1990 San Francisco 49ers season

American football team season August 2023 March 2026 San Francisco 49ers 1990 14–2 1st NFC West Eddie DeBartolo Jr. John McVay and Carmen Policy George Seifert Mike Holmgren Bill McPherson Candlestick Park 5https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1990/probowl.htm 1990 NFL Pro Bowlers Pro-Football-Reference.com QB Joe Montana WR Jerry Rice G Guy McIntyre LB Charles Haley FS Ronnie Lott 7https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1990/allpro.htm 1990 NFL All-Pros Pro-Football-Reference.com QB Joe Montana WR Jerry Rice G Guy McIntyre DE Kevin Fagan LB Charles Haley CB Don Griffin FS Ronnie Lott Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Redskins) 28–10Lost NFC Championship(vs. Giants) 13–15 49ers seasons 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. 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).https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U1NSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pTYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7158%2C2315800 Victoria Advocate Texas Associated Press Forty-Niners also have super payroll Goldberg Dave December 12, 1990 4B Offseason NFL draft = Pro Bowler Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.= Hall of Famer 1990 NFL draft 1990 San Francisco 49ers draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 25Dexter CarterRBFlorida State 2 48Dennis BrownDEWashington 2 54Eric DavisCBJacksonville State 3 69Ronald LewisWRFlorida State 4 93Dean CaliguireCPittsburgh 6166Frank Pollack DT Northern Arizona 8 221Dwight PickensWRFresno State 9 249Odell HagginsDTFlorida State 10 277Martin HarrisonDEWashington 11 290Anthony SheltonSSTennessee State Staff 1990 San Francisco 49ers 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 coach – George Seifert Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Mike Holmgren Running backs – Al Lavan Wide receivers – Sherman Lewis Offensive line – Bobb McKittrick Offensive quality control – Jon Gruden 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 coordinator/tight ends – Lynn Stiles Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway Roster 1990 San Francisco 49ers 47 9 2 13 Steve Bono 16 Joe Montana  8 Steve Young American football 35 Dexter Carter y 33 Roger Craig American football 30 Keith Henderson American football 44 Tom Rathman FB 24 Harry Sydney 23 Spencer Tillman 83 Ron Lewis wide receiver y 80 Jerry Rice 82 John Taylor American football 85 Mike Wilson wide receiver 84 Brent Jones 89 Wesley Walls 81 Jamie Williams American football 79 Harris Barton G 62 Guy McIntyre G 77 Bubba Paris T 72 Frank Pollack American football y T 61 Jesse Sapolu C 63 Ricky Siglar G/T 60 Chuck Thomas American football C 74 Steve Wallace American football T 96 Dennis Brown defensive end y DE 64 Jim Burt American football NT 95 Michael Carter nose tackle NT 75 Kevin Fagan American football DE 78 Pierce Holt DE 67 Pete Kugler NT 91 Larry Roberts American football DE 59 Keith DeLong ILB 50 LeRoy Etienne ILB 94 Charles Haley OLB 54 Matt Millen ILB 53 Bill Romanowski OLB 58 Keena Turner OLB 38 Greg Cox American football SS 25 Eric Davis American football y CB 29 Don Griffin CB 40 Johnnie Jackson American football FS 45 Kevin Lewis defensive back y CB 42 Ronnie Lott FS 26 Darryl Pollard CB 43 Dave Waymer SS 6 Mike Cofer kicker K 9 Barry Helton P 31 Chet Brooks S IR -- Dean Caliguire y 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 American football LB IR 21 Eric Wright cornerback, born 1959 CB IR 86 Sanjay Beach WR 71 Brett Wiese G Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 August 11 Los Angeles Raiders L 13–23 0–1 Candlestick Park 2 August 20 at Denver Broncos W 27–24 1–1 Mile High Stadium 3 August 25 at San Diego Chargers L 28–29 1–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 4 August 31 Seattle Seahawks L 10–30 1–3 Candlestick Parkhttps://www.profootballarchives.com/1990nflsf.html#gsc.tab=0 1990 San Francisco 49ers (NFL) Scores, Roster, Stats, Coaches, Draft Pro Football Archives June 6, 2026 Regular season 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, 1990 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, 1990 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 San Francisco 49ers 1990 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Thirteen: New York Giants (10–1) at San Francisco 49ers (10–1) December 3 Monday 9:00 p.m. EDT Giants 0 3 0 0 49ers 0 7 0 0 Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California 66,092 49 F C • Wind 3 mph km/h knot Dale Hamer ABC Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database Giants Phil Simms14/32, 153 Yds Ottis Anderson19 Rush, 39 Yds Mark Bavaro3 Rec, 43 Yds 49ers Joe Montana12/29, 152 Yds, TD Dexter Carter12 Rush, 29 Yds Roger Craig2 