1990 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Owner	The Rooney Family
General manager	Dick Haley
Head coach	Chuck Noll
Home field	Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	2 LB David Little CB Rod Woodson
AP All-Pros	Rod Woodson (1st team)
Team MVP	Rod Woodson
Team ROY	Eric Green
← 1989 Steelers seasons 1991 →

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

Main article: 1990 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1990 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
1	21	Eric Green *	Tight end	Liberty
2	43	Kenny Davidson	Defensive end	LSU
3	70	Neil O'Donnell *	Quarterback	Maryland
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

**1990 Pittsburgh Steelers staff**
	Front office President – Daniel M. Rooney Vice president – John R. McGinley Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. Director of communications – Joe Gordon Controller – Ralph Meacham Chief negotiator/travel – James A. Boston Business/stadium coordinator – Dan Ferens Public relations director – Dan Edwards Community relations coordinator – Pat Hanlon Ticket sales manager – Geraldine Glenn Office manager/computer – Jim Ellenberger Director of player personnel – Dick Haley Director of pro personnel and development – Tom Donahoe College scouting coordinator – Tom Modrak Talent scout – Bob Schmitz Talent scout – Max McCartney Talent scout – Charles Bailey Head coaches Head coach – Chuck Noll Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Joe Walton Offensive backfield – Dick Hoak Receivers – Dwain Painter Tight ends – Jon Kolb Offensive line – Ron Blackledge			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Dave Brazil Defensive line – Joe Greene Linebackers – Bob Valesente Defensive backs – John Fox Special teams coaches Special teams – George Stewart Strength and conditioning Conditioning coach – Jon Kolb Dentist – Dr. George P. Boucek Ophthalmologist – Dr. Phillip Buzzelli Physician, orthopedic – Dr. Thomas W. Cowan Neurological surgery consultant – Dr. Joseph C. Maroon Physician, M.D. – Dr. Richard Rydze Physician, consultant – Dr. Abraham J.Twerski Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates Trainer – Ralph Berlin Trainer – Fran Feld Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi Field manager – Rodgers Freyvogel Video & film director – Bob McCartney Video assistant – Pat Dolan Photographers – Mike Fabus, Bill Amatucci ^[1]

Roster

**1990 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster**

	Quarterbacks 6 Bubby Brister 14 Neil O'Donnell QB 11 Rick Strom Running backs 21 Richard Bell 29 Barry Foster 33 Merril Hoge FB 42 Warren Williams 38 Tim Worley Wide receivers 88 Chris Calloway 82 Derek Hill 83 Louis Lipps 20 Dwight Stone Tight ends 86 Eric Green 84 Mike Mularkey 85 Terry O'Shea		Offensive linemen 60 Brian Blankenship G 63 Dermontti Dawson C/LS 77 Carlton Haselrig G 62 Tunch Ilkin T 65 John Jackson T 74 Terry Long G 71 Tom Ricketts T 79 John Rienstra G 73 Justin Strzelczyk T Defensive linemen 64 Kenny Davidson DE 66 Donald Evans DE 91 Craig Veasey NT 98 Gerald Williams NT 93 Keith Willis DE		Linebackers 53 Bryan Hinkle OLB 99 A.J. Jenkins OLB 50 David Little ILB 95 Greg Lloyd OLB 54 Hardy Nickerson ILB 55 Jerry Olsavsky ILB 90 Tyronne Stowe ILB 57 Jerrol Williams OLB Defensive backs 27 Thomas Everett FS 22 Larry Griffin FS 35 Delton Hall CB 44 D. J. Johnson CB 25 Gary Jones SS 37 Carnell Lake SS 49 Dwayne Woodruff CB 26 Rod Woodson CB/KR/PR Special teams 1 Gary Anderson K 4 Dan Stryzinski P		Reserve lists 61 Gene Cullinane G 96 Karl Dunbar DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 68 Lorenzo Freeman NT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 97 Aaron Jones LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 51 Chuck Lanza C (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 89 Lorenzo Davis WR 80 Ron Fair WR 24 Anthony Florence CB 94 Eddie Miles LB ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] Rookies in italics 47 active, 4 inactive, 4 practice squad

