1990 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1990 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 23rd year in professional football and its 21st with the National Football League (NFL). The Bengals won the AFC Central division for the second time in three seasons.

1990 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Sam Wyche
General manager	Paul Brown
Home field	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Oilers) 41-14 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Raiders) 20-10
Pro Bowlers	T Anthony Muñoz TE Rodney Holman RB James Brooks SS David Fulcher

This would be the last time the Bengals would make the playoffs until the 2005 NFL season, and as of 2020, the Bengals have never won a playoff game since this season – the longest such drought in the league.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1990 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	12	James Francis	Linebacker	Baylor
2	38	Harold Green *	Running back	South Carolina
3	65	Bernard Clark	Linebacker	Miami (FL)
4	91	Mike Brennan	Offensive tackle	Notre Dame
5	122	Lynn James	Wide receiver	Arizona State
6	150	Don Odegard	Defensive back	UNLV
7	177	Craig Ogletree	Linebacker	Auburn
8	204	Doug Wellsandt	Tight end	Washington State
9	234	Mitchell Price	Defensive back	Tulane
10	261	Eric Crigler	Offensive tackle	Murray State
11	288	Tim O'Connor	Offensive tackle	Virginia
12	314	Andre Riley	Wide receiver	Washington
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1990 Cincinnati Bengals staff

	Front office President – John Sawyer General Manager – Paul Brown Assistant General Manager – Mike Brown Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown Head coaches Head Coach – Sam Wyche Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Dana Bible Running Backs – Jim Anderson Wide Receivers – Mike Stock Tight Ends – Bill Johnson Offensive Line – Jim McNally			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs – Dick LeBeau Defensive Line – Chuck Studley Linebackers – Dick Selcer Special teams coaches Special Teams – Marv Braden Strength and conditioning Strength – Kim Wood

Roster

1990 Cincinnati Bengals roster

	Quarterbacks  7 Boomer Esiason 10 Todd Philcox  4 Erik Wilhelm Running backs 42 Eric Ball 21 James Brooks 28 Harold Green 36 Stanford Jennings KR 20 Craig Taylor 30 Ickey Woods FB Wide receivers 86 Mike Barber 81 Eddie Brown 80 Lynn James 85 Tim McGee 83 Kendal Smith Tight ends 82 Rodney Holman 84 Eric Kattus 87 Jim Riggs		Offensive linemen 60 Mike Brennan T 68 Paul Jetton G/C 64 Bruce Kozerski C 73 Ken Moyer G 78 Anthony Muñoz T 75 Bruce Reimers G 76 Kirk Scrafford T 63 Joe Walter T Defensive linemen 99 Jason Buck DE 98 David Grant DE 71 Mike Hammerstein NT 69 Tim Krumrie NT 72 Skip McClendon DE 96 Natu Tuatagaloa DE		Linebackers 53 Leo Barker OLB 55 Ed Brady ILB 57 Bernard Clark ILB 50 James Francis OLB 52 Craig Ogletree OLB 59 Kevin Walker ILB 51 Leon White OLB 91 Carl Zander ILB Defensive backs 24 Lewis Billups CB 27 Barney Bussey FS/SS 45 Carl Carter CB 29 Rickey Dixon FS 33 David Fulcher SS 25 Rod Jones CB 32 Mitchell Price CB/PR 22 Eric Thomas CB 41 Solomon Wilcots FS Special teams  3 Jim Breech K 11 Lee Johnson P		Reserve lists 74 Brian Blados G (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

Date	Opponent #	Result	Score	Atten.	Stadium
September 9	New York Jets	W	25–20	56,467	Riverfront Stadium
September 16	at San Diego Chargers	W	21–16	48,098	Jack Murphy Stadium
September 23	New England Patriots	W	41–7	56,470	Riverfront Stadium
October 1	at Seattle Seahawks	L	31–16	60,135	Kingdome
October 7	at Los Angeles Rams	W	34–31	62,619	Anaheim Stadium
October 14	at Houston Oilers	L	48–17	53,501	Houston Astrodome
October 22	at Cleveland Browns	W	34–13	78,567	Cleveland Stadium
October 28	at Atlanta Falcons	L	38–17	53,214	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
November 4	New Orleans Saints	L	21–7	60,067	Riverfront Stadium
November 18	Pittsburgh Steelers	W	27–3	60,064	Riverfront Stadium
November 25	Indianapolis Colts	L	34–20	60,051	Riverfront Stadium
December 2	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W	16–12	58,000	Three Rivers Stadium
December 9	San Francisco 49ers	L	20–17	60,084	Riverfront Stadium
December 16	at Los Angeles Raiders	L	24–7	54,142	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
December 23	Houston Oilers	W	40–20	60,044	Riverfront Stadium
December 30	Cleveland Browns	W	21–14	60,041	Riverfront Stadium

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	0	10	7	3	20
Bengals	0	3	7	15	25

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

• Date: September 9
• Game time: 4:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
• Box Score

