1990 Chicago Bears season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Chicago Bears 1990 11–5 1st NFC Central Mike Ditka Greg Landry Vince Tobin Soldier Field Won Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Saints) 16–6Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Giants) 3–31 Bears seasons The 1990 Chicago Bears season was their 71st regular season and 20th postseason completed in the National Football League (NFL). The Bears were looking to return to the playoffs after missing them in 1989 and did so, winning their sixth NFC Central Division championship in seven seasons. With the change in playoff structuring that began in 1990, the Bears were not guaranteed a bye week for winning the division and had to play on Wild Card weekend. They defeated the New Orleans Saints 16–6 in the Wild Card round but were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants at Giants Stadium 31–3 in the Divisional Playoffs. This was also the last division title the Bears would win until 2001. For the only time in Mike Ditka's tenure as the Bears' head coach, the team played a regular season game in the state of Arizona when they visited the Phoenix Cardinals on October 28. Chicago left Tempe victorious; it was the Bears' first matchup against the Cardinals since Chicago visited the Cardinals in St. Louis six years earlier. Late in the season, tragedy struck when defensive tackle Fred Washington, the Bears' second-round pick in the 1990 NFL draft, was killed in a car accident on December 21, 1990.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e24xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jG4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3893,6994015&dq=fred+washington+car+accident&hl=en Bears' rookie, companion killed in auto crash Associated Press December 22, 1990 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette November 27, 2014 Offseason NFL draft 1990 NFL draft 1990 Chicago Bears 1 6 Mark Carrier Safety USC yes yes 2 32 Fred Washington Defensive tackle TCU yes 2 33 Ron Cox Linebacker Fresno State yes 3 61 Tim Ryan Defensive end USC yes 3 63 Peter Tom Willis Quarterback Florida State yes 4 88 Tony Moss Wide receiver LSU 5 117 Pat Chaffey Running back Oregon State 6 144 John Mangum Defensive back Alabama yes 7 176 Bill Anderson Center Iowa 8 200 James Rouse Running back Arkansas yes 9 228 Johnny Bailey Running back Texas A&M–Kingsville yes yes 10 255 Terry Price Defensive end Texas A&M yes 11 284 Brent White Defensive end Michigan 11 298 Roman Matusz Offensive tackle Pittsburgh 12 310 Anthony Cooney Defensive back Arkansas no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/chi/1990_draft.htm 1990 Chicago Bears draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com November 1, 2014 Undrafted free agents + 1990 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBruce BrinemanGuardPurdueSteve ElmlingerWide receiverIndiana StateSteve FumiWide receiverMiami (OH)Ted HenningsDefensive tackleNorthern IllinoisSloan HoodFullbackTexas A&IAlan KochGuardRiceJames LottDefensive backClemsonRod ManningLinebackerNorth Texas StateRay TarasiKickerPenn State Staff 1990 Chicago Bears Chairman of the board – Ed McCaskey President/chief executive officer – Michael McCaskey Vice-president of player personnel – Bill Tobin Assistant director of player personnel – Rod Graves Head coach – Mike Ditka Assistant head coach/tight ends/special teams coordinator - Steve Kazor Offensive coordinator – Greg Landry Running backs – Johnny Roland Wide receivers – Vic Rapp Offensive line – Dick Stanfel Defensive coordinator – Vince Tobin Defensive line – John Levra Linebackers – Dave McGinnis Defensive backs –Zaven Yaralian Roster 1990 Chicago Bears 18 Mike Tomczak 10 Peter Tom Willis y 35 Neal Anderson 22 Johnny Bailey American football y KR/PR 31 Mark Green American football KR 25 Brad Muster FB 30 James Rouse American football y FB 82 Wendell Davis wide receiver 29 Dennis Gentry KR 88 Glen Kozlowski 84 Ron Morris American football 87 Tom Waddle 89 James Coley tight end 80 James Thornton tight end 79 Kurt Becker G 62 Mark Bortz G 74 Jim Covert T 67 Jerry Fontenot