sam Wyche stuck with the running game and Brooks rewarded him. He ran for over 200 yards and the Bengals romped, 40-20.

Cincinnati beat Cleveland 21-14 in the finale and clinched a wild-card berth. Now they had to watch Oilers-Steelers from Houston on Sunday Night. If Pittsburgh, at 9-6, lost, there would be a three-way tie of 9-7 teams. The Bengals had swept the Steelers and split with the Oilers, thus giving them the edge. Houston blew out Pittsburgh 34-14 and Cincinnati was division champs.

From beating Houston to pulling for them to playing them again…it was quite the roller-coaster for two teams that really disliked each other in those days, but the bracket sent the Oilers back into Cincy for the first-round game. Houston was missing Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon. Backup Cody Carlson had won the Steeler game, but that proved to be one-game magic. Carlson struggled to a 16/33 for 165 yards showing in this early Sunday afternoon playoff game.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati came out firing on all cylinders. Even with Brooks needing to leave the game early with a dislocated thumb, they still won the rushing yardage battle 187-67. Esiason was excellent and efficient, going 14/20 for 150 yards, no mistakes and he used eight different receivers. It was 20-0 at halftime, reached 34-0 in the third quarter and ended 41-14.

The following Sunday in Los Angeles the season came to an end with a tough 20-10 loss to the Raiders. The game was tied 10-10 in the fourth quarter, but L.A. had a running back tandem of Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson that was too much to overcome. Although unfortunately, Bo suffered a hip injury in the second half that would end his career.

From the Cincinnati standpoint, it was the end of an era. Wyche had come on in 1984 and produced teams that were mostly competitive, even if they only made the playoffs twice. Following a 3-13 season in 1991, Wyche was fired and the franchise fell apart. They didn’t make the playoffs again until 2005. And these 1990 Cincinnati Bengals were the last edition to get out of the first round.

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