1990 Philadelphia Eagles season

1990 Philadelphia Eagles season
Head coach	Buddy Ryan
Owner	Norman Braman
Home field	Veterans Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Redskins) 20–6

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

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. At Buffalo 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 Giants by a 31–13 score.

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.

The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.

= Pro Bowler [2]

= Hall of Famer

Rd	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	22	Ben Smith	Defensive Back	Georgia
2	51	Mike Bellamy	Wide Receiver	Illinois
3	78	Fred Barnett	Wide Receiver	Arkansas State
4	107	Pick Taken by Indianapolis Colts
5	134	Calvin Williams	Wide Receiver	Purdue
6	163	Kevin Thompson	Defensive Back	Oklahoma
7	190	Terry Strouf	Tackle	Wisconsin–La Crosse
8	218	Curt Dykes	Tackle	Oregon
9	245	Cecil Gray	Tackle	North Carolina
10	274	Orlando Adams	Defensive Tackle	Jacksonville State
11	295	John Hudson Acquired Pick from New Orleans Saints	Guard	Auburn
11	301	Tyrone Watson	Wide Receiver	Tennessee State
12	328	Judd Garrett	Running Back	Princeton

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 Owner – Norman Braman President/Chief Operating Officer – Harry Gamble Director of Player Personnel – Joe Woolley Head coaches Head Coach – Buddy Ryan Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Rich Kotite Running Backs – Dave Atkins Receivers – Lew Carpenter Offensive Line – Dan Neal Offensive Line – Bill Walsh			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Jeff Fisher Defensive Line – Dale Haupt Linebackers – Ronnie Jones Defensive Backs – Tom Bettis Special teams coaches Special Teams – Al Roberts Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Ronnie Jones

Roster

1990 Philadelphia Eagles roster
	Quarterbacks 12 Randall Cunningham  9 Jim McMahon Running backs 41 Keith Byars FB 36 Robert Drummond 45 Thomas Sanders 23 Heath Sherman 25 Anthony Toney 43 Roger Vick FB Wide receivers 86 Fred Barnett 81 Mike Bellamy 84 Anthony Edwards 80 Marvin Hargrove 80 Rod Harris 83 Kenny Jackson 82 Mike Quick 89 Calvin Williams		Tight ends 88 Keith Jackson 87 Harper LeBel 85 Mickey Shuler Offensive linemen 72 David Alexander C 75 Louis Cheek G 69 Bruce Collie G 78 Matt Darwin T 73 Ron Heller T 79 Mike Schad G 68 Reggie Singletary T 63 Daryle Smith T 66 Ron Solt G 61 Ben Tamburello C		Defensive linemen 93 David Bailey DE 99 Jerome Brown DT 97 Dick Chapura DT 90 Mike Golic DT 71 Cecil Gray DT 94 Steve Kaufusi DE 91 Greg Mark DE 74 Mike Pitts DT 96 Clyde Simmons DE 92 Reggie White DE Linebackers 56 Byron Evans MLB 54 Britt Hager MLB 95 Al Harris OLB 53 Maurice Henry LB 59 Seth Joyner OLB 55 Ken Rose OLB 51 Ricky Shaw LB 52 Jessie Small OLB		Defensive backs 21 Eric Allen CB 33 William Frizzell CB 34 Terry Hoage SS 48 Wes Hopkins FS 46 Izel Jenkins CB 37 Sammy Lilly CB 26 Ben Smith FS 20 Andre Waters SS Special teams  5 Jeff Feagles P  7 Roger Ruzek K Rookies in italics

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 9, 1990	at New York Giants	L 27–20	76,202
2	September 16, 1990	Phoenix Cardinals	L 23–21	64,396
3	September 23, 1990	at Los Angeles Rams	W 27–21	63,644
4	September 30, 1990	Indianapolis Colts	L 24–23	62,067
5	Bye
6	October 15, 1990	Minnesota Vikings	W 32–24	66,296
7	October 21, 1990	at Washington Redskins	L 13–7	53,567
8	October 28, 1990	at Dallas Cowboys	W 21–20	62,605
9	November 4, 1990	New England Patriots	W 48–20	65,514
10	November 12, 1990	Washington Redskins	W 28–14	65,857
11	November 18, 1990	at Atlanta Falcons	W 24–23	53,755
12	November 25, 1990	New York Giants	W 31–13	66,706
13	December 2, 1990	at Buffalo Bills	L 30–23	79,320
14	December 9, 1990	at Miami Dolphins	L 23–20	67,034
15	December 16, 1990	Green Bay Packers	W 31–0	65,627
16	December 23, 1990	Dallas Cowboys	W 17–3	63,895
17	December 29, 1990	at Phoenix Cardinals	W 23–21	31,796

