1990 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1990 Philadelphia Eagles season was the team's 58th in the National Football League (NFL).

1990 Philadelphia Eagles season
Owner	Norman Braman
Head coach	Buddy Ryan
Offensive coordinator	Rich Kotite
Defensive coordinator	Jeff Fisher
Home stadium	Veterans Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoffs	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Redskins) 6–20
Uniform
← 1989 Eagles seasons 1991 →

The team made the postseason yet again with a 10–6 overall record, despite beginning the season with disappointing early-season records of 1–3 and 2–4.

The Eagles ran for 2,556 rushing yards in 1990, which is the most of any team in a single season in the 1990s.^[1]

Other season highlights were a 28–14 win at Veterans Stadium over the Washington Redskins on November 12, known as the Body Bag Game, since the defense managed to knock both Redskins quarterbacks from the contest plus several other key players. The Redskins came back to the Vet later in the season to defeat the Eagles in the Wild Card Playoff, however. Against the Buffalo Bills in a 30–23 loss on December 2, Randall Cunningham made one of the signature plays of his career, eluding Bills Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith in the end zone before launching the ball into the middle of the field to wide receiver Fred Barnett, who completed the 95-yard touchdown play.

One week prior, the Eagles avenged an opening-night loss at the Meadowlands, whipping the 10–0 New York Giants by a 31–13 score. The Redskins would get the last laugh, beating the Eagles 20–6 in the Wild Card round.

Following the season, the team fired head coach Buddy Ryan. Offensive coordinator Rich Kotite was promoted to replace Ryan as Eagles head coach, and would hold the position for the next four seasons.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1990 NFL draft

The 1990 NFL draft was held April 22–23, 1990. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. For the number 1 pick in the draft, the Indianapolis Colts traded with the Atlanta Falcons to select Jeff George a quarterback from Illinois

Under the rules of the draft at the time, the Eagles would pick 24th or 25th in each full round. Teams that went to Super Bowl XXIV would have last 2 picks and then teams sorted out by 1989 record in each round. The Eagles at 11–5 in the previous year tied with Los Angeles Rams. With the 22nd pick in the 1st round the Eagles selected Ben Smith a cornerback from Georgia The Eagles made 12 total picks in the 1990 draft.

1990 Philadelphia Eagles draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	22	Ben Smith	DB	Georgia
2	50	Mike Bellamy	WR	Illinois
3	77	Fred Barnett *	WR	Arkansas State
5	133	Calvin Williams	WR	Purdue
6	162	Kevin Thompson	DB	Oklahoma
7	189	Terry Strouf	T	Wisconsin–La Crosse
8	217	Curt Dykes	T	Oregon
9	244	Cecil Gray	DE	North Carolina
10	273	Orlando Adams	DT	Jacksonville State
11	294	John Hudson	G	Auburn	Made roster in 1991; pick from New Orleans
11	300	Tyrone Watson	WR	Tennessee State
12	327	Judd Garrett	RB	Princeton
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Training camp

The Eagles held training camp at West Chester State University in West Chester, PA about 20 miles from Veterans Stadium where they play their home games.

Personnel

Staff

1990 Philadelphia Eagles staff

Front office Owner – Norman Braman President/Chief Operating Officer – Harry Gamble Director of player personnel – Joe Woolley Head coaches Head coach – Buddy Ryan Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks – Rich Kotite Running Backs – Dave Atkins Receivers – Lew Carpenter Offensive line – Dan Neal Offensive line – Bill Walsh

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/Linebackers – Jeff Fisher Defensive line – Dale Haupt Linebackers – Ronnie Jones Defensive backs – Tom Bettis Special teams coaches Special teams – Al Roberts Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Ronnie Jones

Roster

1990 Philadelphia Eagles roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Randall Cunningham  9 Jim McMahon Running backs (RB) 41 Keith Byars 45 Thomas Sanders KR 23 Heath Sherman 25 Anthony Toney 43 Roger Vick FB Wide receivers (WR) 86 Fred Barnett 81 Mike Bellamy 80 Rod Harris PR 83 Kenny Jackson 89 Calvin Williams Tight ends (TE) 88 Keith Jackson 87 Harper LeBel LS 85 Mickey Shuler

Offensive linemen (OL) 72 David Alexander C 75 Louis Cheek G/T 69 Bruce Collie G 73 Ron Heller T 79 Mike Schad G 68 Reggie Singletary T 63 Daryle Smith T 66 Ron Solt G 61 Ben Tamburello C/G Defensive linemen (DL) 99 Jerome Brown DT 97 Dick Chapura DT 90 Mike Golic DT 71 Cecil Gray DT 94 Steve Kaufusi DE 74 Mike Pitts DT 96 Clyde Simmons DE 92 Reggie White DE

