1990 Philadelphia Eagles season

Last updated

1990 Philadelphia Eagles season
Owner Norman Braman
Head coach Buddy Ryan
Home field Veterans Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Redskins) 6–20
Uniform
Phila eagles uniforms 1985-95.png

The 1990 Philadelphia Eagles season was the team's 58th in the National Football League (NFL).

Contents

The team made the postseason yet again with a 10–6 overall record, despite beginning the season with disappointing early-season records of 1–3 and 2–4.

The Eagles ran for 2,556 rushing yards in 1990, which is the most of any team in a single season in the 1990s. [1]

Other season highlights were a 28–14 win at Veterans Stadium over the Washington Redskins on November 12, known as the Body Bag Game, since the defense managed to knock both Redskins quarterbacks from the contest plus several other key players. The Redskins came back to the Vet later in the season to defeat the Eagles in the Wild Card Playoff, however. Against the Buffalo Bills in a 30–23 loss on December 2, Randall Cunningham made one of the signature plays of his career, eluding Bills Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith in the end zone before launching the ball into the middle of the field to wide receiver Fred Barnett, who completed the 95-yard touchdown play.

One week prior, the Eagles avenged an opening-night loss at the Meadowlands, whipping the 10–0 New York Giants by a 31–13 score. The Redskins would get the last laugh, beating the Eagles 20–6 in the Wild Card round.

Following the season, the team fired head coach Buddy Ryan. Offensive coordinator Rich Kotite was promoted to replace Ryan as Eagles head coach, and would hold the position for the next four seasons.

Offseason

NFL draft

The 1990 NFL draft was held April 22–23, 1990. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. For the number 1 pick in the draft, the Indianapolis Colts traded with the Atlanta Falcons to select Jeff George a quarterback from Illinois

Under the rules of the draft at the time, the Eagles would pick 24th or 25th in each full round. Teams that went to Super Bowl XXIV would have last 2 picks and then teams sorted out by 1989 record in each round. The Eagles at 11–5 in the previous year tied with Los Angeles Rams. With the 22nd pick in the 1st round the Eagles selected Ben Smith a cornerback from Georgia The Eagles made 12 total picks in the 1990 draft.

1990 Philadelphia Eagles draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
122 Ben Smith   DB Georgia
250 Mike Bellamy   WR Illinois
377 Fred Barnett  * WR Arkansas State
5133 Calvin Williams  WR Purdue
6162Kevin Thompson DB Oklahoma
7189Terry Strouf  T Wisconsin–La Crosse
8217Curt Dykes T Oregon
9244 Cecil Gray   DE North Carolina
10273Orlando Adams  DT Jacksonville State
11294 John Hudson   G Auburn Made roster in 1991; pick from New Orleans
11300Tyrone Watson WR Tennessee State
12327 Judd Garrett   RB Princeton
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Training camp

The Eagles held training camp at West Chester State University in West Chester, PA about 20 miles from Veterans Stadium where they play their home games.

Personnel

Staff

1990 Philadelphia Eagles staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Ronnie Jones


Roster

1990 Philadelphia Eagles roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

47 active, 6 inactive, 5 practice squad
Rookies in italics

[3]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 9at New York Giants L 20–270–1 Giants Stadium 76,202
2September 16 Phoenix Cardinals L 21–230–2 Veterans Stadium 64,396
3September 23at Los Angeles Rams W 27–211–2 Anaheim Stadium 63,644
4September 30 Indianapolis Colts L 23–241–3Veterans Stadium62,067
5 Bye
6October 15 Minnesota Vikings W 32–242–3Veterans Stadium66,296
7October 21at Washington Redskins L 7–132–4 RFK Stadium 53,567
8October 28at Dallas Cowboys W 21–203–4 Texas Stadium 62,605
9November 4 New England Patriots W 48–204–4Veterans Stadium65,514
10 November 12 Washington Redskins W 28–145–4Veterans Stadium65,857
11November 18at Atlanta Falcons W 24–236–4 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 53,755
12November 25 New York Giants W 31–137–4Veterans Stadium66,706
13December 2at Buffalo Bills L 23–307–5 Rich Stadium 79,320
14December 9at Miami Dolphins L 20–23 (OT)7–6 Joe Robbie Stadium 67,034
15December 16 Green Bay Packers W 31–08–6Veterans Stadium65,627
16December 23 Dallas Cowboys W 17–39–6Veterans Stadium63,895
17December 29at Phoenix Cardinals W 23–2110–6 Sun Devil Stadium 31,796