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. NYG SF collapsed 2 3:26 Giants FG 20 Matt Bahr 3 0 2 1:30 49ers RecTD John Taylor Joe Montana 23 good Mike Cofer run/pass good/failed/incomplete 3 7 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 Postseason 1990–91 NFL playoffs Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Wild Card First-round bye Divisional January 12, 1991 F j, Y 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 San Francisco 49ers 1990 2;text-align:center; autocollapse NFC Divisional Playoffs: (5) Washington Redskins at (1) San Francisco 49ers – Game summary Redskins 10 0 0 0 49ers 7 14 0 7 Candlestick Park, San Francisco January 12, 1991 (Sat) 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST 51 °F °C, light rain CBS Dick Stockton and Merlin Olsen Red Cashion 65,292The Redskins opened up the scoring with an 8-play, 78-yard drive that culminated in Rypien's 31-yard touchdown completion to receiver Art Monk. San Francisco struck back by driving 74 yards in eight plays to tie the game on a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Tom Rathman. A key play of the drive was an unnecessary roughness call against Redskins cornerback Darrell Green for throwing Jerry Rice to the ground during a tackle, turning Rice's reception into a 25-yard gain. Green was stunned by the penalty, stating he didn't realize the call was against him until he made his way to the sidelines. Near the end of the quarter, Redskins kicker Chip Lohmiller made a 44-yard field goal that put Washington back in front at 10–7. Montana quickly rallied the 49ers back in the second quarter, leading them on an 80-yard scoring drive that saw San Francisco fool Washington with a halfback option play in which running back Harry Sydney completed a 28-yard pass to tight end Brent Jones. On the last play of the drive, Montana fired a 10-yard pass to Rice in the end zone, who caught the ball between two defenders to retake the lead for San Francisco at 14–10. The team was aided by another controversial call on the drive; Jones caught his 47-yard reception in the air and landed with a foot out of bounds, but officials ruled he had been forced out in the air by safety Alvin Walton. At the time, a reception made by a player forced out of bounds still counted as a catch. This rule was changed in 2008. Then after a punt, Montana again went to work, completing a 32-yard pass to halfback Roger Craig and a 47-yarder to Jones before finishing off the 89-yard possession with an 8-yard scoring toss to Mike Sherrard. Sherrard's touchdown made the score 21–10 going into halftime, and it turned out to be the final score of the day for the offenses of both teams. Washington advanced inside the 49ers' 15-yard line three times in the second half, but failed to score on all of them. On their second possession of the half, they advanced 66 yards to the 49ers' 7-yard line before Johnnie Jackson picked off a third down pass intended for Monk in the end zone. Early in the fourth quarter, Monk caught three passes for 63 yards on a drive to the San Francisco 15, only to see Rypien get hit as he threw a pass, which floated right into the hands of cornerback Darryl Pollard. Linebacker Monte Colemanquickly gave the Redskins another chance to get back in the game, intercepting a pass from Montana and returning it 18 yards to the 49ers 19-yard line with 10:28 left in regulation. Faced with fourth down and 5 from the 14, Rypien threw the ball to receiver Gary Clark in the end zone.  Eric Davis seemed to make contact with Clark before the ball arrived, but no flag was thrown and the pass fell incomplete, causing a turnover on downs. In the closing minutes of the game, 49ers linebacker Charles Haleydeflected a pass from Rypien into the arms of 295-pound defensive tackle Michael Carter, who rumbled 61 yards to the end zone to make the final score 28–10. This was the third postseason meeting between the Redskins and 49ers. The teams split the previous two meetings. NFC Championship: vs. (2) New York Giants San Francisco 49ers 1990 2;text-align:center; autocollapse NFC Championship: (2) New York Giants at (1) San Francisco 49ers – Game summary Giants 3 3 3 6 49ers 3 3 7 0 Candlestick Park, San Francisco January 20, 1991 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST 51 °F °C, passing clouds CBS Pat Summerall and John Madden Jerry Markbreit 65,750 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 YearAssociated Press Athlete of the Year (male) 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 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440 References 2 External links 1990 49ers on Pro Football Reference 49ers Schedule on jt-sw.com Category:San Francisco 49ers seasons Category:NFC West championship seasons San Francisco San Category:1990 in San Francisco