1987 New England Patriots season

Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots

Running back Reggie Dupard playing for the Patriots, circa 1987.

The 1987 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League and 28th overall. They failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 1986, in the strike-shortened season, finishing 8–7, tied for second in the AFC East Division, and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1984.

Offseason

NFL draft

1987 New England Patriots draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 23 Bruce Armstrong *  T Louisville
3 79 Bob Perryman  FB Michigan
4 98 Rich Gannon *  QB Delaware
4 102 Derrick Beasley  DB Winston-Salem State
4 107 Tim Jordan  LB Wisconsin
5 113 Danny Villa  T Arizona State
5 116 Tom Gibson  DE Northern Arizona
6 163 Gene Taylor  WR Fresno State
11 302 Carlos Reveiz  K Tennessee
11 330 Elgin Davis  RB UCF
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

New England Patriots 1987 staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Quarterbacks/receivers – Les Steckel
  • Quarterbacks/special assistant to the head coach – John Polonchek
  • Offensive backfield – Bobby Grier
  • Receivers – Harold Jackson
  • Assistant head coach/offensive line – Rod Humenuik
 

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Dean Brittenham

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

1987 New England Patriots replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

  • 44 Todd Frain
  • 87 Arnold Franklin
  • 85 Mike Siragusa

Offensive linemen

  • 67 John Benzinger
  • 63 George Colton
  • 61 Greg Robinson
  • 75 Mark Roddy
  • 62 Todd Sandham
  • 70 Brian Saranovitz
  • 78 Eric Stokes
  • 74 Bill Turner
  • 64 Darren Twombly
  • 66 Craig Vittum

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Roster

1987 New England Patriots roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 25 Derrick Beasley DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 55 Don Blackmon LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 11 Tony Eason QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 99 Tom Gibson DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 35 Bruce Hanson RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  •  9 Walter Lewis WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • -- Jerry McCabe LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 75 Guy Morriss C (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 Miami Dolphins W 28–21 1–0 Sullivan Stadium 54,642
2 at New York Jets L 24–43 1–1 Giants Stadium 70,847
at Washington Redskins canceled 1–1 RFK Stadium
3 Cleveland Browns L 10–20 1–2 Sullivan Stadium 14,830
4 Buffalo Bills W 14–7 2–2 Sullivan Stadium 11,878
5 at Houston Oilers W 21–7 3–2 Astrodome 26,294
6 at Indianapolis Colts L 16–30 3–3 Hoosier Dome 48,850
7 Los Angeles Raiders W 26–23 4–3 Sullivan Stadium 60,664
8 at New York Giants L 10–17 4–4 Giants Stadium 73,817
9 Dallas Cowboys L 17–23 4–5 Sullivan Stadium 60,567
10 Indianapolis Colts W 24–0 5–5 Sullivan Stadium 56,906
11 Philadelphia Eagles L 31–34 5–6 Sullivan Stadium 54,198
12 at Denver Broncos L 20–31 5–7 Mile High Stadium 75,795
13 New York Jets W 42–20 6–7 Sullivan Stadium 60,617
14 at Buffalo Bills W 13–7 7–7 Rich Stadium 74,945
15 at Miami Dolphins W 24–10 8–7 Miami Orange Bowl 61,192
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1

1 234Total
Dolphins 7 1400 21
• Patriots 7 7140 28
  • Date: September 13, 1987
  • Location: Schaefer Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 54,642
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16.1 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn), rainy
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

Miami Dolphins punter Reggie Roby injured in the game, forcing Don Strock to punt in the emergency situation. Additionally, with 2:22 left in the game Dan Marino was injured forcing Strock to fill in at the quarterback position as well, nearly mounting a winning comeback drive.

[1]

Standings

AFC East
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W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Indianapolis Colts(3) 9 6 0 .600 5–3 8–6 300 238 W2
New England Patriots 8 7 0 .533 6–2 8–4 320 293 W3
Miami Dolphins 8 7 0 .533 2–6 5–7 362 335 L1
Buffalo Bills 7 8 0 .467 4–4 6–6 270 305 L2
New York Jets 6 9 0 .400 3–5 6–5 334 360 L4

References

  1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2022-Mar-22.

See also

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New England Patriots
  • Founded in 1960
  • Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970)
  • Based and headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts
Franchise
Stadiums
Culture
Lore
Rivalries
Division championships (22)
Conference championships (11)
League championships (6)
Retired numbers
Media
Current league affiliations
Former league affiliation


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