1990 San Francisco 49ers season

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

1990 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner	Eddie DeBartolo Jr.
General manager	John McVay and Carmen Policy
Head coach	George Seifert
Offensive coordinator	Mike Holmgren
Defensive coordinator	Bill McPherson
Home stadium	Candlestick Park
Results
Record	14–2
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoffs	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Redskins) 28–10 Lost NFC Championship (vs. Giants) 13–15
All-Pros	7[1] QB Joe Montana WR Jerry Rice G Guy McIntyre DE Kevin Fagan LB Charles Haley CB Don Griffin FS Ronnie Lott
Pro Bowlers	5[2] QB Joe Montana WR Jerry Rice G Guy McIntyre LB Charles Haley FS Ronnie Lott
← 1989 49ers seasons 1991 →

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

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

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

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

Offseason

NFL draft

= Pro Bowler [4]

= Hall of Famer

Main article: 1990 NFL draft

1990 San Francisco 49ers draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	25	Dexter Carter	RB	Florida State
2	48	Dennis Brown	DE	Washington
2	54	Eric Davis	CB	Jacksonville State
3	69	Ronald Lewis	WR	Florida State
4	93	Dean Caliguire	C	Pittsburgh
6	166	Frank Pollack	DT	Northern Arizona
8	221	Dwight Pickens	WR	Fresno State
9	249	Odell Haggins	DT	Florida State
10	277	Martin Harrison	DE	Washington
11	290	Anthony Shelton	SS	Tennessee State

Staff

1990 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office Owner/president – Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. Executive vice president/general counsel – Carmen Policy Vice president of football administration – John McVay Administrator of football operations – Neal Dahlen Administrator of college scouting – Tony Razzano Administrator of pro personnel – Allan Webb Executive administrative assistant – Dwight Clark Head coaches Head coach – George Seifert Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Mike Holmgren Running backs – Al Lavan Wide receivers – Sherman Lewis Offensive line – Bobb McKittrick Offensive quality control – Jon Gruden

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Bill McPherson Defensive line – John Marshall Assistant defensive line – Dwaine Board Linebackers – Bob Zeman Defensive backs/secondary – Ray Rhodes Defensive assistant – Tommy Hart Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator/tight ends – Lynn Stiles Strength and conditioning Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway

Roster

1990 San Francisco 49ers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 13 Steve Bono 16 Joe Montana  8 Steve Young Running backs (RB) 35 Dexter Carter 33 Roger Craig 30 Keith Henderson 44 Tom Rathman FB 24 Harry Sydney 23 Spencer Tillman Wide receivers (WR) 83 Ron Lewis 80 Jerry Rice 82 John Taylor 85 Mike Wilson Tight ends (TE) 84 Brent Jones 89 Wesley Walls 81 Jamie Williams

Offensive linemen (OL) 79 Harris Barton G 62 Guy McIntyre G 77 Bubba Paris T 72 Frank Pollack T 61 Jesse Sapolu C 63 Ricky Siglar G/T 60 Chuck Thomas C 74 Steve Wallace T Defensive linemen (DL) 96 Dennis Brown DE 64 Jim Burt NT 95 Michael Carter NT 75 Kevin Fagan DE 78 Pierce Holt DE 67 Pete Kugler NT 91 Larry Roberts DE

Linebackers (LB) 59 Keith DeLong ILB 50 LeRoy Etienne ILB 94 Charles Haley OLB 54 Matt Millen ILB 53 Bill Romanowski OLB 58 Keena Turner OLB Defensive backs (DB) 38 Greg Cox SS 25 Eric Davis CB 29 Don Griffin CB 40 Johnnie Jackson FS 45 Kevin Lewis CB 42 Ronnie Lott FS 26 Darryl Pollard CB 43 Dave Waymer SS Special teams (ST) 6 Mike Cofer K 9 Barry Helton P

Practice squad 86 Sanjay Beach WR 71 Brett Wiese G Reserve 31 Chet Brooks S (IR) -- Dean Caliguire C (PUP) 68 Dave Cullity T (IR) 55 Jim Fahnhorst LB (IR) -- Wayne Radloff C (IR) 88 Mike Sherrard WR (IR) 76 Fred Smerlas NT (IR) 99 Michael Walter LB (IR) 21 Eric Wright CB (IR) Rookies in italics 47 active, 9 reserve, 2 practice squad

Regular season

Quarterback Stats

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

Schedule

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

Game summaries

Week 6: at Atlanta Falcons

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

Week 9: at Green Bay Packers

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

Week 13: vs. New York Giants

Week Thirteen: New York Giants (10–1) at San Francisco 49ers (10–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	3	0	0	3
49ers	0	7	0	0	7

at Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California

• Date: December 3
• Game time: 9:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C) • Wind 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h; 2.6 kn)
• Game attendance: 66,092
• Referee: Dale Hamer
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
• Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information
Giants Phil Simms 14/32, 153 Yds Ottis Anderson 19 Rush, 39 Yds Mark Bavaro 3 Rec, 43 Yds 49ers Joe Montana 12/29, 152 Yds, TD Dexter Carter 12 Rush, 29 Yds Roger Craig 2 Rec, 42 Yds

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

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NYG SF 2 3:26 Giants 20-yard field goal by Matt Bahr 3 0 2 1:30 49ers John Taylor 23-yard touchdown reception from Joe Montana, Mike Cofer kick good 3 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 3 7

Week 14: at Cincinnati Bengals

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

Standings

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

Postseason

See also: 1990–91 NFL playoffs

Schedule

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

NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (5) Washington Redskins

NFC Divisional Playoffs: (5) Washington Redskins at (1) San Francisco 49ers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	10	0	0	0	10
49ers	7	14	0	7	28

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

• Date: January 12, 1991 (Sat)
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), light rain
• Game attendance: 65,292
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Merlin Olsen

The final was 28-10. 49ers coludn’t go to Super Bowl XXV losing to the New York Giants

NFC Championship: vs. (2) New York Giants

NFC Championship: (2) New York Giants at (1) San Francisco 49ers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	3	3	3	6	15
49ers	3	3	7	0	13

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. The 49ers ended their season but in 1991 they missed playoffs finishing 10-6

Awards and records

• Led NFC with 353 points scored
• Charles Haley, Led NFC, Sacks (16)
• Charles Haley, NFC Pro Bowl
• Ronnie Lott, NFC Pro Bowl
• Joe Montana, AP NFL MVP
• Joe Montana, Associated Press Athlete of the Year^[5]
• Joe Montana, NFC Pro Bowl Selection, Injured, did not play
• Joe Montana, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year
• Guy McIntyre, NFC Pro Bowl
• Jerry Rice, NFL Leader, Receptions (100)
• Jerry Rice, NFL Leader, Receiving Yards (1,502)
• Jerry Rice, NFL Leader, Receiving Touchdowns (13)
• Jerry Rice, NFC Pro Bowl

Milestones

• Jerry Rice, First 100 reception season ^[6]