1987 Buffalo Bills season

Last updated

1987 Buffalo Bills season
Owner Ralph Wilson
General manager Bill Polian
Head coach Marv Levy
Home field Rich Stadium
Results
Record7–8
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers QB Jim Kelly
DE Bruce Smith
AP All-Pros DE Bruce Smith (1st team)
ST Steve Tasker (1st team)
LB Shane Conlan (2nd team)

The 1987 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League, and 28th overall.

Contents

On October 31, 1987, the Los Angeles Rams traded Eric Dickerson to the Indianapolis Colts in a three team trade involving the Bills. The Rams sent Dickerson to the Colts for six draft choices and two players. Buffalo obtained the rights to Cornelius Bennett from Indianapolis. Buffalo sent running back Greg Bell and three draft choices to the Rams, while Indianapolis added Owen Gill and three of their own draft picks to complete the deal with the Rams. [1] Adding Bennett to the team helped to form the nucleus for a strong young defensive unit that would become the core of Buffalo's later Super Bowl teams.

Offseason

NFL draft

Buffalo's first two draft picks—linebacker Shane Conlan and defensive back Nate Odomes—would later go on to make to have a great deal of impact on Buffalo's defense. Conlan was named 1987 Defensive Rookie of the Year and would be selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls in the 1988, 1989 and 1990 seasons. Odomes would be selected to consecutive Pro Bowls in 1992 and 1993.

Another impactful rookie, Cornelius Bennett, was drafted by Indianapolis in 1987, before being traded to Buffalo.

1987 Buffalo Bills draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
18 Shane Conlan  *  Linebacker Penn State
229 Nate Odomes  *  Defensive back Wisconsin
233 Roland Mitchell  Defensive back Texas Tech
360 David Brandon  Linebacker Memphis State
378 Jamie Mueller   Running back Benedictine (KS)
4109 Leon Seals   Defensive end Jackson State
7171 Kerry Porter  Running back Washington State
11283 Howard Ballard  * Offensive Tackle Alabama A&M
      Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1987 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office
  • President – Ralph Wilson
  • Vice president of administration/general manager – Bill Polian
  • Vice president of football operations – Marv Levy
  • Director of college scouting – John Butler
  • Director of pro personnel – Bob Ferguson
  • National scout – Norm Pollom
  • College scout – A. J. Smith
  • Administrative assistant to the head coach – Chuck Dickerson

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Marv Levy

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator/linebackers – Walt Corey
  • Defensive line – Ted Cottrell
  • Defensive backs – Dick Roach
  • Defensive assistant – Chuck Lester

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

[3]

NFL replacement players

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

1987 Buffalo Bills replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Roster

1987 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Cornerback Nate Odomes was the youngest starting defensive player in the NFL. It was also his rookie season.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordAttendance
1September 13 New York Jets L 31–280–176,718
2September 20 Houston Oilers W 34–301-156,534
–September 27at Dallas Cowboys canceled
3October 4 Indianapolis Colts L 47–61-29,860
4October 11at New England Patriots L 14–71-311,878
5October 18 New York Giants W 6–32-315,737
6October 25at Miami Dolphins W 34–31 OT3-361,295
7November 1 Washington Redskins L 27–73-471,640
8November 8 Denver Broncos W 21–144-463,698
9November 15at Cleveland Browns L 27–214-578,409
10November 22at New York Jets W 17–145-558,407
11November 29 Miami Dolphins W 27–06-568,055
12December 6at Los Angeles Raiders L 34–216-643,143
13December 13at Indianapolis Colts W 27–37-660,253
14December 20 New England Patriots L 13–77-774,945
15December 27at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–77-857,547

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2

1234Total
Oilers31431030
• Bills31002134
Scoring summary
1BUF Scott Norwood 45 yard field goalBills 3–0
1HOU Tony Zendejas 52 yard field goalTie 3–3
2HOU Drew Hill 2 yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick)Oilers 10–3
2BUFScott Norwood 38 yard field goalOilers 10–6
2HOU Mike Rozier 8 yard run (Tony Zendejas kick)Oilers 17–6
2BUF Robb Riddick 11 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick)Oilers 17–13
3HOUTony Zendejas 27 yard field goalOilers 20–13
4BUF Andre Reed 8 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick)Tie 20–20
4HOU Ernest Givens 12 yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick)Oilers 27–20
4HOUTony Zendejas 30 yard field goalOilers 30–20
4BUFRobb Riddick 2 yard run (Scott Norwood kick)Oilers 30–27
4BUF Ronnie Harmon 2 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick)Bills 34–30

