28th season in franchise history
The 1987 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League , and 28th overall.
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 [ edit ] NFL draft [ edit ] 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.
[2]
Personnel [ edit ] 1987 Buffalo Bills staff Front office
Head coaches
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 [ edit ] 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
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 [ edit ] Cornerback Nate Odomes was the youngest starting defensive player in the NFL. It was also his rookie season.
Schedule [ edit ] Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 13 New York Jets L 31–28 0–1 76,718 2 September 20 Houston Oilers W 34–30 1–1 56,534 – September 27 at Dallas Cowboys canceled 3 October 4 Indianapolis Colts L 47–6 1–2 9,860 4 October 11 at New England Patriots L 14–7 1–3 11,878 5 October 18 New York Giants W 6–3 2–3 15,737 6 October 25 at Miami Dolphins W 34–31 OT 3–3 61,295 7 November 1 Washington Redskins L 27–7 3–4 71,640 8 November 8 Denver Broncos W 21–14 4–4 63,698 9 November 15 at Cleveland Browns L 27–21 4–5 78,409 10 November 22 at New York Jets W 17–14 5–5 58,407 11 November 29 Miami Dolphins W 27–0 6–5 68,055 12 December 6 at Los Angeles Raiders L 34–21 6–6 43,143 13 December 13 at Indianapolis Colts W 27–3 7–6 60,253 14 December 20 New England Patriots L 13–7 7–7 74,945 15 December 27 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–7 7–8 57,547 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 3 14 3 10 30 • Bills 3 10 0 21 34
Scoring summary 1 BUF Scott Norwood 45 yard field goalBills 3–0 1 HOU Tony Zendejas 52 yard field goalTie 3–3 2 HOU Drew Hill 2 yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick)Oilers 10–3 2 BUF Scott Norwood 38 yard field goal Oilers 10–6 2 HOU Mike Rozier 8 yard run (Tony Zendejas kick)Oilers 17–6 2 BUF Robb Riddick 11 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick)Oilers 17–13 3 HOU Tony Zendejas 27 yard field goal Oilers 20–13 4 BUF Andre Reed 8 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick)Tie 20–20 4 HOU Ernest Givens 12 yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick)Oilers 27–20 4 HOU Tony Zendejas 30 yard field goal Oilers 30–20 4 BUF Robb Riddick 2 yard run (Scott Norwood kick) Oilers 30–27 4 BUF Ronnie Harmon 2 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick)Bills 34–30
[4]
Buffalo Bills (2–3) at Miami Dolphins (2–3) 1 2 3 4 OT Total • Bills 0 3 14 14 3 34 Dolphins 14 7 0 10 0 31
[5]
Washington Redskins (5–1) at Buffalo Bills (3–3) 1 2 3 4 Total • Redskins 3 14 10 0 27 Bills 0 0 0 7 7
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Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers DEN – John Elway – 13/30, 163 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD BUF – Jim Kelly – 14/23, 135 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD Top rushers Top receivers
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.
1 2 3 4 Total Bills 7 0 0 14 21 • Browns 3 14 7 3 27
[8]
Week 11 vs Dolphins [ edit ] Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
BUF – Scott Norwood 39-yard field goal, 10:01. Bills 24–0. Fourth quarter
BUF – Scott Norwood 28-yard field goal, 7:52. Bils 27–0. Top passers Top rushers Top receivers
Week 12 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 14 7 0 21 • Raiders 10 3 14 7 34
[9]
Week 15 [ edit ] Buffalo Bills (7–7) at Philadelphia Eagles (6–8) 1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 0 0 7 7 • Eagles 0 10 7 0 17
Date: December 27, 1987Location: Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PAGame 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 [ edit ] Player stats [ edit ] Passing [ edit ] Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
Rushing [ edit ]
Receiving [ edit ]
Defense [ edit ] Note: FR = Fumble Recoveries; TCKL = Tackles; INT = Interceptions; TD = Touchdowns
Player Games Sacks Forced Fumbles FR Tckl INT Yards TD Shane Conlan 12 0.5 1 0 114 0 0 0 Bruce Smith 12 12.0 3 0 2 0 0 0
Special teams [ edit ] 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
Punting [ edit ]
Awards and honors [ edit ] Defensive Rookie of the Year [12]
Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player
References [ edit ] External links [ edit ]
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (14) Conference championships (4) League championships (2) Wall of Fame Media Owners Current league affiliations Former league affiliation