1987 Miami Dolphins season

1987 Miami Dolphins season
Head coachDon Shula
Home fieldJoe Robbie Stadium
Results
Record8–7
Division place3rd AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
3

The 1987 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 22nd as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 8–8, losing one fewer game.[1] Despite the improvement the team failed to reach the playoffs. This was also the first season the Dolphins played their home games at Joe Robbie Stadium. Their first game at Joe Robbie Stadium was scheduled to open the stadium against the defending champion New York Giants but the 1987 strike resulted in all games from week 3 being permanently cancelled. So the first contest at the new venue involved replacement players, as 25,867 fans saw the Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.[2] The Dolphins finally played a 1987 home game with the regular players in week 6, losing in overtime to the Buffalo Bills.

Offseason

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NFL draft

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Main article: 1987 NFL draft
1987 Miami Dolphins draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 16 John Bosa  Defensive end Boston College
2 43 Rick Graf  Linebacker Wisconsin
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

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Staff

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1987 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Don Shula
  • Assistant head coach – David Shula

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Mike Westhoff

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Junior Wade


NFL replacement players

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

  • Kyle Mackey, whose father, Dee Mackey, played for Don Shula with the Baltimore Colts, served as a replacement quarterback.[3]
1987 Miami Dolphins replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Roster

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1987 Miami Dolphins roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 13 at New England Patriots L 21–28 0–1 Sullivan Stadium 54,642
2 September 20 at Indianapolis Colts W 23–10 1–1 Hoosier Dome 57,524
– September 27 New York Giants canceled 1–1 Joe Robbie Stadium
3 October 4 at Seattle Seahawks L 20–24 1–2 Kingdome 19,448
4 October 11 Kansas City Chiefs W 42–0 2–2 Joe Robbie Stadium 25,867
5 October 18 at New York Jets L 31–37 (OT) 2–3 Giants Stadium 18,249
6 October 25 Buffalo Bills L 31–34 (OT) 2–4 Joe Robbie Stadium 61,295
7 November 1 Pittsburgh Steelers W 35–24 3–4 Joe Robbie Stadium 52,578
8 November 8 at Cincinnati Bengals W 20–14 4–4 Riverfront Stadium 53,840
9 November 15 Indianapolis Colts L 21–40 4–5 Joe Robbie Stadium 65,433
10 November 22 at Dallas Cowboys W 20–14 5–5 Texas Stadium 56,519
11 November 29 at Buffalo Bills L 0–27 5–6 Rich Stadium 68,055
12 December 7 New York Jets W 37–28 6–6 Joe Robbie Stadium 62,592
13 December 13 at Philadelphia Eagles W 28–10 7–6 Veterans Stadium 63,841
14 December 20 Washington Redskins W 23–21 8–6 Joe Robbie Stadium 65,715
15 December 28 New England Patriots L 10–24 8–7 Joe Robbie Stadium 61,192
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

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Week 1

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1 234Total
Dolphins 7 1400 21
• Patriots 7 7140 28

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.

[4]

Week 6

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Buffalo Bills (2-3) at Miami Dolphins (2-3)
1 234OTTotal
• Bills 0 314143 34
Dolphins 14 70100 31
  • Date: October 25, 1987
  • Location: Joe Robbie Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 61,295
  • Game weather: 78 °F (25.6 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jim Donovan and Paul Maguire

[5]

Week 14

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1 234Total
Redskins 0 777 21
• Dolphins 0 9014 23
  • Date: December 20
  • Location: Joe Robbie Stadium
  • Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 65,715
  • Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C); wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Roy Firestone, Larry Csonka
Scoring summary
Q2MIAReviez 48 yard field goalMIA 3–0
Q2WSHBryant 6 yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick)WSH 7–3
Q2MIADuper 26 yard pass from MarinoMIA 9–7
Q3WSHSchroeder 6 yard run (Hajji-Sheikh kick)WSH 14–9
Q4MIADuper 59 yard pass from Marino (Reveiz kick)MIA 16–14
Q4WSHRogers 2yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick)WSH 21–16
Q4MIADuper 6 yard pass from Marino (Reveiz kick)MIA 23–21

[6]

Standings

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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

References

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  1. ^ "1987 Miami Dolphins Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ^ 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.189
  3. ^ 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.188
  4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2022-Mar-22.
  5. ^ [1]. Retrieved 2021-Jul-19.
  6. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-Jan-08.
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