1990 Detroit Lions season

1990 Detroit Lions season
1990 Detroit Lions season
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr.
Head coach	Wayne Fontes
General manager	Chuck Schmidt
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
	← 1989; Lions seasons; 1991 →;

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[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1990 Detroit Lions draft
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

^[1]

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 final roster**

	Quarterbacks 14 Bob Gagliano 9 Rodney Peete 11 Andre Ware Running backs 20 Barry Sanders 34 James Wilder Sr. Wide receivers 82 Robert Clark 81 Mike Farr 89 Terry Greer 23 Mel Gray KR/PR 84 Richard Johnson 83 Aubrey Matthews Tight ends		Offensive linemen 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 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 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 32 Bruce Alexander CB 36 Bennie Blades FS 27 Darren Carrington 39 Ray Crockett CB 47 LeRoy Irvin CB 42 Chris Oldham CB/SS 27 Herb Welch S Special teams 6 Jim Arnold P 1 Rich Karlis K		Reserve lists 80 Robert Claiborne WR (IR) 86 Willie Green WR (IR) 12 Erik Kramer QB (IR) -- Jack Linn T (IR) 3 Eddie Murray K (IR) Practice squad 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	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

* Monday Night Football

Season summary[]

Week 12 vs Broncos[]

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

	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
view talk	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[]

Jerry Ball, Second-Team All-Pro selection
Jerry Ball, Pro Bowl Reserve Selection
Lomas Brown, Second-Team All-Pro selection
Mike Cofer, Second-Team All-Pro selection
Mel Gray, First-Team All-Pro selection
Eddie Murray, Pro Bowl Selection
Barry Sanders, First-Team All-Pro selection
Barry Sanders, Pro Bowl Selection
Chris Spielman, Pro Bowl Reserve Selection

References[]

^ "1990 Detroit Lions Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2014.

External links[]

1990 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1] "1990 Detroit Lions Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2014.

[1]

v t Detroit Lions
Founded in 1930 Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933) Based in Detroit, Michigan Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan
Franchise	Franchise History in Portsmouth Seasons Players First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Coaches
Stadiums	Universal Stadium University of Detroit Stadium Tiger Stadium Pontiac Silverdome Ford Field
Culture	NFL on Thanksgiving Day Paper Lion (film) "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye song) Home Improvement Beverly Hills Cop Cheerleaders
Lore	1932 NFL Playoff Game
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings
Notable people	William Clay & Martha Firestone Ford Sheila Ford Hamp Matt Millen Barry Sanders Bobby Layne Glenn Presnell Calvin Johnson Wayne Fontes Alex Karras
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Radio network Dan Miller Lomas Brown WXYT-FM TV: Television network Chris Spielman Jennifer Hammond WJBK Bally Sports Detroit
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

v t Detroit Lions seasons
Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933)
1930 1931 1932 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
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance