1989 NFL season

1989 National Football League season

Regular season
Duration	September 10 – December 25, 1989
Playoffs
Start date	December 31, 1989
AFC Champions	Denver Broncos
NFC Champions	San Francisco 49ers
Super Bowl XXIV
Date	January 28, 1990
Site	Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions	San Francisco 49ers
Pro Bowl
Date	February 4, 1990
Site	Aloha Stadium

The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement. Paul Tagliabue was eventually chosen to succeed him.

Due to damage caused by the Loma Prieta earthquake to Candlestick Park, the New England Patriots – San Francisco 49ers game on October 22 was played at Stanford Stadium in Stanford.

The season ended with Super Bowl XXIV where the 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 55-10 at the Louisiana Superdome.

Major rule changes

• After a foul that occurs inside the last two minutes of the first half and inside the last five minutes of the second half or overtime, the game clock will start at the snap, instead of when the ball is spotted and the Referee signals it is ready to be played.
• New rules were enacted, including loss of timeouts or five-yard penalties, to handle the problem of crowd noise when it becomes too loud for the offensive team to hear its signals.
• If a receiver and a defender eventually establish joint control of a pass, the ball will be awarded to whoever was the first player to establish control of the ball.
• While not a rule "change" per se, the "hurry up offense" was recognized as fully legal, and penalties for delay of game would be called against teams whose defenders faked injuries in order to slow down the tempo, unless those teams called for timeouts.

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

AFC East
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
(3) Buffalo Bills	9	7	0	.563	409	317
Indianapolis Colts	8	8	0	.500	298	301
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	331	379
New England Patriots	5	11	0	.313	297	391
New York Jets	4	12	0	.250	253	411
AFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
(2) Cleveland Browns	9	6	1	.594	334	254
(4) Houston Oilers	9	7	0	.563	365	412
(5) Pittsburgh Steelers	9	7	0	.563	265	326
Cincinnati Bengals	8	8	0	.500	404	285
AFC West
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
(1) Denver Broncos	11	5	0	.688	362	226
Kansas City Chiefs	8	7	1	.531	318	286
Los Angeles Raiders	8	8	0	.500	315	297
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	241	327
San Diego Chargers	6	10	0	.375	266	290

NFC East
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
(2) New York Giants	12	4	0	.750	348	252
(4) Philadelphia Eagles	11	5	0	.688	342	274
Washington Redskins	10	6	0	.625	386	308
Phoenix Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	258	377
Dallas Cowboys	1	15	0	.063	204	393
NFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
(3) Minnesota Vikings	10	6	0	.625	351	275
Green Bay Packers	10	6	0	.625	362	356
Detroit Lions	7	9	0	.438	312	364
Chicago Bears	6	10	0	.375	358	377
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	320	419
NFC West
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
(1) San Francisco 49ers	14	2	0	.875	442	253
(5) Los Angeles Rams	11	5	0	.688	426	344
New Orleans Saints	9	7	0	.563	386	301
Atlanta Falcons	3	13	0	.188	279	437

Tiebreakers

• Indianapolis finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on better conference record (7–5 vs. Dolphins' 6–8).
• Houston finished ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC Central based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• Philadelphia was first NFC Wild Card ahead of L.A. Rams based on better record against common opponents (6–3 to Rams' 5–4).
• Minnesota finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on better division record (6–2 vs. Packers' 5–3).

Playoffs

Main article: 1989–90 NFL playoffs

NOTE: The San Francisco 49ers (the NFC 1 seed) did not play the Los Angeles Rams (the 5 seed) in the Divisional playoff round because both teams were in the same division.

						Divisional Playoffs
						Jan. 7 – Giants Stadium
	NFC Wild Card Game										NFC Championship
						5	L.A. Rams	19*
	Dec. 31 – Veterans Stadium										Jan. 14 – Candlestick Park
						2*	N.Y. Giants	13
	5	L.A. Rams	21								5	L.A. Rams	3
						Jan. 6 – Candlestick Park
	4	Philadelphia	7								1	San Francisco	30			Super Bowl XXIV
						3	Minnesota	13
																Jan. 28 – Louisiana Superdome
						1*	San Francisco	41
																N1	San Francisco	55
						Jan. 6 – Cleveland Stadium
	AFC Wild Card Game										AFC Championship					A1	Denver	10
						3	Buffalo	30
	Dec. 31 – Astrodome										Jan. 14 – Mile High Stadium
						2	Cleveland	34
	5	Pittsburgh	26*								2	Cleveland	21
						Jan. 7 – Mile High Stadium
	4	Houston	23								1	Denver	37
						5	Pittsburgh	23
						1	Denver	24

* Indicates overtime victory

Statistical leaders

Team

Points scored	San Francisco 49ers (442)
Total yards gained	San Francisco 49ers (6,268)
Yards rushing	Cincinnati Bengals (2,483)
Yards passing	Washington Redskins (4,349)
Fewest points allowed	Denver Broncos (226)
Fewest total yards allowed	Minnesota Vikings (4,184)
Fewest rushing yards allowed	New Orleans Saints (1,326)
Fewest passing yards allowed	Minnesota Vikings (2,501)

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Joe Montana, Quarterback, San Francisco
Coach of the Year	Lindy Infante, Green Bay
Offensive Player of the Year	Joe Montana, Quarterback, San Francisco
Defensive Player of the Year	Keith Millard, Defensive Tackle, Minnesota
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Barry Sanders, Running Back, Detroit
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Derrick Thomas, Linebacker, Kansas City

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1981–1990 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)