1987 New England Patriots season

1987 New England Patriots season
1987 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Patrick Sullivan
Head coach	Raymond Berry
Home field	Sullivan Stadium
Results
Record	8–7
Division place	T-2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Stanley Morgan; LB Andre Tippett
AP All-Pros	LB Andre Tippett (1st team)
	← 1986; Patriots seasons; 1988 →;

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.

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

Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1987 New England Patriots draft
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

President – Billy Sullivan
Executive vice president – Chuck Sullivan
Vice-president – Bucko Kilroy
General manager – Patrick Sullivan
Director of player development – Dick Steinberg
Director of college scouting – Joe Mendes
Director of pro scouting – Bill McPeak

Head coaches

Head coach – Raymond Berry

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

Defensive coordinator – Rod Rust
Defensive line – Eddie Khayat
Assistant defensive line – Ray Hamilton
Linebackers – Don Shinnick
Defensive backfield – Jim Carr

Special teams coaches

Special teams/tight ends – Dante Scarnecchia

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

10 Bob Bleier
15 Todd Whitten

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

6 Al Herline K/P
1 Eric Schubert

Roster

**1987 New England Patriots roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 2 Doug Flutie 14 Steve Grogan 12 Tom Ramsey Running backs (RB) 33 Tony Collins 40 Elgin Davis 21 Reggie Dupard 34 Bob Perryman 30 Mosi Tatupu Wide receivers (WR) 80 Irving Fryar 83 Cedric Jones 86 Stanley Morgan 81 Stephen Starring 82 Derwin Williams Tight ends (TE) 87 Lin Dawson 49 Russ Francis 88 Willie Scott		Offensive linemen (OL) 78 Bruce Armstrong T 58 Pete Brock C 63 George Colton T 66 Paul Fairchild G 62 Sean Farrell G 64 Trevor Matich C 70 Art Plunkett T 73 Danny Villa T 61 Ron Wooten G Defensive linemen (DL) 85 Julius Adams DE 97 Milford Hodge DE 65 Mike Ruth DT 77 Kenneth Sims DE 60 Garin Veris DE 96 Brent Williams DE 90 Toby Williams DT		Linebackers (LB) 93 Tim Jordan OLB 50 Larry McGrew OLB 57 Steve Nelson ILB 52 Johnny Rembert ILB 95 Ed Reynolds ILB 56 Andre Tippett OLB 54 Ed Williams OLB Defensive backs (DB) 28 Jim Bowman SS 26 Raymond Clayborn CB 43 Ernest Gibson CB 41 Darryl Holmes FS 38 Roland James SS 42 Ronnie Lippett CB 31 Fred Marion FS 23 Rod McSwain CB 22 Gene Profit CB Special teams 3 Rich Camarillo P 1 Tony Franklin K		Reserve 25 Derrick Beasley DB (IR) 55 Don Blackmon LB (IR) 11 Tony Eason QB (IR) 99 Tom Gibson DE (IR) 35 Bruce Hansen RB (IR) 9 Walter Lewis WR (IR) -- Larry Linne WR (IR) -- Jerry McCabe LB (IR) 67 Steve Moore T (IR) 75 Guy Morriss C (IR) 59 Randy Sealby LB (IR) 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	Joe Robbie Stadium	61,192
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins	7	14	0	0	21
• Patriots	7	7	14	0	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
view talk edit	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

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