C 63 Jay Hilgenberg C 57 Tom Thayer G 78 Keith Van Horne T 73 John Wojciechowski T 93 Trace Armstrong DE 95 Richard Dent DE 99 Dan Hampton DT 76 Steve McMichael DT 72 William Perry American football DT 65 Terry Price American football y DE 96 Tim Ryan American football, born 1967 y DE 54 Ron Cox American football y OLB 53 Dante Jones MLB 51 Jim Morrissey American football OLB 52 Mickey Pruitt OLB 59 Ron Rivera OLB 55 John Roper American football OLB 64 Glenell Sanders y MLB 50 Mike Singletary MLB 20 Mark Carrier safety y FS 37 Maurice Douglass CB/S 23 Shaun Gayle SS 24 Vestee Jackson CB 26 John Mangum defensive back y CB 36 Markus Paul FS 49 David Tate American football SS 21 Donnell Woolford CB  8 Maury Buford P  6 Kevin Butler American football K 86 Cap Boso TE IR  4 Jim Harbaugh QB IR 32 Lemuel Stinson CB IR 33 Lars Tate RB IR 47 active, 4 inactive, 4 practice squad 46 James P. Lott y CB 75 Roman Matusz y T 85 Quintin Smith y WR 12 Brent Snyder QB https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/chi/1990_roster.htm 1990 Chicago Bears starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 1, 2014 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 9 Seattle Seahawks W 17–0 1–0 Soldier Field 64,400 2 September 16 at Green Bay Packers W 31–13 2–0 Lambeau Field 58,938 3 September 23 Minnesota Vikings W 19–16 3–0 Soldier Field 65,420 4 September 30 at Los Angeles Raiders L 10–24 3–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 80,156 5 October 7 Green Bay Packers W 27–13 4–1 Soldier Field 59,929 6 October 14 Los Angeles Rams W 38–9 5–1 Soldier Field 59,383 7 Bye 8 October 28 at Phoenix Cardinals W 31–21 6–1 Sun Devil Stadium 71,233 9 November 4 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 26–6 7–1 Tampa Stadium 68,555 10 November 11 Atlanta Falcons W 30–24 8–1 Soldier Field 62,855 11 November 18 at Denver Broncos W 16–13 (OT) 9–1 Mile High Stadium 75,013 12 November 25 at Minnesota Vikings L 13–41 9–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,866 13 December 2 Detroit Lions W 23–17 (OT) 10–2 Soldier Field 62,313 14 December 9 at Washington Redskins L 9–10 10–3 RFK Stadium 53,920 15 December 16 at Detroit Lions L 21–38 10–4 Pontiac Silverdome 67,759 16 December 23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–14 11–4 Soldier Field 46,456 17 December 29 Kansas City Chiefs L 10–21 11–5 Soldier Field 60,262 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: vs Seattle Seahawks Chicago Bears 1990 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week One: Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears – Game summary September 9 12:00 pm local Seahawks 0 0 0 0 Bears 3 7 0 7 Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois 64,400 hazy, 76 °F °C, 67% humidity, wind S 7 mph km/h Pat Haggerty NBC Dick Enberg & Bill Walsh Gamebook First quarter CHI – Kevin Butler 47-yard field goal, 2:40 (CHI 3–0) Second quarter CHI – Neal Anderson 17-yard run (Kevin Butler kick), 14:23 (CHI 10–0) Third quarter No scoring plays Fourth quarter CHI – Neal Anderson 4-yard run (Kevin Butler kick), 8:42 (CHI 17–0) Top passers SEA – Dave Krieg: 12 completions/27 attempts, 91 yds, 3 INT interceptions CHI – Jim Harbaugh: 21/29, 203 yds, 1 INT Top rushers SEA – John L. Williams: 8 car carries, 45 yds CHI – Neal Anderson: 20 car, 101 yds, 2 TD touchdowns Top receivers SEA – Tommy Kane: 4 rec receptions, 46 yds CHI – Dennis Gentry: 5 rec, 44 yds Team – pass passing yards – rush rushing yards – total total yards – to turnovers SEA – 74 – 58 – 132 – 3 CHI – 195 – 171 – 366 – 1 Week 2: at Green Bay Packers Chicago Bears 1990 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 2: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers September 16, 1990 1:00 p.m. CST Bears 0 17 7 7 Packers 7 3 3 0 Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Overcast, 54 F C CBS Verne Lundquist and Dan Fouts First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers CHI – Jim Harbaugh – 11/14, 161 yards, 2 TD, INT GB – Anthony Dilweg – 14/28, 149 yards, INT Top rushers CHI – Neal Anderson – 21 rushes, 71 yards, TD GB – Keith Woodside – 7 rushes, 40 