1990 Miami Dolphins season

25th season in franchise history; first playoff berth in 5 years December 2013 March 2026 Miami Dolphins 1990 12–4 2nd AFC East Don Shula Gary Stevens Tom Olivadotti Eddie Jones Joe Robbie Stadium Won Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Chiefs) 17–16Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Bills) 34–44 3 TE Ferrell Edmunds LT Richmond Webb DE Jeff Cross Dolphins seasons The 1990 Miami Dolphins season was the team's twenty-first season in the National Football League and twenty-fifth overall. After four seasons out of the playoffs with a combined record of 30 wins and 33 losses, the Dolphins returned to postseason play for the first time since 1985 with twelve wins and four losses. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 17–16 in the Wild Card Game, before being knocked out of contention by the Buffalo Bills, 44–34 in the Divisional Playoff Game. 1990 marked the first time since their record 1972 perfect season that the Dolphins played the New York Giants, and merely the second in team history.New York Giants v Miami Dolphins The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team's division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season. Also, the scheduled game between the Giants and Dolphins in 1987 was cancelled due to a players' strike.History of the NFL's Structure and Formats As of 2025, this was also the last time the Dolphins finished with at least twelve wins in the regular season. Offseason NFL draft 1990 NFL draft 1990 Miami Dolphins 1 9 Richmond Webb Offensive tackle Texas A&M yes yes 2 40 Keith Sims Offensive guard Iowa State yes yes 3 67 Alfred Oglesby Nose Tackle Houston yes 4 93 Scott Mitchell Quarterback Utah yes 5 137 Leroy Holt Fullback USC no 6 151 Sean Vanhorse Cornerback Howard no 8 205 Thomas Woods Wide receiver Tennessee no 9 232 Phil Ross Tight end Oregon State no 12 315 Bobby Harden Safety Miami (FL) yes yes no Undrafted free agents + 1990 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeRandy CockrellLinebackerVirginia TechDarryl Davis LinebackerFlorida A&MChris HaeringLinebackerWest VirginiaAndre JohnsonWide receiverFerris StateClarence JonesRunning backArmyJohn JurkovicNose TackleEastern IllinoisDave PacittiTackleVillanovaSean RedmanRunning backPenn StateMike RossonDefensive endTulsaCraig SchneiderGuardIllinoisDee SmithRunning backLouisvillePee Wee SmithWide receiverMiami (FL)Paul SoltisLinebackerYoungstown State Personnel Staff 1990 Miami Dolphins President – Tim Robbie Executive vice president/general manager – Eddie Jones Vice president – Don Shula Assistant general manager – Bryan Wiedmeier Director of player personnel – Charley Winner Director of pro personnel – Monte Clark Director of college scouting – Tom Heckert, Sr. Head coach – Don Shula Assistant head coach – John Sandusky Quarterbacks/pass offense – Gary Stevens Offensive backs – Carl Taseff Receivers – Larry Seiple Offensive line – John Sandusky Coaches' assistant – Tony Nathan Defense – Tom Olivadotti Defensive line – Dan Sekanovich Linebackers – George Hill Defensive backs – Mel Phillips Special teams – Mike Westhoff Strength and conditioning – Junior Wade Roster 1990 Miami Dolphins 47 16 1 13 Dan Marino 19 Scott Mitchell quarterback y  9 Scott Secules 34 Tony Collins American football 32 Garrett Limbrick 20 Marc Logan KR 49 Tony Paige FB American football 33 Sammie Smith 83 Mark Clayton American football, born 1961 85 Mark Duper 11 Jim Jensen wide receiver 89 Tony Martin American football PR 81 James Pruitt 84 Greg Baty LS 80 Ferrell Edmunds 65 Jeff Dellenbach C/T 74 Mark Dennis American football T 61 Roy Foster