1989 NFL season
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 10 – December 25, 1989 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | December 31, 1989 |
| AFC Champions | Denver Broncos |
| NFC Champions | San Francisco 49ers |
| Super Bowl XXIV | |
| Date | January 28, 1990 |
| Site | Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Champions | San Francisco 49ers |
| Pro Bowl | |
| Date | February 4, 1990 |
| Site | Aloha Stadium |
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement. Paul Tagliabue was eventually chosen to succeed him.
Due to damage caused by the Loma Prieta earthquake to Candlestick Park, the New England Patriots – San Francisco 49ers game on October 22 was played at Stanford Stadium in Stanford.
The season ended with Super Bowl XXIV where the 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 55-10 at the Louisiana Superdome.
Major rule changes
- After a foul that occurs inside the last two minutes of the first half and inside the last five minutes of the second half or overtime, the game clock will start at the snap, instead of when the ball is spotted and the Referee signals it is ready to be played.
- New rules were enacted, including loss of timeouts or five-yard penalties, to handle the problem of crowd noise when it becomes too loud for the offensive team to hear its signals.
- If a receiver and a defender eventually establish joint control of a pass, the ball will be awarded to whoever was the first player to establish control of the ball.
- While not a rule "change" per se, the "hurry up offense" was recognized as fully legal, and penalties for delay of game would be called against teams whose defenders faked injuries in order to slow down the tempo, unless those teams called for timeouts.
Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
| AFC East | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (3) Buffalo Bills | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 409 | 317 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 298 | 301 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 331 | 379 |
| New England Patriots | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 297 | 391 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 253 | 411 |
| AFC Central | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (2) Cleveland Browns | 9 | 6 | 1 | .594 | 334 | 254 |
| (4) Houston Oilers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 365 | 412 |
| (5) Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 265 | 326 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 404 | 285 |
| AFC West | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (1) Denver Broncos | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 362 | 226 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 318 | 286 |
| Los Angeles Raiders | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 315 | 297 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 241 | 327 |
| San Diego Chargers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 266 | 290 |
| NFC East | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) New York Giants | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 348 | 252 |
| (4) Philadelphia Eagles | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 342 | 274 |
| Washington Redskins | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 386 | 308 |
| Phoenix Cardinals | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 258 | 377 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 204 | 393 |
| NFC Central | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (3) Minnesota Vikings | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 351 | 275 |
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 362 | 356 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 312 | 364 |
| Chicago Bears | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 358 | 377 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 320 | 419 |
| NFC West | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| (1) San Francisco 49ers | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 442 | 253 |
| (5) Los Angeles Rams | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 426 | 344 |
| New Orleans Saints | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 386 | 301 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 279 | 437 |
Tiebreakers
- Indianapolis finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on better conference record (7–5 vs. Dolphins' 6–8).
- Houston finished ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC Central based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
- Philadelphia was first NFC Wild Card ahead of L.A. Rams based on better record against common opponents (6–3 to Rams' 5–4).
- Minnesota finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on better division record (6–2 vs. Packers' 5–3).
Playoffs
Main article: 1989–90 NFL playoffs
- NOTE: The San Francisco 49ers (the NFC 1 seed) did not play the Los Angeles Rams (the 5 seed) in the Divisional playoff round because both teams were in the same division.
| Divisional Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 7 – Giants Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFC Wild Card Game | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | LA Rams | 19* | ||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 – Veterans Stadium | Jan. 14 – Candlestick Park | |||||||||||||||||
| 2* | NY Giants | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | LA Rams | 21 | 5 | LA Rams | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Jan. 6 – Candlestick Park | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Philadelphia | 7 | 1 | San Francisco | 30 | Super Bowl XXIV | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Minnesota | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 28 – Louisiana Superdome | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1* | San Francisco | 41 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | San Francisco | 55 | ||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 6 – Cleveland Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| AFC Wild Card Game | AFC Championship | A1 | Denver | 10 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Buffalo | 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 – Astrodome | Jan. 14 – Mile High Stadium | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Cleveland | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 26* | 2 | Cleveland | 21 | |||||||||||||
| Jan. 7 – Mile High Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Houston | 23 | 1 | Denver | 37 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Denver | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
- * Indicates overtime victory
Statistical leaders
Team
| Points scored | San Francisco 49ers (442) |
| Total yards gained | San Francisco 49ers (6,268) |
| Yards rushing | Cincinnati Bengals (2,483) |
| Yards passing | Washington Redskins (4,349) |
| Fewest points allowed | Denver Broncos (226) |
| Fewest total yards allowed | Minnesota Vikings (4,184) |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | New Orleans Saints (1,326) |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | Minnesota Vikings (2,501) |
Awards
References
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1981–1990 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
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