1987 New England Patriots season

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.

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)

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

Offseason

NFL draft

See also: 1987 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 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 21 Ted Stoneburner 24 Bruce Hanson 27 Michael LeBlanc 30 Frank Bianchini 32 Chuck McSwain 33 Tony Collins 34 Carl Woods Wide receivers 80 Larry Linne 81 Brian Carey 82 Dennis Gadbois 83 Wayne Coffey 86 Mike Benson 88 Bill LaFreniere 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 97 John Guzik 96 Steve O'Malley 71 Ben Reed 65 Tom Porell 60 Frank Romano 99 Steve Wilburn 90 Murray Wchard		Linebackers 91 Rogers Alexander 93 Rico Corsetti 51 Mel Black 52 Jerry McCabe 55 Joe McHale 54 Greg Moore 50 Tony Reider 95 Frank Sacco 59 Randy Sealby Defensive backs 22 Ricky Atkinson 43 Duffy Cobbs 23 Maurice Gravely 41 Joe Peterson 31 Jon Sawyer 42 Ron Shegog 38 Perry Williams 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	Miami Orange Bowl	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.

Standings

AFC East
	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

See also

• List of New England Patriots seasons