Linebackers (LB) 56 Byron Evans MLB 54 Britt Hager MLB 95 Al Harris OLB 59 Seth Joyner OLB 55 Ken Rose OLB 52 Jessie Small OLB Defensive backs (DB) 21 Eric Allen CB 33 William Frizzell SS 34 Terry Hoage FS 48 Wes Hopkins FS 46 Izel Jenkins CB 26 Ben Smith CB 20 Andre Waters SS Special teams (ST)  5 Jeff Feagles P  7 Roger Ruzek K

Practice squad 36 Robert Drummond RB 47 Maurice Johnson TE 98 Horacio Moronta DT 51 Ricky Shaw LB 22 Kevin Thompson S Reserve 78 Matt Darwin T (IR) 76 John Hudson C/G (PUP) 82 Mike Quick WR (IR) 30 Otis Smith CB (PUP) 10 John Teltschik P (PUP) -- Eric Wainwright LB (IR) 47 active, 6 inactive, 5 practice squad Rookies in italics

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 9	at New York Giants	L 20–27	0–1	Giants Stadium	76,202
2	September 16	Phoenix Cardinals	L 21–23	0–2	Veterans Stadium	64,396
3	September 23	at Los Angeles Rams	W 27–21	1–2	Anaheim Stadium	63,644
4	September 30	Indianapolis Colts	L 23–24	1–3	Veterans Stadium	62,067
5	Bye
6	October 15	Minnesota Vikings	W 32–24	2–3	Veterans Stadium	66,296
7	October 21	at Washington Redskins	L 7–13	2–4	RFK Stadium	53,567
8	October 28	at Dallas Cowboys	W 21–20	3–4	Texas Stadium	62,605
9	November 4	New England Patriots	W 48–20	4–4	Veterans Stadium	65,514
10	November 12	Washington Redskins	W 28–14	5–4	Veterans Stadium	65,857
11	November 18	at Atlanta Falcons	W 24–23	6–4	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	53,755
12	November 25	New York Giants	W 31–13	7–4	Veterans Stadium	66,706
13	December 2	at Buffalo Bills	L 23–30	7–5	Rich Stadium	79,320
14	December 9	at Miami Dolphins	L 20–23 (OT)	7–6	Joe Robbie Stadium	67,034
15	December 16	Green Bay Packers	W 31–0	8–6	Veterans Stadium	65,627
16	December 23	Dallas Cowboys	W 17–3	9–6	Veterans Stadium	63,895
17	December 29	at Phoenix Cardinals	W 23–21	10–6	Sun Devil Stadium	31,796

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	7	0	10	20
• Giants	6	0	14	7	27

• Date: September 9
• Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
• Referee: Gordon McCarter
• TV announcers (TNT): Skip Caray and Pat Haden

^[4]

Week 2

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Cardinals	0	7	7	9	23
Eagles	14	0	7	0	21

• Date: September 16
• Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C) (Cloudy) • Wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
• Referee: Gerald Austin
• Television network: CBS

^[5]

Week 3

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Eagles	3	14	3	7	27
Rams	7	7	0	7	21

• Date: September 23
• Location: Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California
• Game start: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C) • Wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

^[6]

Week 4

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Colts	7	3	7	7	24
Eagles	3	14	3	3	23

• Date: September 30
• Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C) (Cloudy) • Wind 10 mph (16 km/h)
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• Television network: NBC

^[7]

Week 6

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	7	14	0	3	24
• Eagles	9	0	6	17	32

• Date: October 15
• Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C) (Clear) • Wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
• Referee: Gene Barth
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf

^[8]

Week 7

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	0	7	7
• Redskins	0	7	0	6	13

• Date: October 21
• Location: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
• Referee: Dale Hamer
• TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

^[9]

Week 8

Philadelphia Eagles (2–4) at Dallas Cowboys (3–4)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	0	0	14	21
Cowboys	0	3	3	14	20

at Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas

• Date: October 28
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C); wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
• Game attendance: 62,605
• Referee: Howard Roe
• TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Irv Cross
• Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information
Eagles Randall Cunningham 17/30, 183 Yds, 2 TD 9 Rush, 53 Yds Calvin Williams 5 Rec, 74 Yds, TD Cowboys Troy Aikman 22/41, 223 Yds, TD, INT Tommie Agee 6 Rush, 54 Yds Jay Novacek 7 Rec, 105 Yds, TD

The Porkchop Bowl

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP PHI DAL 1 1:08 Eagles Toney 10-yard touchdown reception from Cunningham, Ruzek kick good 7 0 2 0:13 Cowboys 43-yard field goal by Willis 7 3 3 12:11 Cowboys 43-yard field goal by Willis 7 6 4 10:30 Eagles Sherman 10-yard touchdown run, Ruzek kick good 14 6 4 7:53 Cowboys Novacek 29-yard touchdown reception from Aikman, Willis kick good 14 13 4 4:02 Cowboys Smith 3-yard touchdown run, Willis kick good 14 20 4 0:44 Eagles Williams 10-yard touchdown reception from Cunningham, Ruzek kick good 21 20 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 21 20

