1990 Indianapolis Colts season

Indianapolis Colts
1990 Indianapolis Colts season
Head coach	Ron Meyer
Home field	Hoosier Dome
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 1990 Indianapolis Colts season was the 38th season for the team in the National Football League and seventh in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1990 season with a record of 7 wins and 9 losses, and finished third in the AFC East division. Running back Eric Dickerson held out of training camp, during a contract dispute. The Colts suspended Dickerson four games for conduct detrimental to the team. He returned late in the season and rushed for 677 yards.

The Colts were embarrassed at home in week two by the putrid Patriots, losing 16–14 for New England's lone win of 1990.

On December 22, 1990, Monday Night Football was played two days early, on Saturday night. The 6-8 Colts played at home as underdogs against the Washington Redskins. Trailing 14-25 in the 4th quarter, rookie quarterback Jeff George led an improbable and spectacular comeback which included two touchdowns to tie the game with little time left. The Colts then intercepted Mark Rypien and returned the ball for the go-ahead touchdown. The Colts pulled off the upset in dramatic fashion with one of George's most memorable games of his career. He threw three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	1	Jeff George	Quarterback	Illinois
2	36	Anthony Johnson	Running Back	Notre Dame
4	83	Stacey Simmons	Wide Receiver	Florida
4	94	William Schultz	Guard	USC
4	103	Alan Grant	Defensive Back	Stanford
4	106	Rick Cunningham	Offensive Tackle	Texas A&M
6	148	Tony Walker	Linebacker	SE Missouri State
7	179	James Singletary	Linebacker	East Carolina
8	206	Ken Clark	Tight End	Nebraska
8	213	Harvey Wilson	Defensive Back	Southern
9	232	Darvell Huffman	Wide Receiver	Boston University
11	290	Carnel Smith	Defensive End	Pittsburgh
12	311	Gene Benhart	Quarterback	Western Illinois
12	316	Dean Brown	Guard	Notre Dame

Personnel

Staff

**1990 Indianapolis Colts staff**

	Front office President/Treasurer – Robert Irsay Vice President/General Manager – Jim Irsay Assistant General Manager – Bob Terpening Director of Player Personnel – Jack Bushofsky Head coaches Head Coach – Ron Meyer Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Larry Kennan Running Backs – Leon Burtnett Receivers – Milt Jackson Tight Ends – Brad Seely Offensive Line – Dante Scarnecchia			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bill Muir Linebackers – Rick Venturi Secondary – George Catavolos Special teams coaches Special Teams – Brad Seely Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Tom Zupancic

Roster

**1990 Indianapolis Colts final roster**

	Quarterbacks 11 Jeff George 9 Mark Herrmann 12 Rusty Hilger 10 Jack Trudeau Running backs 20 Albert Bentley FB 29 Eric Dickerson 23 Anthony Johnson Wide receivers 80 Bill Brooks 84 Jessie Hester 86 Stanley Morgan 85 Stacey Simmons 83 Clarence Verdin Tight ends 81 Pat Beach 87 Eugene Riley		Offensive linemen 62 Brian Baldinger G 65 Joey Banes T 71 Kevin Call T 66 Chris Conlin G 72 Rick Cunningham T 69 Randy Dixon G 53 Ray Donaldson C 75 Chris Hinton T 73 Zefross Moss T 68 Pat Tomberlin G 64 Ben Utt G Defensive linemen 79 Harvey Armstrong DT 95 Mitchell Benson DT 76 Sam Clancy DE 78 Jon Hand DE 93 Ralph Jarvis DE 98 Tony Siragusa NT 99 Donnell Thompson DE		Linebackers 51 Chip Banks OLB 50 Duane Bickett OLB 54 Jeff Herrod ILB 96 Quintus McDonald ILB 97 Scott Radecic ILB Defensive backs 31 Michael Ball SS 36 John Baylor CB/SS 38 Eugene Daniel CB 37 Chris Goode CB 26 Alan Grant CB 25 Cornell Holloway CB 39 Mike Prior FS 46 George Streeter 27 Keith Taylor FS Special teams 4 Dean Biasucci K 3 Rohn Stark P		Reserve lists Practice squad -- Darvell Huffman Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Site	Attendance
1	September 9, 1990	at Buffalo Bills	L 10–26	0–1	Ralph Wilson Stadium	78,899
2	September 16, 1990	New England Patriots	L 14-16	0–2	Hoosier Dome	49,256
3	September 23, 1990	at Houston Oilers	L 10–24	0–3	Astrodome	50,093
4	September 30, 1990	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 24–23	1–3	Veterans Stadium	62,067
5	October 7, 1990	Kansas City Chiefs	W 23–19	2–3	Hoosier Dome	54,950
6	Bye
7	October 21, 1990	Denver Broncos	L 17–27	2–4	Hoosier Dome	59,850
8	October 28, 1990	Miami Dolphins	L 7–27	2–5	Hoosier Dome	59,213
9	November 5, 1990	New York Giants	L 7–24	2–6	Hoosier Dome	58,688
10	November 11, 1990	at New England Patriots	W 13–10	3–6	Foxboro Stadium	28,924
11	November 18, 1990	New York Jets	W 17–14	4–6	Hoosier Dome	47,283
12	November 25, 1990	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 34–20	5–6	Riverfront Stadium	60,051
13	December 2, 1990	at Phoenix Cardinals	L 17–20	5–7	Sun Devil Stadium	38,043
14	December 9, 1990	Buffalo Bills	L 7–31	5–8	Hoosier Dome	53,268
15	December 16, 1990	at New York Jets	W 29–21	6–8	Giants Stadium	41,423
16	December 22, 1990	Washington Redskins	W 35–28	7–8	Hoosier Dome	58,173
17	December 30, 1990	at Miami Dolphins	L 17–23	7–9	Joe Robbie Stadium	59,547

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽¹⁾ Buffalo Bills	13	3	0	.813	7–1	10–2	428	263	L1
⁽⁴⁾ Miami Dolphins	12	4	0	.750	7–1	10–2	336	242	W1
Indianapolis Colts	7	9	0	.438	3–5	5–7	281	353	L1
New York Jets	6	10	0	.375	2–6	4–10	295	345	W2
New England Patriots	1	15	0	.063	1–7	1–11	181	446	L14

Season summary

Week 1 at Bills

Week One: Indianapolis Colts (0–0) at Buffalo Bills (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts	3	0	7	0	10
Bills	3	13	0	10	26

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Date: September 9
Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C)
Game attendance: 78,899
Referee: Gerald Austin
TV announcers (NBC): Jim Donovan and Cris Collinsworth
Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter

BUF – Scott Norwood 24-yard field goal, 8:04. Bills 3–0.
IND – Dean Biasucci 24-yard field goal, 0:12. Tie 3–3.

Second quarter

BUF – Butch Rolle 3-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick), 5:14. Bills 10–3.
BUF – Scott Norwood 31-yard field goal, 1:58. Bills 13–3.
BUF – Scott Norwood 37-yard field goal, 0:08. Bills 16–3.

Third quarter

IND – Stanley Morgan 25-yard pass from Jeff George (Dean Biasucci kick), 6:38. Bills 16–10.

Fourth quarter

BUF – Scott Norwood 47-yard field goal, 6:08. Bills 19–10.
BUF – Thurman Thomas 6-yard run (Scott Norwood kick), 1:37. Bills 26–10.

Top passers

IND – Jeff George – 13/24, 160 yards, TD
BUF – Jim Kelly – 28/37, 283 yards, TD

Top rushers

IND – Albert Bentley – 15 rushes, 50 yards
BUF – Thurman Thomas – 20 rushes, 84 yards, TD

Top receivers

IND – Stanley Morgan – 2 receptions, 47 yards, TD
BUF – Keith McKeller – 7 receptions, 78 yards

Indianapolis Colts
Founded in 1953 Played in Baltimore (1953–1983) Based and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana
Franchise	History in Baltimore relocation to Indianapolis Players Quarterbacks Coaches Seasons Draft First-round draft picks Ring of Honor
Stadiums	Memorial Stadium RCA Dome Lucas Oil Stadium
Culture	Carroll Rosenbloom Robert Irsay Jim Irsay 12th Man AAFC Colts Baltimore Colts Marching Band The Band That Wouldn't Die Blue Cheerleaders Parks and Recreation
Lore	The Greatest Game Ever Played Ghost to the Post 1995 AFC Championship Game Immaculate Redemption/The Tackle Deflategate Colts Catastrophe Snow Bowl
Rivalries	Houston Texans New England Patriots Brady–Manning rivalry
Division championships (16)	1968 1970 1975 1976 1977 1987 1999 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2013 2014
Conference championships (7)	1958 1959 1964 1968 1970 2006 2009
League championships (5)	1958 1959 1968 1970 (V) 2006 (XLI)
Retired numbers	18 19 22 24 70 77 82 89
Media	Broadcasters WFNI-AM Bob Lamey Jim Sorgi
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: American Football Conference Division: South Division
Seasons (67)	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
Championship seasons in bold Category

Indianapolis Colts seasons
Played in Baltimore (1953–1983)
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
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance