1990 Detroit Lions season

1990 Detroit Lions season
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr.
General manager	Chuck Schmidt
Head coach	Wayne Fontes
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB Barry Sanders T Lomas Brown DT Jerry Ball LB Chris Spielman PR Mel Gray

The 1990 Detroit Lions season was the 61st season in franchise history and their 57th in Detroit. Despite a stellar season from Barry Sanders who scored 16 touchdowns and led the league in rushing, the Lions took a step backward and finished in third place with a disappointing, seventh-consecutive losing record of 6–10, as they struggled to find a consistent quarterback.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1990 NFL Draft

1990 Detroit Lions draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	7	Andre Ware	QB	Houston
2	35	Dan Owens	DE	USC
3	62	Marc Spindler	DE	Pittsburgh
4	90	Rob Hinckley	LB	Stanford
4	105	Chris Oldham	S	Oregon	Selection obtained from L.A. Rams in exchange for TE Pat Carter
5	118	Jeff Campbell	WR	Colorado
6	147	Maurice Henry	LB	Kansas State
7	174	Tracy Hayworth	LB	Tennessee
8	194	Willie Green	WR	Mississippi	Selection obtained from Dallas in exchange for RB Paul Palmer
8	203	Roman Fortin	C	San Diego State
9	229	Jack Linn	OT	West Virginia
10	258	Bill Miller	WR	Illinois State
11	285	Reginald Warnsley	RB	Southern Mississippi
12	313	Robert Claiborne	WR	San Diego State
Made roster

Personnel

Staff

1990 Detroit Lions staff

Front office Owner and President – William Clay Ford, Sr. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer – Chuck Schmidt Treasurer – William Clay Ford, Jr. Director of Player Personnel – Ron Hughes Director of Pro Scouting – Kevin Colbert Head coaches Head Coach – Wayne Fontes Off./Def. Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Dave Levy Offensive coaches Quarterbacks and Receivers – Mouse Davis Quarterbacks and Receivers – June Jones Running Backs – Billie Matthews Receivers – Charlie Sanders Offensive Line – Jerry Wampfler

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Outside Linebackers – Woody Widenhofer Defensive Line – Lamar Leachman Inside Linebackers – Herb Paterra Defensive Backs – Len Fontes Defensive Assistant – Don Clemons Special teams coaches Special Teams – Frank Gansz Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Bert Hill

Roster

1990 Detroit Lions roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Bob Gagliano  9 Rodney Peete 11 Andre Ware Running backs (RB) 20 Barry Sanders 34 James Wilder Sr. Wide receivers (WR) 82 Robert Clark 81 Mike Farr 89 Terry Greer 23 Mel Gray 86 Willie Green 84 Richard Johnson 83 Aubrey Matthews Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Eric Andolsek G 75 Lomas Brown T 67 Ken Dallafior G 48 Roman Fortin C 53 Kevin Glover C 62 Dennis McKnight G 64 Eric Sanders T 60 Mike Utley G Defensive linemen (DL) 94 Jackie Cline DE 91 Mark Duckens DT 77 Keith Ferguson DE 97 Jeff Hunter DE 70 Dan Owens DE 97 Lawrence Pete DT 92 Marc Spindler DE

Linebackers (LB) 52 Mark Brown 50 Toby Caston ILB 98 Dennis Gibson ILB 99 Tracy Hayworth OLB 58 George Jamison OLB 57 Victor Jones OLB 51 Niko Noga ILB 54 Chris Spielman ILB Defensive backs (DB) 32 Bruce Alexander CB 36 Bennie Blades FS 27 Darren Carrington 39 Ray Crockett CB 47 LeRoy Irvin CB 42 Chris Oldham 27 Herb Welch S Special teams  6 Jim Arnold P  1 Rich Karlis K

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 9	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 38–21	56,692
2	September 16	Atlanta Falcons	W 21–14	48,961
3	September 23	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 23–20	55,075
4	September 30	Green Bay Packers	L 24–21	64,509
5	October 7	at Minnesota Vikings	W 34–27	57,586
6	October 14	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 43–24	74,312
7	Bye
8	October 28	at New Orleans Saints	W 27–10	64,368
9	November 4	Washington Redskins	L 41–38 OT	69,326
10	November 11	Minnesota Vikings	L 17–7	68,264
11	November 18	at New York Giants	L 20–0	76,109
12	November 22	Denver Broncos	W 40–27	73,896
13	December 2	at Chicago Bears	L 23–17 OT	62,313
14	December 10	Los Angeles Raiders Monday Night Football	L 38–31	72,190
15	December 16	Chicago Bears	W 38–21	67,759
16	December 22	at Green Bay Packers	W 24–17	46,700
17	December 30	at Seattle Seahawks	L 30–10	50,681

Season summary

Week 12 vs Broncos

See also: 1990 Denver Broncos season

Week Twelve: Denver Broncos (3–7) at Detroit Lions (3–7)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	7	10	3	7	27
Lions	21	6	7	6	40

at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan

• Date: November 22
• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Indoors (dome)
• Game attendance: 73,896
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter DET – Richard Johnson 11-yard pass from Bob Gagliano (Eddie Murray kick), 10:11. Lions 7–0. Drive: DEN – Melvin Bratton 1-yard run (David Treadwell kick), 6:45. Tie 7–7. Drive: DET – Barry Sanders 7-yard run (Eddie Murray kick), 4:32. Lions 14–7. Drive: DET – Richard Johnson 43-yard pass from Bob Gagliano (Eddie Murray kick), 0:50. Lions 21–7. Drive: Second quarter DET – Eddie Murray 24-yard field goal, 1:32. Lions 24–7. Drive: DEN – David Treadwell 24-yard field goal, 8:40. Lions 24–10. Drive: DEN – Wymon Henderson 48-yard interception return (David Treadwell kick), 7:40. Lions 24–17. DET – Eddie Murray 32-yard field goal, 1:55. Lions 27–17. Drive: Third quarter DEN – David Treadwell 32-yard field goal, 9:32. Lions 27–20. Drive: DET – Barry Sanders 35-yard pass from Bob Gagliano (Eddie Murray kick), 6:32. Lions 34–20. Drive: Fourth quarter DEN – Melvin Bratton 1-yard run (David Treadwell kick), 14:14. Lions 34–27. Drive: DET – Eddie Murray 43-yard field goal, 3:43. Lions 37–27. Drive: DET – Eddie Murray 45-yard field goal, 2:51. Lions 40–27. Drive: Top passers DEN – John Elway – 24/36, 246 yards, INT DET – Bob Gagliano – 18/30, 248 yards, 3 TD, INT Top rushers DEN – Bobby Humphrey – 16 rushes, 53 yards DET – Barry Sanders – 23 rushes, 147 yards, TD Top receivers DEN – Ricky Nattiel – 3 receptions, 50 yards DET – Richard Johnson – 5 receptions, 83 yards, 2 TD

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(3) Chicago Bears	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	348	280	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	0	.375	5–3	6–8	264	367	L2
Detroit Lions	6	10	0	.375	3–5	5–7	373	413	L1
Green Bay Packers	6	10	0	.375	3–5	5–7	271	347	L5
Minnesota Vikings	6	10	0	.375	3–5	4–8	351	326	L4

Player stats

Rushing

Player	Attempts	Yards	Average	Long	Touchdowns
Barry Sanders	255	1304	5.1	45	13

Receiving

Player	Receptions	Yards	Average	Long	Touchdowns
Barry Sanders	36	480	13.3	47	3

Awards and records

• Barry Sanders, First-Team All-Pro selection

External links

• 1990 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com