1989 NFL season

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.
• 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

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

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

• Super Bowl XXIV: San Francisco (NFC) 55, Denver (AFC) 10, at Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 28, 1990

Awards

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1981-1990 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• 1989 season in details
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)