American football G 62 Harry Galbreath G 69 Keith Sims y G 63 Jeff Uhlenhake C/LS 78 Richmond Webb y T 60 Bert Weidner C/G 91 Jeff Cross American football DE 90 Eric Kumerow DE 98 Shawn Lee American football NT 96 Alfred Oglesby y NT 70 Brian Sochia DE 95 T. J. Turner defensive lineman DE 77 Karl Wilson DE 55 Hugh Green American football OLB 92 David Griggs American football OLB 54 E. J. Junior OLB 93 Cliff Odom ILB 56 John Offerdahl ILB 52 Mike Reichenbach American football ILB 47 Stefon Adams CB/S 37 J. B. Brown cornerback CB 35 Kerry Glenn CB 44 Paul Lankford CB 22 Tim McKyer CB 27 Stevon Moore FS 25 Louis Oliver FS 24 Rodney Thomas defensive back CB 26 Jarvis Williams defensive back SS  4 Reggie Roby P 10 Pete Stoyanovich K 86 Fred Banks American football WR IR 97 John Bosa DE IR 82 Andre Brown wide receiver WR IR 99 Rick Graf LB IR 41 African Grant S IR 45 Bobby Harden y S IR 21 Mark Higgs RB/KR IR 29 Liffort Hobley S IR 38 Leroy Holt y FB IR 88 Brian Kinchen TE/LS IR 58 Barry Krauss LB IR 28 Mike McGruder CB IR 81 Scott Schwedes WR/PR IR 23 Troy Stradford RB IR 43 George Swarn RB IR 48 Sean Vanhorse y CB IR 66 John Jurkovic y DT 47 16 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 9 at New England Patriots W 27–24 1–0 Foxboro Stadium 45,305 2 September 16 Buffalo Bills W 30–7 2–0 Joe Robbie Stadium 68,142 3 September 23 at New York Giants L 3–20 2–1 Giants Stadium 76,483 4 September 30 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–6 3–1 Three Rivers Stadium 54,691 5 October 7 New York Jets W 20–16 4–1 Joe Robbie Stadium 69,678 6 Bye 7 October 18 New England Patriots W 17–10 5–1 Joe Robbie Stadium 62,630 8 October 28 at Indianapolis Colts W 27–7 6–1 Hoosier Dome 59,213 9 November 4 Phoenix Cardinals W 23–3 7–1 Joe Robbie Stadium 54,294 10 November 11 at New York Jets W 17–3 8–1 Giants Stadium 68,362 11 November 19 Los Angeles Raiders L 10–13 8–2 Joe Robbie Stadium 70,553 12 November 25 at Cleveland Browns W 30–13 9–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 70,225 13 December 2 at Washington Redskins L 20–42 9–3 RFK Stadium 53,599 14 December 9 Philadelphia Eagles W 23–20 (OT) 10–3 Joe Robbie Stadium 67,034 15 December 16 Seattle Seahawks W 24–17 11–3 Joe Robbie Stadium 57,851 16 December 23 at Buffalo Bills L 14–24 11–4 Rich Stadium 80,235 17 December 30 Indianapolis Colts W 23–17 12–4 Joe Robbie Stadium 59,547 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Player stats Passing Player Att Comp Yds Touchdowns INT Rating Dan Marino 531 306 3563 21 11 82.6 Receiving Player Receptions Yards Average Long Touchdowns Mark Clayton 32 406 12.7 43 3 Defense Player Tackles Sacks Fumble Recoveries Jeff Cross 60 11.5 2 Playoffs AFC wild card game Miami Dolphins 17, Kansas City Chiefs 16 text-align:center; Miami Dolphins Chiefs 3 7 6 0 Dolphins 0 3 0 14 Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida 4:00 p.m. EST 75 °F °C, cloudy ABC Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf Pat Haggerty 67,276 With 2:28 left in the game, the Dolphins capped an 85-yard drive with quarterback Dan Marino's winning 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mark Clayton. AFC Divisional Playoff Buffalo Bills 44, Miami Dolphins 34 text-align:center; Miami Dolphins Dolphins 3 14 3 14 Bills 13 14 3 14 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 12:30 p.m. EST 31 °F °C, rain and snow NBC Marv Albert and Paul Maguire Bob McElwee 77,087 Awards and honors Jeff Cross, AFC Pro Bowl selection Milestones Dan Marino, 7th Consecutive 3,000 Yard Passing Season References Miami Dolphins on Pro Football Reference Miami Category:Miami Dolphins seasons Miami Dolphins