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 3 7 0 10 20 • Giants 6 0 14 7 27 Date: September 9 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 64°F • Wind 6

^[4]

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Cardinals 0 7 7 9 23 Eagles 14 0 7 0 21 Date: September 16 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 71°F (Cloudy) • Wind 9

^[5]

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 3 14 3 7 27 Rams 7 7 0 7 21 Date: September 23 Location: Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 69°F • Wind 11

^[6]

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total • Colts 7 3 7 7 24 Eagles 3 14 3 3 23 Date: September 30 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 77°F (Cloudy) • Wind 10

^[7]

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total Vikings 7 14 0 3 24 • Eagles 9 0 6 17 32 Date: October 15 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 61°F (Clear) • Wind 12 Television network: ABC

^[8]

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 0 0 7 7 • Redskins 0 7 0 6 13 Date: October 21 Location: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 55°F • Wind 9

^[9]

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 7 0 0 14 21 Cowboys 0 3 3 14 20 Date: October 28 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: 66°F • Wind 6

^[10]

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 3 7 3 7 20 • Eagles 10 10 7 21 48 Date: November 4 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 75°F (Cloudy) • Wind 8

^[11]

Week 10

Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles

1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 0 7 0 7 14 • Eagles 7 0 21 0 28 Date: November 12 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 38°F (Cloudy) • Wind 26 Television network: ABC Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary 1 PHI William Frizzell 30 yard interception return (Roger Ruzek kick) Eagles 7–0 2 WSH Don Warren 8 yard pass from Jeff Rutledge (Chip Lohmiller kick) Tie 7–7 3 PHI Heath Sherman 9 yard pass from Keith Byars (Roger Ruzek kick) Eagles 14–7 3 PHI Clyde Simmons 18 yard fumble return (Roger Ruzek kick) Eagles 21–7 3 PHI Heath Sherman 2 yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Roger Ruzek kick) Eagles 28–7 4 WSH Brian Mitchell 1 yard run (Chip Lohmiller kick) Eagles 28–14

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

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 0 7 0 17 24 Falcons 0 10 3 10 23 Date: November 18 Location: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 49°F • Wind 8

^[12]

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 7 6 0 0 13 • Eagles 7 7 3 14 31 Date: November 25 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 63°F (Cloudy) • Wind 13

^[13]

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 16 7 0 23 • Bills 24 0 3 3 30 Date: December 2 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 42°F • Wind 16

^[14]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 OT Total Eagles 0 10 3 7 0 20 • Dolphins 10 0 0 10 3 23 Date: December 9 Location: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 59°F • Wind 11

^[15]

Week 15

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 0 0 0 0 • Eagles 7 10 0 14 31 Date: December 16 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 45°F (Cloudy) • Wind 15

^[16]

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 0 3 0 0 3 • Eagles 7 3 0 7 17 Date: December 23 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 66°F (Light Rain) • Wind 15

^[17]

Week 17

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 7 6 7 3 23 Cardinals 0 7 0 14 21 Date: December 29 Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona Game start: 2:00 p.m. Game weather: 49°F • Wind 5

^[18]

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(2) New York Giants	13	3	0	.813	7–1	10–2	335	211	W2
(4) Philadelphia Eagles	10	6	0	.625	5–3	9–3	396	299	W3
(5) Washington Redskins	10	6	0	.625	4–4	7–5	381	301	W1
Dallas Cowboys	7	9	0	.438	2–6	6–8	244	308	L2
Phoenix Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	2–6	3–9	268	396	L3

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Wildcard	January 5, 1991	Washington Redskins	L 20–6	65,287

Game summaries

Wild Card

1 2 3 4 Total • Redskins 0 10 10 0 20 Eagles 3 3 0 0 6 Date: January 5 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 12:30 p.m. EST Game weather: 38°F (Cloudy) • Wind 5

^[19]

Postseason

Head Coach Buddy Ryan was fired after the 1990 Season. Philadelphia offensive coordinator Rich Kotite was promoted to replace Ryan as Eagles head coach, a position Kotite held for the next four seasons.

Awards and honors

• Randall Cunningham, Bert Bell Award^[20]

References

External links

• 1990 Philadelphia Eagles at Pro-Football-Reference.com