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
1	August 9	vs. New England Patriots	W 30–14	1–0	Olympic Stadium
2	August 17	at Washington Redskins	L 24–27	1–1	RFK Stadium
3	August 25	at Dallas Cowboys	L 9–20	1–2	Texas Stadium
4	September 1	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	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	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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	3	0	0	3
Browns	0	0	10	3	13

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	0	7	2	0	9
Steelers	7	3	0	10	20

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 8:00 pm EDT
Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C) (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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	3	0	0	0	3
Raiders	0	3	3	14	20

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins	7	14	0	7	28
Steelers	0	3	3	0	6

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C) (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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	7	0	7	0	14
Steelers	3	14	7	12	36

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C) (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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	14	7	13	34
Broncos	10	7	0	0	17

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	7	0	0	0	7
49ers	0	10	10	7	27

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	7	3	0	0	10
Steelers	14	3	10	14	41

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 9:00 pm EST
Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C) (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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	6	3	0	0	9
Steelers	0	0	7	14	21

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C) (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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	0	0	3	3
Bengals	7	3	14	3	27

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	7	3	14	24
Jets	0	7	0	0	7

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	7	9	0	0	16
Steelers	6	0	3	3	12

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C) (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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots	0	3	0	0	3
Steelers	3	7	7	7	24

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather: 43 °F (6 °C) (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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	3	0	6	9
Saints	0	0	3	3	6

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	0	0	0	0	0
Steelers	21	14	0	0	35

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 1:00 pm EST
Game weather: 36 °F (2 °C) (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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	0	7	7	14
Oilers	7	17	7	3	34

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)

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

AFC Central
view talk edit	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

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers seasons

Pittsburgh Steelers seasons
Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939)
1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers
Founded in 1933 Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939) Based and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Franchise	History All-Time Team Seasons Logos and uniforms Coaches Players Starting quarterbacks First-round draft picks Records
Stadiums	Home fields: Forbes Field Pitt Stadium Three Rivers Stadium Acrisure Stadium Training facilities: Rooney Field Point Stadium UPMC Rooney Sports Complex Chuck Noll Field
Culture	Football in Western Pennsylvania Rooney family Myron Cope Steelmark Steeler Nation Terrible Towel Steel Curtain Black Sunday Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story Evening Shade The Chief "Renegade" "Here We Go" "Black and Yellow" YinzCam This Is Us Steel Curtain Roller Coaster
Lore	Steelers lore J.P. Rooneys Pennsylvania Keystoners "Pennsylvania Polka" Steagles Card-Pitt Steelerettes Immaculate Reception 1995 AFC Championship Game Jerome Bettis trade Immaculate Redemption/The Tackle 3:16 game
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Media	Broadcasters KDKA-TV WPKD-TV SportsNet Pittsburgh Charlie Batch Chris Hoke Bob Pompeani Radio Network WDVE-FM WBGG-AM Bill Hillgrove Tunch Ilkin Craig Wolfley Steelers figures in broadcasting
Division championships (24)	1972 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1983 1984 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 2001 2002 2004 2007 2008 2010 2014 2016 2017 2020
Conference championships (8)	1974 1975 1978 1979 1995 2005 2008 2010
League championships (6)	1974 (IX) 1975 (X) 1978 (XIII) 1979 (XIV) 2005 (XL) 2008 (XLIII)
Retired numbers	32 70 75
Hall of Fame members	Players: Bettis Blount Bradshaw Butler Dawson Dudley Faneca Greene Ham Harris Johnson Lambert Layne Polamalu Shell Stallworth Stautner Swann Webster Woodson Coaches and administration: Bell Cowher Kiesling Noll Art Rooney Dan Rooney
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: American Football Conference Division: North Division

1990 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	LA Rams
Miami	Houston	LA Raiders	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Phoenix	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay