The 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 58th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National 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.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1990 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeKimble AndersRunning backHoustonLorenzo DavisWide receiverYoungstown StateRon FairWide receiverArizona StateBob GordonWide receiverNebraska-OmahaMitch LeeLinebackerCornellMike OberDefensive tackleSam Houston StateSkip PavlikGuardVirginia TechPete RutterPunterBaylor
Personnel Coaches / Staff
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 vs. New England Patriots W 30–14 1–0 Olympic Stadium 2 at Washington Redskins L 24–27 1–1 RFK Stadium 3 at Dallas Cowboys L 9–20 1–2 Texas Stadium 4 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–10 2–2 Three Rivers Stadium
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 9 at Cleveland 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 at Los 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 at Denver Broncos W 34–17 3–3 Mile High Stadium Recap 7 October 21 at San Francisco 49ers L 7–27 3–4 Candlestick Park Recap 8 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 at Cincinnati Bengals L 3–27 5–5 Riverfront Stadium Recap 12 November 25 at New 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 at New 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 at Houston Oilers L 14–34 9–7 Astrodome Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 9, 1990): at Cleveland Browns
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Game time: 4:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 78,298 Referee: Dick Hantak TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 19 Cleveland – Blaylock 30 fumble return (Kauric kick) Cleveland – FG Kauric 28 Cleveland – FG Kauric 47
Week 2 (Sunday September 16, 1990): vs. Houston Oilers
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 8:00 pm EDT Game weather: (Cloudy) Game attendance: 54,814 Referee: Gene Barth TV announcers: (TNT) Skip Caray (play by play), Pat Haden (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – D. Johnson 26 interception return (Anderson kick) Houston – White 1 run (Zendejas kick) Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 31 Houston – Safety, Childress tackled Brister in end zone Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 27 Pittsburgh – Woodson 52 punt return (Anderson kick)
Week 3 (Sunday September 23, 1990): at Los Angeles Raiders
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Game time: 4:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 50,657 Referee: Howard Roe TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Paul Maguire (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 31 Los Angeles Raiders – FG Jaeger 40 Los Angeles Raiders – FG Jaeger 45 Los Angeles Raiders – Allen 1 run (Jaeger kick) Los Angeles Raiders – Fernandez 66 pass from Schroeder (Jaeger kick)
Week 4 (Sunday September 30, 1990): vs. Miami Dolphins
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: (Cloudy) Game attendance: 54,691 Referee: Gerald Austin TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Paul Maguire (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Miami – S. Smith 1 run (Stoyanovich kick) Miami – S. Smith 7 run (Stoyanovich kick) Clayton 35 pass from Marino (Stoyanovich kick) Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 46 Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 35 Miami – Paige 1 run (Stoyanovich kick)
Week 5 (Sunday October 7, 1990): vs. San Diego Chargers
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: (Mostly Cloudy) Game attendance: 53,486 Referee: Tom White TV announcers: (NBC) Joel Meyers (play by play), Ahmad Rashad (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 45 San Diego – Plummer 2 pass from Tolliver (Reveiz kick) Pittsburgh – Green 8 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Green 1 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – W. Williams 2 run (Anderson kick) San Diego – L. Miller fumble recovery in end zone (Reveiz kick) Pittsburgh – Safety, Stone blocked punt out of end zone Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 45 Pittsburgh – Foster 2 run (Anderson kick)
Week 6 (Sunday October 14, 1990): at Denver Broncos
at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
Game time: 4:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 74,285 Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers: (NBC) Joel Meyers (play by play), Ahmad Rashad (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Denver – Winder 1 run (Treadwell kick) Denver – FG Treadwell 24 Pittsburgh – Lipps 6 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Denver – Sewell 2 run (Treadwell kick) Pittsburgh – Green 3 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Hoge 6 run (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Green 10 pass from Brister (kick failed) Pittsburgh – Green 3 pass from Brister (Anderson kick)
Week 7 (Sunday October 21, 1990): at San Francisco 49ers
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
