1990 NFL season

1990 National Football League season

Regular season
Duration	September 9 – December 31, 1990
Playoffs
Start date	January 5, 1991
AFC Champions	Buffalo Bills
NFC Champions	New York Giants
Super Bowl XXV
Date	January 27, 1991
Site	Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Champions	New York Giants
Pro Bowl
Date	February 3, 1991
Site	Aloha Stadium

The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 10 teams to 12 teams by adding another wild card from each conference, thus adding two more contests to the postseason schedule; this number remains in use now.

This was also the first full season for Paul Tagliabue as the Commissioner, after taking over from Pete Rozelle midway through the previous season.

ABC was given the rights to televise the two additional playoff games. Meanwhile, Turner's TNT network started to broadcast Sunday night games for the first half of the season.

On October 8, the league announced that the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award would be named the Pete Rozelle Trophy. The season ended with Super Bowl XXV when the New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills 20-19 at Tampa Stadium. This would be the first Super Bowl loss for Buffalo. They would lose the next three Super Bowls as well.

Late in the season, with the Gulf War looming closer, the NFL announced that starting in Week 16 (and continuing until Super Bowl XXV), the league would add American flag decals to the back of the helmet. The flag would return on a permanent basis in 2001 following the September 11 attacks.

Major rule changes

• The rule for unnecessary roughness penalties is clarified so that any player who butts, spears, or rams an opponent is ejected.
• The penalty for an illegal forward pass beyond the line of scrimmage is enforced from the spot where any part of the passer's body is beyond the line when the ball is released.
• The following changes are made to try to speed up the game:
  • The time interval on the Play Clock (the time limit the offensive team has to snap the ball between plays) after time outs and other administrative stoppages has been reduced from 30 seconds to 25 seconds (the time interval between plays remains the same at 45 seconds).
  • Whenever a player goes out of bounds, other than in the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half or overtime, the game clock immediately starts when the ball is spotted for the next play and the Referee signals it is ready for play.
  • Other than in the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half or overtime the game clock also starts following all declined penalties.

Final regular season standings

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

Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green. No ties occurred this season.

AFC East
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(1) Buffalo Bills	13	3	.813	428	263
(4) Miami Dolphins	12	4	.750	336	242
Indianapolis Colts	7	9	.438	281	353
New York Jets	6	10	.375	295	345
New England Patriots	1	15	.063	181	446
AFC Central
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(3) Cincinnati Bengals	9	7	.563	360	352
(6) Houston Oilers	9	7	.563	405	307
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	7	.563	292	240
Cleveland Browns	3	13	.188	228	462
AFC West
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(2) Los Angeles Raiders	12	4	.750	337	268
(5) Kansas City Chiefs	11	5	.688	369	257
Seattle Seahawks	9	7	.563	306	286
San Diego Chargers	6	10	.375	315	281
Denver Broncos	5	11	.313	331	374

NFC East
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(2) New York Giants	13	3	.813	335	211
(4) Philadelphia Eagles	10	6	.625	396	299
(5) Washington Redskins	10	6	.625	381	301
Dallas Cowboys	7	9	.438	244	308
Phoenix Cardinals	5	11	.313	268	396
NFC Central
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(3) Chicago Bears	11	5	.688	348	280
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	.375	264	367
Detroit Lions	6	10	.375	373	413
Green Bay Packers	6	10	.375	271	347
Minnesota Vikings	6	10	.375	351	326
NFC West
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
(1) San Francisco 49ers	14	2	.875	353	239
(6) New Orleans Saints	8	8	.500	274	275
Los Angeles Rams	5	11	.313	345	412
Atlanta Falcons	5	11	.313	348	365

Tiebreakers

• Cincinnati finished ahead of Houston and Pittsburgh in the AFC Central based on best head-to-head record (3–1 to Oilers' 2–2 to Steelers' 1–3).
• Houston was the third AFC Wild Card based on better conference record (8–4) than Seattle (7–5) and Pittsburgh (6–6).
• Philadelphia finished ahead of Washington in the NFC East based on better division record (5–3 to Redskins' 4–4).
• Tampa Bay was second in NFC Central based on best head-to-head record (5–1) against Detroit (2–4), Green Bay (3–3), and Minnesota (2–4).
• Detroit finished third in the NFC Central based on best net division points (minus 8) against Green Bay (minus 40).
• Green Bay finished ahead of Minnesota in the NFC Central based on better conference record (5–7 to Vikings' 4–8).
• The L.A. Rams finished ahead of Atlanta in the NFC West based on net points in division (plus 1 to Falcons' minus 31).

Playoffs

Main article: 1990–91 NFL playoffs

	Jan. 6 – Riverfront Stadium					Jan. 13 – L.A. Memorial Coliseum
	6	Houston	14
						3	Cincinnati	10
	3	Cincinnati	41								Jan. 20 – Rich Stadium
						2	L.A. Raiders	20
						AFC
	Jan. 5 – Joe Robbie Stadium										2	L.A. Raiders	3
						Jan. 12 – Rich Stadium
											1	Buffalo	51
	5	Kansas City	16								AFC Championship
						4	Miami	34
	4	Miami	17													Jan. 27 – Tampa Stadium
						1	Buffalo	44
	Wild Card Playoffs
						Divisional Playoffs
	Jan. 6 – Soldier Field															A1	Buffalo	19
						Jan. 13 – Giants Stadium
																N2	N.Y. Giants	20
	6	New Orleans	6													Super Bowl XXV
						3	Chicago	3
	3	Chicago	16								Jan. 20 – Candlestick Park
						2	N.Y. Giants	31
						NFC
	Jan. 5 – Veterans Stadium										2	N.Y. Giants	15
						Jan. 12 – Candlestick Park
											1	San Francisco	13
	5	Washington	20								NFC Championship
						5	Washington	10
	4	Philadelphia	6
						1	San Francisco	28

Statistical leaders

Team

Points scored	Buffalo Bills (428)
Total yards gained	Houston Oilers (6,222)
Yards rushing	Philadelphia Eagles (2,556)
Yards passing	Houston Oilers (4,805)
Fewest points allowed	New York Giants (211)
Fewest total yards allowed	Pittsburgh Steelers (4,115)
Fewest rushing yards allowed	Philadelphia Eagles (1,169)
Fewest passing yards allowed	Pittsburgh Steelers (2,500)

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Joe Montana, Quarterback, San Francisco
Coach of the Year	Jimmy Johnson, Dallas
Offensive Player of the Year	Warren Moon, Quarterback, Houston Oilers
Defensive Player of the Year	Bruce Smith, Defensive End, Buffalo
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Emmitt Smith, Running Back, Dallas
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Mark Carrier, Safety, Chicago

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1981–1990 (Last accessed December 8, 2007)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)