[4]

Week 6

Buffalo Bills (2–3) at Miami Dolphins (2–3)
1234OTTotal
• Bills031414334
Dolphins147010031

[5]

Week 7

Washington Redskins (5–1) at Buffalo Bills (3–3)
1234Total
• Redskins31410027
Bills00077

[6]

Week 8

Week Eight: Denver Broncos (4–2–1) at Buffalo Bills (3–4)
Period1234Total
Broncos 007714
Bills0183021

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: November 8, 1987
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 50 °F or 10 °C; wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn)
  • Game attendance: 63,698
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV announcers (NBC): Gary Gerould and Reggie Rucker
  • [7]
Game information
  • Cornelius Bennett’s first game as a Buffalo Bill, wearing #55.
  • Steve Tasker blocked punt just before halftime resulting in a safety and 18–0 halftime score.

Week 9

1234Total
Bills7001421
• Browns3147327

[8]

Week 11 vs Dolphins

Week Twelve: Miami Dolphins (5–5) at Buffalo Bills (5–5)
Period1234Total
Dolphins 00000
Bills0213327

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 12

1234Total
Bills0147021
• Raiders10314734

[9]

Week 15

Buffalo Bills (7–7) at Philadelphia Eagles (6–8)
1234Total
Bills00077
• Eagles0107017
  • Date: December 27, 1987
  • Location: Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA
  • Game start: 1:00 EST
  • Game weather: 35 °F (1.7 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
  • TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond

[10]

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Indianapolis Colts (3)960.6005–38–6300238W2
New England Patriots 870.5336–28–4320293W3
Miami Dolphins 870.5332–65–7362335L1
Buffalo Bills 780.4674–46–6270305L2
New York Jets 690.4003–56–5334360L4

Player stats

Passing

Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions

PlayerGamesCompAttYardsTDINTRating
Jim Kelly 122504192798191183.8
John Kidd 120100039.6
Dan Manucci 372168023.8
Brian McClure 120381810332.9
Mark Miller1139012.8
Robb Riddick 6113500118.7
Willie Totten 213331552249.4

[11]

Rushing

PlayerGamesAttemptsYardsAvgTD
Ronnie Harmon 121164852
Jamie Mueller 12823542
Carl Byrum 13662800
Robb Riddick 6592215
Ricky Porter 9471770
Jim Kelly 12291330

[11]

Receiving

PlayerGamesNumberYardsAvgTD
Chris Burkett 125676513.74
Andre Reed 125775213.25
Ronnie Harmon12564778.52
Pete Metzelaars 122829010.40
Trumaine Johnson 121518612.42

[11]

Defense

Note: FR = Fumble Recoveries; TCKL = Tackles; INT = Interceptions; TD = Touchdowns

PlayerGamesSacksForced FumblesFRTcklINTYardsTD
Shane Conlan 120.510114000
Bruce Smith 1212.0302000

Special teams

Note: FGA = Field Goals Attempted; FGM = Field Goals Made; FG% = Field goal percentage; XPA = Extra Points Attempted; XPM = Extra Points Made; XP% = Extra points percentage

PlayerGamesFGAFGMFG %XPAXPMXP %
Scott Norwood 12151066.73131100
Todd Schlopy 352402150

[11]

Punting

PlayerGamesPuntsYardsLongBlockedAvg. yards
John Kidd 1264249567039.0
Rick Partridge 31867852137.7

[11]

Awards and honors

Defensive Rookie of the Year [12]

Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player

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References

  1. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p.286
  2. ↑ "1987 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  3. ↑ 1987 Buffalo Bills Media Guide. pp. 3–24.
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  5. ↑ . Retrieved 2021-Jul-19.
  6. ↑ . Retrieved 2021-Jun-05.
  7. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2022-Feb-19.
  8. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  9. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  10. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 2022-Mar-23.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 1987 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players – Pro-Football-Reference.com
  12. ↑ NFL Rookie of the Year
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