Game time: 4:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 64,301 Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers: (NBC) Dick Enberg (play by play), Bill Walsh (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Bell 2 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) San Francisco – FG Cofer 39 San Francisco – Sherrard 5 pass from Montana (Cofer kick) San Francisco – FG Cofer 20 San Francisco – Rathman 1 run (Cofer kick) San Francisco – Rathman 1 run (Cofer kick)
Week 8 (Monday October 29, 1990): vs. Los Angeles Rams
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 9:00 pm EST Game weather: (Clear) Game attendance: 56,466 Referee: Dick Hantak TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators)
Scoring drives:
Los Angeles Rams – Greens 100 kickoff return (Lansford kick) Pittsburgh – Hoge 6 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Green 17 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Los Angeles Rams – FG Lansford 32 Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 42 Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 30 Pittsburgh – Hoge 1 run (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Stone 8 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Hoge 2 pass from Brister (Anderson kick)
Week 9 (Sunday November 4, 1990): vs. Atlanta Falcons
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: (Mostly Cloudy) Game attendance: 57,093 Referee: Johnny Grier TV announcers: (CBS) Brad Nessler (play by play), Dan Jiggetts (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Atlanta – FG Davis 41 Atlanta – FG Davis 43 Atlanta – FG Davis 38 Pittsburgh – Lipps 11 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Mularkey 19 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Williams 70 run (Anderson kick)
Week 10 (Sunday November 11, 1990): Bye Week
Week 11 (Sunday November 18, 1990): at Cincinnati Bengals
at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Game time: 8:00 pm EST Game weather: Game attendance: 60,064 Referee: Tom Dooley TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Cincinnati – Woods 5 run (Breech kick) Cincinnati – FG Breech 21 Cincinnati – Taylor 1 run (Breech kick) CIncinnati – Bussey 70 fumble return (Breech kick) Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 31 Cincinnati – FG Breech 33
Week 12 (Sunday November 25, 1990): at New York Jets
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game time: 4:00 pm EST Game weather: Game attendance: 57,806 Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Paul Maguire (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
New York Jets – Moore 53 pass from O'Brien (Leahy kick) Pittsburgh – W. Williams 5 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 33 Pittsburgh – Hoge 1 run (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Lipps 3 pass from Brister (Anderson kick)
Week 13 (Sunday December 2, 1990): vs. Cincinnati Bengals
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: (Mostly Cloudy) Game attendance: 58,200 Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 32 Cincinnati – Brown 50 pass from Esiason (Breech kick) Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 36 Cincinnati – Safety, Francis tackled Brister in end zone Cincinnati – Brooks 7 run (Breech kick) Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 29 Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 48
Week 14 (Sunday December 9, 1990): vs. New England Patriots
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: (Partly Cloudy) Game attendance: 48,354 Referee: Dale Hamer TV announcers: (NBC) Tom Hammond (play by play), Joe Namath (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 42 Pittsburgh – Hoge 8 run (Anderson kick) New England – FG Staurovsky 49 Pittsburgh – Green 14 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Hoge 41 run (Anderson kick)
Week 15 (Sunday December 16, 1990): at New Orleans Saints
at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: Dome Game attendance: 68,582 Referee: Howard Roe TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Paul Maguire (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 29 New Orleans – FG Andersen 50 New Orleans – FG Andersen 43 Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 42 Pittsburgh – FG Anderson 43
Week 16 (Sunday December 23, 1990): vs. Cleveland Browns
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: (Fog) Game attendance: 51,665 Referee: Johnny Grier TV announcers: (NBC) Joel Meyers (play by play), Ahmad Rashad (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Mularkey 20 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Calloway 20 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Mularkey 2 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – Hoge 20 pass from Brister (Anderson kick) Pittsburgh – W. Williams 1 run (Anderson kick)
Week 17 (Sunday December 30, 1990): at Houston Oilers
at Astrodome, Houston, Texas
Game time: 8:00 pm EST Game weather: Dome Game attendance: 56,906 Referee: Gerald Austin TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann (color commentator), Gary Danielson (sideline)
Scoring drives:
Houston – White 1 run (Garcia kick) Houston – Givins 14 pass from Carlson (Garcia kick) Houston – Hill 3 pass from Carlson (Garcia kick) Houston – FG Garcia 47 Pittsburgh – Hoge 4 run (Anderson kick) Houston – Jeffires 53 pass from Carlson (Garcia kick) Pittsburgh – Hoge 3 run (Anderson kick) Houston – FG Garcia 45
Standings
References
External links 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com