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Jets Bengals 2 Bengals 43-yard field goal by Jim Breech 0 3 2 Jets Al Toon 46-yard touchdown reception from Ken O'Brien, Pat Leahy kick good 7 3 2 Jets 33-yard field goal by Pat Leahy 10 3 3 Bengals Eddie Brown 10-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 10 10 3 Jets Al Toon 9-yard touchdown reception from Ken O'Brien, Pat Leahy kick good 17 10 4 Jets 26-yard field goal by Pat Leahy 20 10 4 Bengals James Brooks 3-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 20 17 4 Bengals Ken O'Brien tackled in end zone for a safety by David Fulcher 20 19 4 Bengals 44-yard field goal by Jim Breech 20 22 4 Bengals 37-yard field goal by Jim Breech 20 25 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 20 25

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Bengals 0 14 0 7 21 Chargers 13 3 0 0 16 Date: September 16 Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 70 °F (21.1 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)

Scoring summary 1 SD Ronnie Harmon 36 yard pass from Billy Joe Tolliver (Fuad Reveiz kick) SD 7–0 1 SD Joe Caravello 17 yard pass from Billy Joe Tolliver (kick failed) SD 13–0 2 CIN James Brooks 10 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick) SD 13–7 2 SD Fuad Reveiz 19 yard field goal SD 16–7 2 CIN Eddie Brown 30 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick) SD 16–14 4 CIN Eddie Brown 23 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick) CIN 21–16

[3]

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total • Bengals 7 9 0 0 16 Steelers 6 0 3 3 12 Date: December 2 Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 44 °F (6.7 °C); wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)

Scoring summary Q1 PIT Gary Anderson 32 yard field goal PIT 3–0 Q1 CIN Eddie Brown 50 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick) CIN 7–3 Q1 PIT Gary Anderson 36 yard field goal CIN 7–6 Q2 CIN Bubby Brister tackled by James Francis in end zone CIN 9–6 Q2 CIN James Brooks 7 yard run (Jim Breech kick) CIN 16–6 Q3 PIT Gary Anderson 29 yard field goal CIN 16–9 Q4 PIT Gary Anderson 48 yard field goal CIN 16–12

[4]

Week 16 vs Browns

Week Sixteen: Cleveland Browns (3–12) at Cincinnati Bengals (8–7)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	0	0	14	0	14
Bengals	0	14	0	7	21

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

• Date: December 30
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C)
• Game attendance: 60,041
• Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information

First quarter No scoring Second quarter CIN – James Francis 17-yard interception return (Jim Breech kick), 7:10. Bengals 7–0. CIN – Rodney Holman 22-yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick), 2:14. Bengals 14–0. Drive: Third quarter CLE – Kevin Mack 2-yard run (Jerry Kauric kick), 13:36. Bengals 14–7. Drive: CLE – Brian Brennan 16-yard pass from Mike Pagel (Jerry Kauric kick), 10:28. Tie 14–14. Drive: Fourth quarter CIN – Eric Ball 48-yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick), 8:40. Bengals 21–14. Drive: Top passers CLE – Mike Pagel – 14/32, 184 yards, TD, 3 INT CIN – Boomer Esiason – 10/16, 154 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers CLE – Kevin Mack – 16 rushes, 85 yards, TD CIN – James Brooks – 17 rushes, 84 yards Top receivers CLE – Webster Slaughter – 6 receptions, 115 yards CIN – Eric Ball – 1 reception, 48 yards, TD

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Cincinnati Bengals	9	7	0	.563	5–1	8–4	360	352	W2
^(6) Houston Oilers	9	7	0	.563	4–2	8–4	405	307	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	7	0	.563	2–4	6–6	292	240	L1
Cleveland Browns	3	13	0	.188	1–5	2–10	231	462	L2

[5]

Best performances

• James Brooks, December 23, 1990, 201 rushing yards vs. Houston Oilers [6]

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff

Date	Round	Opponent #	Result	Score	Atten.	Stadium
January 6	Wildcard	Houston Oilers	W	41–14	60,012	Riverfront Stadium
January 13	Divisional	at Los Angeles Raiders	L	20–10	92,045	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Team leaders

Passing

Player	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	INT	Rating
Boomer Esiason	402	224	3031	24	22	77.0

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	YPC	Long	TD
James Brooks	195	1004	5.1	56	5
Ickey Woods	64	268	4.2	32	6

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Eddie Brown	44	706	16.0	50	9

Defensive

Player	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	FF	FR
James Francis	76	8.0	1	2	0
Barney Bussey	57	2.0	4	0	1

Kicking and punting

Player	FGA	FGM	FG%	XPA	XPM	XP%	Points
Jim Breech	21	17	81.0%	44	41	93.2%	92

Player	Punts	Yards	Long	Blkd	Avg.
Lee Johnson	64	2705	70	0	42.3

Special teams

Player	KR	KRYards	KRAvg	KRLong	KRTD	PR	PRYards	PRAvg	PRLong	PRTD
Stanford Jennings	29	584	20.1	33	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
Mitchell Price	10	191	19.1	33	0	29	251	8.7	66	1

Awards and records

All-Pros

• Anthony Muñoz LT, 1st Team All-Pro

Records

• Boomer Esiason, Franchise Record, Most Passing Yards in One Game, 490 yards (achieved on October 7, 1990) [7]

Milestones

• James Brooks, 1st 200 yard rushing game, December 23, 1990, 201 rushing yards vs. Houston Oilers [6]
• James Brooks, 3rd 1000 yard rushing season (1,004 yards) [8]

References

1. "1990 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
2. "1990 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Mar-30.
5. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 292
6. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 438
7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 37
8. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 436

External links

• 1990 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com