Week 9

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots	3	7	3	7	20
• Eagles	10	10	7	21	48

• Date: November 4
• Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C) (Cloudy) • Wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
• Referee: Dick Hantak
• TV announcers (NBC): Joel Meyers and Ahmad Rashad

^[10]

Week 10

Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	7	0	7	14
• Eagles	7	0	21	0	28

• Date: November 12
• Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) (Cloudy) • Wind 26 mph (42 km/h)
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf

• Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

1		PHI	William Frizzell 30 yard interception return (Roger Ruzek kick)	Eagles 7–0
2		WSH	Don Warren 8 yard pass from Jeff Rutledge (Chip Lohmiller kick)	Tie 7–7
3		PHI	Heath Sherman 9 yard pass from Keith Byars (Roger Ruzek kick)	Eagles 14–7
3		PHI	Clyde Simmons 18 yard fumble return (Roger Ruzek kick)	Eagles 21–7
3		PHI	Heath Sherman 2 yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Roger Ruzek kick)	Eagles 28–7
4		WSH	Brian Mitchell 1 yard run (Chip Lohmiller kick)	Eagles 28–14

This game came to be known as The Body Bag Game.

Week 11

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Eagles	0	7	0	17	24
Falcons	0	10	3	10	23

• Date: November 18
• Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C) • Wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
• Referee: Gerald Austin
• TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Tim Brandt

^[11]

Week 12

New York Giants (10–0) at Philadelphia Eagles (6–4)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	7	6	0	0	13
Eagles	7	7	3	14	31

at Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: November 25
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy • 52 °F (11 °C) • Wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Merlin Olsen
• Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information
Giants Phil Simms 17/40, 234 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Dave Meggett 2 Rush, 61 Yds Stephen Baker 3 Rec, 65 Yds Eagles Randall Cunningham 17/31, 229 Yds, 2 TD Heath Sherman 21 Rush, 71 Yds Keith Byars 8 Rec, 128 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NYG PHI 1 5:22 Giants Ingram 15-yard touchdown reception from Simms, Bahr kick good 7 0 1 3:39 Eagles Barnett 49-yard touchdown reception from Cunningham, Ruzek kick good 7 7 2 6:21 Eagles Cunningham 1-yard touchdown run, Ruzek kick good 7 14 2 1:00 Giants Bavaro 4-yard touchdown reception from Simms, Bahr kick no good 13 14 3 9:09 Eagles 39-yard field goal by Ruzek 13 17 4 13:12 Eagles Williams 6-yard touchdown reception from Cunningham, Ruzek kick good 13 24 4 12:50 Eagles Interception returned 22 yards for touchdown by Evans, Ruzek kick good 13 31 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 13 31

Week 13

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	16	7	0	23
• Bills	24	0	3	3	30

• Date: December 2
• Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C) • Wind 16 mph (26 km/h)
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and Dan Fouts

^[12]

Week 14

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Eagles	0	10	3	7	0	20
• Dolphins	10	0	0	10	3	23

• Date: December 9
• Location: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida
• Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) • Wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
• Referee: Jerry Seeman
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann

^[13]

Week 15

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	0	0	0	0
• Eagles	7	10	0	14	31

• Date: December 16
• Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C) (Cloudy) • Wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
• Referee: Dale Hamer
• TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and John Madden

^[14]

Week 16

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	3	0	0	3
• Eagles	7	3	0	7	17

• Date: December 23
• Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C) (Light Rain) • Wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
• Referee: Gordon McCarter
• TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Irv Cross

^[15]

Week 17 at Cardinals

Week Seventeen: Philadelphia Eagles (9–6) at Phoenix Cardinals (5–10)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	6	7	3	23
Cardinals	0	7	0	14	21

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

• Date: December 29, 1990
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. MDT
• Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C)
• Game attendance: 31,796
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers (CBS): Jack Buck and Dan Fouts
• Box score

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(2) New York Giants	13	3	0	.813	7–1	10–2	335	211	W2
(4) Philadelphia Eagles	10	6	0	.625	5–3	9–3	396	299	W3
(5) Washington Redskins	10	6	0	.625	4–4	7–5	381	301	W1
Dallas Cowboys	7	9	0	.438	2–6	6–8	244	308	L2
Phoenix Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	2–6	3–9	268	396	L3

Playoffs

Main article: 1990–91 NFL playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Wildcard	January 5, 1991	Washington Redskins (5)	L 6–20	0–1	Veterans Stadium	65,287

Game summaries

Wild card

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Redskins	0	10	10	0	20
Eagles	3	3	0	0	6

• Date: January 5
• Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) (Cloudy) • Wind 5 mph (8.0 km/h)
• Referee: Gene Barth
• TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger, Dick Vermeil, (sideline reporter) Lynn Swann

^[16]

Awards and honors

• Randall Cunningham, Bert Bell Award^[17]