MVP Profile: Jerry Rice, 1990

Wide Receiver, San Francisco 49ers

Age: 28 (Oct. 13)

6^th season in pro football & with 49ers

College: Mississippi Valley State

Height: 6’2”   Weight: 200

Prelude:

Drafted by the 49ers in the first round in 1985, Rice moved into the starting lineup as a rookie and showed flashes of future greatness as he caught 49 passes for 927 yards and diverted coverage from veteran WR Dwight Clark. In ’86, Rice broke out with 86 receptions and led the NFL in receiving yards (1570) and TD catches (15). He was a consensus first-team All-Pro selection and was chosen for the Pro Bowl. It was the first of four straight seasons prior to ’90 in which he received those honors, and in the strike-interrupted 1987 season Rice had a record 22 touchdown receptions in just 12 games and received MVP recognition as well. In 1989, he led the NFL in pass receiving yards (1483) and TD catches (17).

1990 Season Summary

Appeared in all 16 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 100 [1]           

Most receptions, game – 13 (for 225 yds.) at Atlanta 10/14

Yards – 1502 [1]

Most yards, game - 225 (on 13 catches) at Atlanta 10/14

Average gain – 15.0

TDs – 13 [1]

200-yard receiving games – 1

100-yard receiving games – 7

Rushing

Attempts – 2

Yards – 0

Average gain – 0.0

TDs – 0

Scoring

TDs – 13 [4, tied with Marcus Allen, Neal Anderson & Thurman Thomas]

Points – 78

Postseason: 2 G

Pass receptions – 11

Most pass receptions, game – 6 vs. Washington, NFC Divisional playoff

Pass receiving yards – 122

Most pass receiving yards, game – 68 vs. Washington, NFC Divisional playoff

Average yards per reception – 11.1

Pass Receiving TDs – 1

Awards & Honors:

NFL MVP: Sporting News

1^st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, NEA, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News

1^st team All-NFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly

Pro Bowl

49ers went 14-2 to finish first in the NFC West with the best record in the conference while leading the NFC in total offense (5895 yards) and passing yards (4177). Won NFC Divisional playoff over Washington Redskins (28-10). Lost NFC Championship to New York Giants (15-13).

Aftermath:

Rice went on to play 20 seasons in the NFL and re-wrote the record book by the time he was done. The 1986 and ’87 seasons were the first of 11 straight thousand-yard receiving seasons and 14 overall. He led the league in that category five more times, including a record 1848 in 1995. Rice also had four 100-catch seasons and was the NFL leader twice. A prolific scorer, he had a total of nine years in which he reached double figures in receiving TDs and paced the league six times. After 16 years with San Francisco, Rice moved on to the Raiders for three full seasons plus part of his last year, in 2004, in which he finished up with Seattle. Overall, he retired as career leader in pass receptions (1549), receiving yards (22,895), receiving touchdowns (197), and total TDs (208). He gained the most total yards (23,546) of any player in NFL history. The 49ers retired Rice’s #80 and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2010.

[Updated 8/4/13]

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).