# 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers season

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

1990 Pittsburgh Steelers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1990 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| 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 |

## 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 | Bye | Bye | Bye | 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 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |