1990 Kansas City Chiefs season

1990 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner	Lamar Hunt
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer
General manager	Carl Peterson
Home field	Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2nd AFC West
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Dolphins) 16–17
Pro Bowlers	LB Derrick Thomas CB Kevin Ross CB Albert Lewis K Nick Lowery
← 1989 Chiefs seasons 1991 →

The 1990 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 21st season in the National Football League, the 28th as the Kansas City Chiefs and the 31st overall. The team improved from an 8–7–1 record to an 11–5 record and Wild Card spot in the 1991 playoffs. In Marty Schottenheimer's first playoff appearance with the Chiefs, they lost to the Miami Dolphins 17–16 in the Wild Card round. Starting with the home opener, the Chiefs began an NFL-record 19 consecutive seasons with every home game sold out. The streak was finally broken in the final home game of the 2009 Kansas City Chiefs season versus Cleveland.

Season notes[]

The success of the 1989 season carried into 1990, and the Chiefs put together a successful season to return to the playoffs for only the second time since 1971. The season began on August 4 when Buck Buchanan, a key ingredient of the Chiefs' 1969 Super Bowl championship season was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

On opening day, The Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 24–21. On September 17, Stephone Paige catches 10 passes for 206 yards, but the Chiefs still lost to the Denver Broncos, 24–23 on Monday Night Football.

On October 14, Barry Word rushes for a team-record 200 yards against the Detroit Lions at Arrowhead. Kansas City won 43–24 to give the Chiefs a 4–2 record. Word would eventually gain 1,021 yards rushing for the season while Paige caught 65 passes for 1,021 yards. Quarterback Steve DeBerg had his best season ever as a Chief as he passed for 3,444 yards and 23 touchdowns.

On November 11, Derrick Thomas who would get 20 quarterback sacks for the year, sacked Seattle Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg an NFL-record seven sacks. On the game's last play, Derrick nearly had his 8th sack, but Krieg eluded him and threw a game-winning touchdown as the Seahawks won 17–16. Derrick Thomas later said himself that, "The thing I most remember about that game, is the sack I didn't get, that's the one that still haunts me." The great Derrick Thomas' record of seven sacks in one game is now seen as one of NFL's most "unbreakable records".

On December 9, the Chiefs had two big fourth-down calls and scored two touchdowns. Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer let his team make two big plays that ultimately led to Kansas City's 31–20 win over the Denver Broncos, which clinched a playoff spot.

The first big play was a fourth-and-goal at the Denver 1-yard line, and Barry Word carried the ball into the end zone to give the Chiefs a 17–13 lead. The second fourth-down attempt resulted in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Steve DeBerg to Robb Thomas and put the game away in the fourth quarter. DeBerg passed for 254 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Kansas City trailed 13–10 at the half but scored 21 second-half points to take control of the game.

The win improved their record to 9–4 and control of the AFC West Race. However, the next week the Chiefs lost to Houston, putting the Raiders Back into First place. The Chiefs won their next game at San Diego to Clinch an AFC playoff spot. The Chiefs then defeated the Chicago Bears 21-19 to finish 11–5, the team's best record since 1971. The Raiders held onto first winning in the final week. Defense carried the Chiefs to the playoffs thanks to Pro Bowlers Derrick Thomas, Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross.

Next was the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Wild-Card Playoff Game, a game they would lead 16-3 only to go on to lose, 17–16. Kicker Nick Lowery Missed a 52-yard FG in the final seconds that would have won the game.

Offseason[]

NFL draft[]

1990 Kansas City Chiefs draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	13	Percy Snow	Linebacker	Michigan State
2	40	Tim Grunhard *	Center	Notre Dame
4	96	Fred Jones	Wide receiver
5	124	Derrick Graham	Guard	Appalachian State
5	127	Ken Hackemack	Offensive tackle	Texas
6	152	Tom Sims	Defensive tackle	Pittsburgh
7	180	Dave Szott *	Guard	Penn State
9	235	Michael Owens	Running back	Syracuse
10	263	Craig Hudson	Tight end	Wisconsin
11	291	Ernest Thompson	Running back	Georgia Southern
12	318	Tony Jeffery	Wide receiver	San Jose State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Undrafted free agents[]

1990 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Bryan Barker	Punter	Santa Clara

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1990 Kansas City Chiefs staff

	Front office Founder – Lamar Hunt Chairman of the Board – Jack Steadman President/General Manager/Chief Executive Officer – Carl Peterson Assistant General Manager – Dennis Thum Director of Player Personnel – Whitey Dovell Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Joe Pendry Running Backs – Bruce Arians Wide Receivers – Al Saunders Offensive Line – Howard Mudd Offense/Tight Ends –			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Bill Cowher Defensive Line – Tom Pratt Defensive Backs – Tony Dungy Special Assistant/Quality Control – Special teams coaches Special Teams – Kurt Schottenheimer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Russ Ball

Roster[]

1990 Kansas City Chiefs roster

	Quarterbacks 17 Steve DeBerg 11 Steve Pelluer Running backs 35 Christian Okoye FB 23 Barry Word Wide receivers 86 Emile Harry 80 Fred Jones 83 Stephone Paige 81 Robb Thomas 84 Naz Worthen Tight ends 85 Jonathan Hayes 87 Alfredo Roberts		Offensive linemen 76 John Alt T 77 Rich Baldinger G 75 Irv Eatman T 74 Derrick Graham G/T 61 Tim Grunhard C 72 Dave Lutz G 79 Dave Szott G 53 Mike Webster C Defensive linemen 99 Mike Bell DE 98 Leonard Griffin DE 63 Bill Maas DT 97 Dan Saleaumua NT 95 Tom Sims NT 90 Neil Smith DE		Linebackers 55 Louis Cooper 56 Dino Hackett 57 Chris Martin 58 Derrick Thomas Defensive backs 20 Deron Cherry FS 29 Albert Lewis CB 24 J. C. Pearson CB 45 Stan Petry CB 27 Kevin Porter SS 31 Kevin Ross CB 46 Charles Washington FS Special teams  4 Bryan Barker P  8 Nick Lowery K		Reserve lists {{{reserve_lists}}} Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 9	Minnesota Vikings	W 24–21	1–0	Arrowhead Stadium	68,363	Recap
2	September 17	at Denver Broncos	L 23–24	1–1	Mile High Stadium	75,277	Recap
3	September 23	at Green Bay Packers	W 17–3	2–1	Lambeau Field	58,817	Recap
4	September 30	Cleveland Browns	W 34–0	3–1	Arrowhead Stadium	75,462	Recap
5	October 7	at Indianapolis Colts	L 19–23	3–2	Hoosier Dome	54,950	Recap
6	October 14	Detroit Lions	W 43–24	4–2	Arrowhead Stadium	74,312	Recap
7	October 21	at Seattle Seahawks	L 7–19	4–3	Kingdome	60,358	Recap
8	Bye
9	November 4	Los Angeles Raiders	W 9–7	5–3	Arrowhead Stadium	70,951	Recap
10	November 11	Seattle Seahawks	L 16–17	5–4	Arrowhead Stadium	71,285	Recap
11	November 18	San Diego Chargers	W 27–10	6–4	Arrowhead Stadium	63,717	Recap
12	November 25	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 27–24	7–4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	65,710	Recap
13	December 2	at New England Patriots	W 37–7	8–4	Foxboro Stadium	26,280	Recap
14	December 9	Denver Broncos	W 31–20	9–4	Arrowhead Stadium	74,347	Recap
15	December 16	Houston Oilers	L 10–27	9–5	Arrowhead Stadium	61,756	Recap
16	December 23	at San Diego Chargers	W 24–21	10–5	Jack Murphy Stadium	45,135	Recap
17	December 29	at Chicago Bears	W 21–10	11–5	Soldier Field	60,262	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries[]

Week 2: at Denver Broncos[]

Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos[]

Standings[]

AFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(2) Los Angeles Raiders	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	337	268	W5
(5) Kansas City Chiefs	11	5	0	.688	5–3	7–5	369	257	W2
Seattle Seahawks	9	7	0	.563	4–4	7–5	306	286	W2
San Diego Chargers	6	10	0	.375	2–6	5–9	315	281	L3
Denver Broncos	5	11	0	.313	3–5	4–8	331	374	W1

Postseason[]

In a scene that would be repeated throughout the 1990s the Chiefs had a great regular season but failed miserably in the post-season. In the Wild Card playoff game, the Chiefs blew a 16–3 lead as the Dolphins scored two touchdowns to take a lead. The Chiefs had one last chance for a win, but Christian Okoye's long run was called back due to a questionable holding call. Kicker Nick Lowery, who had 139 points all season and a Pro Bowl berth missed a 52-yard field goal, ending the Chiefs season.

Schedule[]

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
Wild Card	January 5, 1991	at Miami Dolphins (4)	L 16–17	0–1	Joe Robbie Stadium	67,276	Recap

Game summaries[]

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (4) Miami Dolphins[]

With 2:28 left in the game, the Dolphins capped an 85-yard drive with quarterback Dan Marino's winning 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mark Clayton.

References[]