American Football Database
Register
Advertisement
1989 National Football League season
Regular season
Duration September 10, 1989–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 Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions San Francisco 49ers
Pro Bowl
Date February 4, 1990
Site Aloha Stadium
National Football League seasons
 < 1988 1990 > 

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.

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, 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 are enacted, including loss of timeouts or five-yard penalties, to handle the problems of crowd noise when it becomes too loud that it prevents the offensive team from hearing 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.

Final standings[]

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

  x  - clinched wild card berth,   y  - clinched division title

AFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
y-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
y-Cleveland Browns 9 6 1 .594 334 254
x-Houston Oilers 9 7 0 .563 365 412
x-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
y-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
y-New York Giants 12 4 0 .750 348 252
x-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
y-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
y-San Francisco 49ers 14 2 0 .875 442 253
x-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[]

Home team in capitals

AFC[]

  • Wild-Card playoff: PITTSBURGH 26, Houston 23 (OT)
  • Divisional playoffs: CLEVELAND 34, Buffalo 30; DENVER 24, Pittsburgh 23
  • AFC Championship: DENVER 37, Cleveland 21 at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado, January 14, 1990

NFC[]

  • Wild-Card playoff: L.A. Rams 21, PHILADELPHIA 7
  • Divisional playoffs: L.A. Rams 19, N.Y. GIANTS 13 (OT); SAN FRANCISCO 41, Minnesota 13
  • NFC Championship: SAN FRANCISCO 30, L.A. Rams 3 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, January 14, 1990

Super Bowl[]

Awards[]

Most Valuable Player Joe Montana, Quarterback, San Francisco
Coach of the Year Lindy Infante, Green Bay
Offensive Player of the Year Joe Montana, Quarterback, San Francisco
Defensive Player of the Year Keith Millard, Defensive Tackle, Minnesota
Offensive Rookie of the Year Barry Sanders, Running Back, Detroit
Defensive Rookie of the Year Derrick Thomas, Linebacker, Kansas City

References[]

1989 NFL seasonv · d · e
AFC East Central West East Central West NFC
Buffalo Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Indianapolis Cleveland Kansas City NY Giants Detroit LA Rams
Miami Houston LA Raiders Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans
New England Pittsburgh San Diego Phoenix Minnesota San Francisco
NY Jets Seattle Washington Tampa Bay
1989 NFL DraftNFL PlayoffsPro BowlSuper Bowl XXIV
Advertisement