| 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | The Rooney Family |
| General manager | Dick Haley |
| Head coach | Chuck Noll |
| Offensive coordinator | Joe Walton |
| Defensive coordinator | Dave Brazil |
| Home stadium | Three Rivers Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–7 |
| Division place | 3rdAFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| All-Pros | Rod Woodson(1st team) |
| Pro Bowlers | |
| Team MVP | Rod Woodson |
| Team ROY | Eric Green |
The1990 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 58th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of theNational Football League.
The Steelers did not score an offensive touchdown until the 5th game of the season, but did rebound to a 9–7 record (the same they posted the previous season).
Unlike the previous season, 9–7 was not enough to gain a playoff berth. The Steelers continued to show improvement overcoming a 1–3 start to find themselves in a showdown with the Oilers in Houston for the AFC's final playoff spot in the final game of the season. However, the Steelers were never in the game as the Oilers beat the Steelers 34–14 ending their season without the playoffs.
| 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Eric Green * | Tight end | Liberty | |
| 2 | 43 | Kenny Davidson | Defensive end | LSU | |
| 3 | 70 | Neil O'Donnell * | Quarterback | Maryland | |
| 3 | 81 | Craig Veasey | Defensive tackle | Houston | |
| 4 | 97 | Chris Calloway | Wide receiver | Michigan | |
| 5 | 128 | Barry Foster * | Running back | Arkansas | |
| 6 | 155 | Ronald Heard | Wide receiver | Bowling Green | |
| 7 | 182 | Dan Grayson | Linebacker | Washington State | |
| 8 | 209 | Karl Dunbar | Defensive end | LSU | |
| 9 | 239 | Gary Jones | Safety | Texas A&M | |
| 10 | 266 | Eddie Miles | Linebacker | Minnesota | |
| 11 | 293 | Justin Strzelczyk | Guard | Maine | |
| 12 | 319 | Richard Bell | Running back | Nebraska | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Kimble Anders | Running back | Houston |
| Lorenzo Davis | Wide receiver | Youngstown State |
| Ron Fair | Wide receiver | Arizona State |
| Bob Gordon | Wide receiver | Nebraska-Omaha |
| Mitch Lee | Linebacker | Cornell |
| Mike Ober | Defensive tackle | Sam Houston State |
| Skip Pavlik | Guard | Virginia Tech |
| Pete Rutter | Punter | Baylor |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Practice squad Rookies in italics 47 active, 4 reserve, 4 practice squad |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 9 | vs.New England Patriots | W 30–14 | 1–0 | Olympic Stadium |
| 2 | August 17 | atWashington Redskins | L 24–27 | 1–1 | RFK Stadium |
| 3 | August 25 | atDallas Cowboys | L 9–20 | 1–2 | Texas Stadium |
| 4 | September 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–10 | 2–2 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9 | atCleveland Browns | L 3–13 | 0–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Recap | ||
| 2 | September 16 | Houston Oilers | W 20–9 | 1–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap | ||
| 3 | September 23 | atLos Angeles Raiders | L 3–20 | 1–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | ||
| 4 | September 30 | Miami Dolphins | L 6–28 | 1–3 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 7 | San Diego Chargers | W 36–14 | 2–3 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap | ||
| 6 | October 14 | atDenver Broncos | W 34–17 | 3–3 | Mile High Stadium | Recap | ||
| 7 | October 21 | atSan Francisco 49ers | L 7–27 | 3–4 | Candlestick Park | Recap | ||
| 8 | October 29 | Los Angeles Rams | W 41–10 | 4–4 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap | ||
| 9 | November 4 | Atlanta Falcons | W 21–9 | 5–4 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap | ||
| 10 | November 11 | Bye | ||||||
| 11 | November 18 | atCincinnati Bengals | L 3–27 | 5–5 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap | ||
| 12 | November 25 | atNew York Jets | W 24–7 | 6–5 | Giants Stadium | Recap | ||
| 13 | December 2 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 12–16 | 6–6 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap | ||
| 14 | December 9 | New England Patriots | W 24–3 | 7–6 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap | ||
| 15 | December 16 | atNew Orleans Saints | W 9–6 | 8–6 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap | ||
| 16 | December 23 | Cleveland Browns | W 35–0 | 9–6 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap | ||
| 17 | December 30 | atHouston Oilers | L 14–34 | 9–7 | Astrodome | Recap | ||
Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Browns | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
atCleveland Municipal Stadium,Cleveland, Ohio
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Steelers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
atThree Rivers Stadium,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Raiders | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 20 |
atLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum,Los Angeles, California
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
atThree Rivers Stadium,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Steelers | 3 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 36 |
atThree Rivers Stadium,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 34 |
| Broncos | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
atMile High Stadium,Denver, Colorado
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 49ers | 0 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
atCandlestick Park,San Francisco, California
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Steelers | 14 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 41 |
atThree Rivers Stadium,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
atThree Rivers Stadium,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bengals | 7 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 27 |
atRiverfront Stadium,Cincinnati, Ohio
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
| Jets | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
atGiants Stadium,East Rutherford, New Jersey
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Steelers | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
atThree Rivers Stadium,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Steelers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
atThree Rivers Stadium,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| Saints | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
atLouisiana Superdome,New Orleans, Louisiana
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steelers | 21 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
atThree Rivers Stadium,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scoring drives:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Oilers | 7 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
Scoring drives:
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (3)Cincinnati Bengals | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 360 | 352 | W2 |
| (6)Houston Oilers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 405 | 307 | W1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 6–6 | 292 | 240 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–5 | 2–10 | 228 | 462 | L2 |