Colts

Patriots

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Bengals

Browns

Oilers

Steelers

Broncos

Chiefs

Raiders

Chargers

Seahawks

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AFC teams: West, Central, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Cardinals

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Buccaneers

Falcons

Rams

Saints

49ers

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NFC teams: West, Central, East

The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League (NFL). To increase revenue, the league, for the first time since 1966, reinstated bye weeks, 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 format was modified with realignment in 2002 (increasing the division spots per conference from three to four, and decreasing the wild card spots per conference from three to two) before the playoffs expanded to 14 teams in 2020.

During four out of the five previous seasons under the 10-team format, at least one team with a 10–6 record missed the playoffs, including the 11–5 Denver Broncos in 1985; meanwhile, three years later, the 10–6 San Francisco 49ers won Super Bowl XXIII, leading for calls to expand the playoff format to ensure that 10–6 teams could compete for a Super Bowl win. Ironically, the first sixth-seeded playoff team would not have a 10–6 record, but instead, the New Orleans Saints, with an 8–8 record, took the new playoff spot.

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 appearance for Buffalo, who would represent the AFC in the next three Super Bowls as well.

First full season under NFL Commissioner Tagliabue

This was the first full season for Paul Tagliabue as the league's Commissioner, after taking over from Pete Rozelle midway through the previous season. On October 8, the league announced that the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award would be named the Pete Rozelle Trophy in the former commissioner's honor.^[1]

Player movement

Transactions

• On April 2, 1990, Elvis Patterson signed as a Plan B free agent with the Los Angeles Raiders. He was waived on September 3 and later re-signed. He became a special teams standout and earned the nickname Ghost.^[2] He was a special teams captain for three years.^[3]

Trades

• On September 25, 1990, the Dallas Cowboys traded Steve Walsh to the New Orleans Saints for the Saint's first and third round picks in the 1991 NFL Draft and a second round pick (that could become a first round pick based on performance) in the 1992 NFL Draft.^[4]

Retirements

• Dallas Cowboys defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones announced his retirement on June 5, 1990.^[5]

Draft

The 1990 NFL Draft was held from April 22 to 23, 1990 at New York City's Marriott Marquis. With the first pick, the Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback Jeff George from the University of Illinois. Selecting seventeenth overall, the Dallas Cowboys would draft Emmitt Smith, who would retire as the NFL's all-time leading rusher.

Officiating changes

Dick Jorgensen, who had been the referee in the previous season's Super Bowl XXIV, was diagnosed in May during the offseason with a rare blood disorder.^[6] He died five months later on October 10.^[7] For the remainder of the 1990 season, NFL officials wore a black armband on their left sleeve with the white number 60 to honor Jorgensen.^[8]

Ben Dreith (a referee in the AFL from 1966 to 1969, and the NFL since the merger) and Fred Wyant (a referee since 1971), were demoted to line judge. Dreith later filed a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the league fired him after the 1990 season, citing age discrimination as the reason for both his demotion to line judge and his dismissal.^[9][10] Dreith and the NFL would later agree in 1993 to a $165,000 settlement, plus court costs and attorney fees.^[11]

Gerald Austin, the side judge for Super Bowl XXIV, and Tom White, were promoted to referee. White became the first official to be promoted to referee after only one season of NFL experience since Jerry Markbreit in 1977 (Tommy Bell (1962) and Brad Allen (2014) were hired straight into the NFL as referees). After one season with having 16 officiating crews in 1989, it was reduced back to 15 crews in 1990 to handle the weekly workload of 14 games (if there were no teams with a bye week).

Ed Hochuli was hired as a back judge (now field judge) and assigned to Howard Roe's crew. Hochuli was promoted to referee two years later.

Major rule changes

• The rule for unnecessary roughness penalties is clarified so that any player who butts, spears, or rams an opponent risks immediate disqualification.
• 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);^[12]
  • 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; and
  • 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.^[13]
• This was the first season in which NFL teams officially had a bye week; the last time was in 1966, when the league had an odd number of teams at 15.

1990 deaths

• Chet Adams, a three-time AAFC champion with the Cleveland Browns died on October 28, 1990
• Fritz Barzilauskas, a first round selection in the 1947 NFL Draft died on November 30, 1990
• Former tackle Frank Cope died on October 8, 1990
• Halfback Tom Harmon died on March 15, 1990
• Offensive lineman Rufus Mayes died on January 9
• Darryl Usher, a member of the Phoenix Cardinals in the 1989 NFL season was shot and killed on February 24, 1990, in Phoenix, Arizona at age 25.^[14]
• On December 21, 1990, Chicago Bears rookie Fred Washington was killed in a car accident.^[15] He was a member of the 1984 Texas 4A State Football Champion Denison YellowJackets and was voted defensive player of the year.^[16]

Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

• Football coach George Allen died on December 31.
• Bronko Nagurski, also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, died on January 7, 1990

Preseason

American Bowl

A series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States, a total of four games were held in 1990.

Date	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Score	Stadium	City
August 5, 1990	Denver Broncos	10	Seattle Seahawks	7	Tokyo Dome	Tokyo
August 5, 1990	New Orleans Saints	17	Los Angeles Raiders	10	Wembley Stadium	London
August 9, 1990	Pittsburgh Steelers	30	New England Patriots	14	Olympic Stadium	Montreal
August 11, 1990	Los Angeles Rams	19	Kansas City Chiefs	3	Olympiastadion	West Berlin

Regular season

Scheduling formula

Highlights of the 1990 season included:

• Porkchop Bowl: A third game in the heated rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, following the Bounty Bowl of 1989, took place in 1990. Known as the "Porkchop Bowl". The game got its name because Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan choked on a pork chop in the week leading up to the game, Philadelphia won this game as well, 21–20.
• Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 22, featuring Denver at Detroit and Washington at Dallas, with Detroit and Dallas winning.

Final standings