1990 San Francisco 49ers season
The 1990 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 41st season in the National Football League and their 45th overall. the team entered the 1990 season heavily favored to win their third consecutive Super Bowl. The season was highlighted by their victory over the New York Giants on "Monday Night Football" in Week 13. Throughout the season, the 49ers and the Giants were the two best teams in the NFL. The two teams would meet again in the NFC Championship Game. Between 1988 and 1990, the 49ers set a league record with 18 consecutive  road victories. Jerry Rice had a career year by becoming the fourth receiver in the history of American football to have at least 100 receptions in one season. The 49ers won their fifth consecutive NFC West Division Title. Dating back to 1989, the 49ers completed a fifteen-game unbeaten streak in the regular season (5 victories in the last 5 games of 1989 and 10 victories in the first ten games of 1990). The 49ers were the closest team in NFL history to "three peat" in the Super Bowl, losing in the final seconds on a field goal by the  eventual Super Bowl champion Giants in the . The season ended on quite a haunting note, because the Giants' Leonard Marshall made a devastating hit on 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, knocking him out of the game. Subsequent to this, Giants nose tackle Erik Howard fought through a double-team block by 49ers center Jesse Sapolu and 49ers guard Guy McIntyre to force 49ers running back Roger Craig to fumble by getting his helmet on the football with only a few minutes left while the 49ers were driving to run out the game clock. Erik Howard dropped to one knee and managed  to turn his shoulders perpendicular to the line of scrimmage in an effort to neutralize the double-team block. 49ers guard Guy McIntyre released from the double-team block on Erik Howard in order to attempt a block on onrushing Giants inside linebacker Pepper Johnson allowing Erik Howard to knife through the protection and lay a hit on 49ers running back Roger Craig. The ball was recovered by Giants outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor after he beat a block at the line of scrimmage by 49ers tight end Brent Jones and a subsequent block by 49ers fullback Tom Rathman to position  himself just behind where Roger Craig was located along the line of scrimmage to catch the football after Giants nose tackle Erik Howard's hit forced it out of Craig's grasp. The Giants took over possession and began driving to kick the game-winning field goal. They ended up winning 15–13. The words of announcer Pat Summerall, "There will be no three-peat!" still haunt 49ers fans. Following the 1990 season, the 49ers left team stalwarts Roger Craig and Ronnie Lott unprotected and let them go to the Los Angeles Raiders via Plan B free agency. Joe Montana would  remain on the 49ers' roster for the next two seasons, but would never start another game for the 49ers. Regular season. Game summaries. Week 13 vs Giants. It was the second highest rated Monday Night game ever at the time. The game had a 42% share and a 26.9 rating. Playoffs. NFC Championship Game. Just like the regular season game between the two teams won by the 49ers 7–3, the championship game was mostly a defensive battle. San Francisco running back Roger Craig's fumble with 2:36 left in the game led to Giants kicker Matt Bahr's 42-yard  game-winning field goal as time expired. Bahr was New York's only scorer with 5 (of 6) field goals. Despite not scoring a TD in eight quarters against the 49ers, the Giants moved on to Super Bowl XXV with their victory.