1990 Indianapolis Colts season

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 25–14 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	Bill Schultz	Guard	USC
4	103	Alan Grant	Defensive back	Stanford
4	106	Rick Cunningham	Offensive tackle	Texas A&M
6	148	Tony Walker	Linebacker	Southeast 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

Regular season

Schedule

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

Season summary

Week 1 at Bills

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

Quarter	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:
• 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

See also

• History of the Indianapolis Colts
• List of Indianapolis Colts seasons
• Colts–Patriots rivalry