yards, TD Top receivers CHI – Dennis Gentry – 1 receptions, 40 yards, TD GB – Clarence Weathers – 6 receptions, 62 yards Week 8: at Phoenix Cardinals Chicago Bears 1990 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 8: Chicago Bears at Phoenix Cardinals – Game summary October 28 3:00 p.m. CST/2:00 p.m. MST Bears 7 21 0 3 Cardinals 0 7 7 7 Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona 71,233 80 F C Box Score First quarter CHI – Neal Anderson 2-yard run (Kevin Butler kick). Bears 7–0. Second quarter CHI – Jim Harbaugh 1-yard run (Kevin Butler kick). Bears 14–0. CHI – Ron Morris 67-yard pass from Jim Harbaugh (Kevin Butler kick). Bears 21–0. CHI – Neal Anderson 2-yard run (Kevin Butler kick). Bears 28–0. PHO – J. T. Smith 3-yard pass from Timm Rosenbach (Al Del Greco kick). Bears 28–7. Third quarter PHO – Johnny Johnson 21-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Bears 28–14 Fourth quarter CHI – Kevin Butler 33-yard field goal. Bears 31–14 PHO – Roy Green 40-yard pass from Timm Rosenbach (Al Del Greco kick). Bears 31–21. Top passers CHI – Jim Harbaugh – 9/14, 166 yards, TD, INT PHO – Timm Rosenbach – 18/30, 256 yards, TD Top rushers CHI – Brad Muster – 12 rushes, 99 yards PHO – Johnny Johnson – 16 rushes, 74 yards, TD Top receivers CHI – Ron Morris – 3 receptions, 93 yards, TD PHO – Roy Green – 5 receptions, 89 yards, TD Standings Post Season In the wild card, the Bears defeated the New Orleans Saints to advance to a Divisional Round matchup against the New York Giants. The Giants ended the Bears playoff run on their way to winning the Super Bowl. Wild card text-align:center; background:#eee Game summary Saints 0 3 0 3 Bears 3 7 3 3 Soldier Field, Chicago 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST 22 °F °C, partly cloudy CBS Verne Lundquist and John Madden Jerry Seeman 60,767 *Scoring CHI – field goal Butler 19 CHI 3–0 CHI – Thornton 18 pass from Tomczak (Butler kick) CHI 10–0 NO – field goal Andersen 47 CHI 10–3 CHI – field goal Butler 22 CHI 13–3 NO – field goal Andersen 38 CHI 13–6 CHI – field goal Butler 21 CHI 16–6The Bears defense held the Saints to 193 total yards, 65 rushing yards, 6 first downs, and two field goals. Chicago also recorded 365 yards of total offense. Bears running back Neal Anderson compiled 102 rushing yards, 42 receiving yards, and threw a 22-yard Halfback option pass. The score was 10–3 at the end of the first half, due to a Kevin Butler field goal and Mike Tomczak's 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end James Thornton. The Saints' only score of the half was a 47-yard field goal by Morten Andersen, who would later miss from 41 yards and have another attempt blocked. Also, with 3 minutes left before halftime, New Orleans starting quarterback Steve Walsh, who had completed just 6 of 16 passes, was knocked out of the game and replaced by John Fourcade. Fourcade fared no better, finishing the game with just 5 of 18 for 79 yards, including two interceptions. Still the Saints were just trailing 10–3 near the end of the third quarter, and had a great chance to tie the game when defensive tackle Renaldo Turnbull blocked Butler's 45-yard field goal attempt. New Orleans defensive end Vince Buck recovered the ball and returned it 62 yards for a potential touchdown, only to see the play wiped out by an offsides penalty on teammate Robert Massey, who had lined up with his hand over the neutral zone. The penalty not only eliminated the score, but it also gave Chicago a first down, and 7 plays later, Butler kicked a 25-yard field goal to put them up 13–3. With 5:52 left in the fourth quarter, Andersen's 38-yard field goal brought the scoring difference back to just a touchdown at 13–6. However, when faced with 3rd and 11 on the Bears ensuing drive, Tomczak completed a 38-yard pass to Dennis Gentry, enabling Chicago to maintain possession and drive to Butler's game clinching 21-yard field goal with 3:47 remaining on the clock. You just try to line up as close as you can; I didn't realize I was offside", said Massey about his critical penalty after the game. "But when I saw the flag, I said, 'Oh, God!' I knew it was me."https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/07/sports/nfl-playoffs-saints-rue-crucial-penalty.html N.F.L. PLAYOFFS; Saints Rue Crucial Penalty The New York Times 7 January 1991 Lapointe Joe This was Mike Ditka's last playoff win as Bears head coach. Divisional text-align:center; background:#eee Game summary Bears 0 3 0 0 Giants 10 7 7 7 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 12:30 p.m. EST 32 °F °C, partly cloudy CBS Pat Summerall and John Madden Dick Hantak 77,025 *Scoring NYG – field goal Bahr 46 NYG 3–0 NYG – Baker 21 pass from Hostetler (Bahr kick) NYG 10–0 CHI – field goal Butler 33 NYG 10–3 NYG – Cross 3 pass from Hostetler (Bahr kick) NYG 17–3 NYG – Hostetler 3 run (Bahr kick) NYG 24–3 NYG – Carthon 1 run (Bahr kick) NYG 31–3 The Giants defense dominated the game by allowing only 27 rushing yards and 3 points. This was the fewest rushing yards Chicago had gained in a game since 1967. Their previous low for the season was 100. Bears running back Neal Anderson, who had rushed for over 1,000 yards in the season and 102 yards in the previous playoff game, was held to 19 yards on 12 carries. Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler, playing because starter Phil Simms suffered a season-ending injury, completed 10 out of 17 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 43 yards and another score. On Chicago's second possession of the game, Giants defensive back Mark Collins intercepted Mike Tomczak's pass after it bounced out of the hands of Dennis Gentry and returned it 11 yards to set up a 46-yard field goal by Matt Bahr. The Bears took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the Giants 27, but on 4th down and 12, coach Mike Ditka decided against attempting a field goal in the 13 mph on winds. On Chicago's conversion attempt, Anderson caught a pass from Tomczak, but was stuffed after a short gain. The Giants then drove 75 yards, including a 6-yard fourth-down conversion catch by reserve tight end Bob Mrosko, to go up 10–0 on Hostetler's 21-yard completion to Stephen Baker. In the second quarter, Hostetler lost a fumble while being sacked by Steve McMichael, and Bears lineman Dan Hampton recovered the ball. Chicago then drove to the Giants 1-yard line. But on a 4th down conversion attempt, Giants defensive end John Washington plowed through Jim Covert's block attempt and tackled fullback Brad Muster for a loss. Still, the Bears managed to force a three-and-out, and convert good starting field position into a 33-yard field goal by Kevin Butler. But before the end of the half, the Giants went up 17–3 with an 80-yard, 11-play scoring drive. On the first play, Hostetler scrambled away from a Bears blitz and rushed for 11 yards. Later on, he converted a 4th and 1 at the Bears 32 with a 10-yard burst, and eventually he finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Howard Cross. In the third quarter, Hostelter converted his third 4th down of the day with 9-yard scramble on 4th and 6, and finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, putting his team up 24–3. Chicago responded with a drive to the Giants 5-yard line. On 4th and goal, Muster caught a pass at the 1, but was dropped by linebackers Pepper Johnson and Gary Reasons before he could get across the goal line. In the fourth quarter, Giants defensive back Everson Walls returned an interception 37 yards to the Giants 49. The Giants then went on a 51-yard drive consisting of 16 running plays, the last a 1-yard touchdown plunge by fullback Maurice Carthon, that ate up 10:30 of play time. This game offered a preview of what lay in store for Super Bowl XXV, as the Giants scored on drives of 75, 80, 49 and 51 yards, which lasted nine, 11, 11 and 16 plays. Overall, the Giants held the ball for 38:22, compared to Chicago's 21:38. The only negative thing for New York was the loss of running back Rodney Hampton, who suffered a broken leg in the first half. References External links 1990 Chicago Bears at Pro-Football-Reference.com Chicago Bears Category:Chicago Bears seasons Category:NFC Central championship seasons Bear Category:1990 in Chicago