1990 New England Patriots season

1990 New England Patriots season
Head coach	Rod Rust
General manager	Patrick Sullivan
Owner	Victor Kiam
Home field	Foxboro Stadium
Results
Record	1–15
Division place	5th AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T Bruce Armstrong
AP All-Pros	none

The 1990 New England Patriots season was the team's 31st, and 21st in the National Football League. It was the first and only season for head coach Rod Rust.

The Patriots finished the season with a record of 1–15, the worst record in franchise history. They finished last in the AFC East division and dead last in the NFL. Notably, they lost a nationally-televised game to the Washington Redskins in which they were down 9–0 before the Redskins even ran an offensive play. The Redskins' two first-quarter scores came on a Kurt Gouveia fumble return for a touchdown, and the Patriots snapping the ball out of the end zone for a safety. The announced crowd for the game, played in a driving rain, was 22,286.

The Patriots’ final game of the season, against the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants, drew a sellout crowd to Foxboro, but over 40,000 fans were rooting for the visitors, as tickets to Giants home games were nearly impossible to come by for non-season-ticket holders.

The Patriots’ negative-265 point-differential (181 points scored, 446 points surrendered) was the worst total of the 1990s. It is notable that like the previous season’s Dallas Cowboys, the Patriots played only three teams with non-winning records – divisional rivals the Colts and Jets plus one game against the Phoenix Cardinals – all season.

The 1990 Patriots and 1981 Baltimore Colts are the only NFL teams since 1940 to have eleven losses during which they never led in one season.

The 1990 Patriots became the third team to end a season at 1-15, and would be matched by the 1991 Colts the next year.

Lisa Olson controversy

Main article: Lisa Olson § Sexual harassment incident

The day after the Patriots' only victory of the season, tight end Zeke Mowatt, running back Robert Perryman and wide receiver Michael Timpson stood in front of Boston Herald reporter Lisa Olson semi-naked and sexually harassed her in the Patriots locker room at Foxboro Stadium. The incident proved a major embarrassment for the franchise, and the team lost its final 14 games, and was accused of quitting in most of the losses.

Personnel

Staff

1990 New England Patriots staff
	Front office Chairman and CEO – Victor Kiam Vice Chairman – Fran Murray President – Billy Sullivan Vice President – Bucko Kilroy General Manager – Patrick Sullivan Director of Player Operations – Joe Mendes Director of Pro Scouting – Bill McPeak Head coaches Head coach – Rod Rust Special Assistant to the Head Coach – John Polonchek Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Jimmy Raye Offensive Backs – Bobby Grier Receivers – Dick Wood Tight Ends – Steve Crosby Offensive Line – Rod Humenuik			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs – Charlie Sumner Defensive Line – Dale Lindsey Outside Linebackers – Don Blackmon Inside Linebackers – Steve Nelson Special teams coaches Special Teams – Steve Crosby Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Jerry Simmons

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Opponent	Result	Stadium	Record	Attendance
1	Miami Dolphins	L 24–27	Foxboro Stadium	0–1	45,305
2	at Indianapolis Colts	W 16–14	Hoosier Dome	1–1	49,256
3	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 7–41	Riverfront Stadium	1–2	56,470
4	New York Jets	L 13–37	Foxboro Stadium	1–3	36,724
5	Seattle Seahawks	L 20–33	Foxboro Stadium	1–4	39,735
6	Bye
7	at Miami Dolphins	L 10–17	Joe Robbie Stadium	1–5	62,630
8	Buffalo Bills	L 10–27	Foxboro Stadium	1–6	51,959
9	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 20–48	Veterans Stadium	1–7	65,514
10	Indianapolis Colts	L 10–13	Foxboro Stadium	1–8	28,924
11	at Buffalo Bills	L 0–14	Rich Stadium	1–9	74,270
12	at Phoenix Cardinals	L 14–34	Sun Devil Stadium	1–10	30,110
13	Kansas City Chiefs	L 7–37	Foxboro Stadium	1–11	26,280
14	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 3–24	Three Rivers Stadium	1–12	48,354
15	Washington Redskins	L 10–25	Foxboro Stadium	1–13	22,286
16	at New York Jets	L 7–42	The Meadowlands	1–14	30,250
17	New York Giants	L 10–13	Foxboro Stadium	1–15	60,410

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

See also

• New England Patriots seasons