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

1234Total
Eagles3701020
Giants6014727
  • Date: September 9
  • Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
  • Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (TNT): Skip Caray and Pat Haden

[4]

Week 2

1234Total
Cardinals077923
Eagles1407021

[5]

Week 3

1234Total
Eagles3143727
Rams770721

[6]

Week 4

1234Total
Colts737724
Eagles3143323

[7]

Week 6

1234Total
Vikings7140324
Eagles9061732
  • Date: October 15
  • Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C) (Clear) • Wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf

[8]

Week 7

1234Total
Eagles00077
Redskins070613
  • Date: October 21
  • Location: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
  • Referee: Dale Hamer
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

[9]

Week 8

Philadelphia Eagles (2–4) at Dallas Cowboys (3–4)
Quarter1234Total
Eagles7001421
Cowboys0331420

at Texas StadiumIrving, Texas

Game information

The Porkchop Bowl

Week 9

1234Total
Patriots373720
Eagles101072148
  • Date: November 4
  • Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C) (Cloudy) • Wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Referee: Dick Hantak
  • TV announcers (NBC): Joel Meyers and Ahmad Rashad

[10]

Week 10

Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles
1234Total
Redskins070714
Eagles7021028
  • Date: November 12
  • Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) (Cloudy) • Wind 26 mph (42 km/h)
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf

This game came to be known as The Body Bag Game.

Week 11

1234Total
Eagles0701724
Falcons01031023

[11]

Week 12

New York Giants (10–0) at Philadelphia Eagles (6–4)
Quarter1234Total
Giants760013
Eagles7731431

at Veterans StadiumPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 13

1234Total
Eagles0167023
Bills2403330
  • Date: December 2
  • Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C) • Wind 16 mph (26 km/h)
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and Dan Fouts

[12]

Week 14

1234OTTotal
Eagles01037020
Dolphins100010323
  • Date: December 9
  • Location: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida
  • Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) • Wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann

[13]

Week 15

1234Total
Packers00000
Eagles71001431
  • Date: December 16
  • Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C) (Cloudy) • Wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
  • Referee: Dale Hamer
  • TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and John Madden

[14]

Week 16

1234Total
Cowboys03003
Eagles730717
  • Date: December 23
  • Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C) (Light Rain) • Wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Irv Cross

[15]

Week 17 at Cardinals

Week Seventeen: Philadelphia Eagles (9–6) at Phoenix Cardinals (5–10)
Quarter1234Total
Eagles767323
Cardinals0701421

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Standings

NFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(2) New York Giants 1330.8137–110–2335211W2
(4) Philadelphia Eagles 1060.6255–39–3396299W3
(5) Washington Redskins 1060.6254–47–5381301W1
Dallas Cowboys 790.4382–66–8244308L2
Phoenix Cardinals 5110.3132–63–9268396L3

Playoffs

RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenueAttendance
WildcardJanuary 5, 1991 Washington Redskins (5)L 6–200–1Veterans Stadium65,287

Game summaries

Wild card

1234Total
Redskins01010020
Eagles33006

[16]

Awards and honors

References

  1. Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1990 to 1999, in the NFL, in the regular season, sorted by descending Rushing Yds
  2. "1990 Philadelphia Eagles Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  3. "1990 Philadelphia Eagles starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  5. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  7. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  8. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  9. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  10. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  11. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  12. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  13. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  14. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  15. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  16. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  17. "Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2012-08-03.