1987 Buffalo Bills season

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

1987 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachMarv Levy
General managerBill Polian
Home fieldRich Stadium
Results
Record7–8
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify

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
Main article: 1987 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; he would be selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls, from the 1988–1990 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
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 8 Shane Conlan *  Linebacker Penn State
2 29 Nate Odomes *  Defensive back Wisconsin
2 33 Roland Mitchell  Defensive back Texas Tech
3 60 David Brandon  Linebacker Memphis
3 78 Jamie Mueller  Running back Benedictine (KS)
4 109 Leon Seals  Defensive end Jackson State
7 171 Kerry Porter  Running back Washington State
11 283 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:

Roster of the 1987 Replacement Bills

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

  • 84 Veno Belk

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
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 13, 1987 New York Jets L 31–28
76,718
2 September 20, 1987 Houston Oilers W 34–30
56,534
– September 27, 1987 at Dallas Cowboys canceled
3 October 4, 1987 Indianapolis Colts L 47–6
9,860
4 October 11, 1987 at New England Patriots L 14–7
11,878
5 October 18, 1987 New York Giants W 6–3
15,737
6 October 25, 1987 at Miami Dolphins W 34–31
61,295
7 November 1, 1987 Washington Redskins L 27–7
71,640
8 November 8, 1987 Denver Broncos W 21–14
63,698
9 November 15, 1987 at Cleveland Browns L 27–21
78,409
10 November 22, 1987 at New York Jets W 17–14
58,407
11 November 29, 1987 Miami Dolphins W 27–0
68,055
12 December 6, 1987 at Los Angeles Raiders L 34–21
43,143
13 December 13, 1987 at Indianapolis Colts W 27–3
60,253
14 December 20, 1987 New England Patriots L 13–7
74,945
15 December 27, 1987 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–7
57,547

Week 2
1 234Total
Oilers 3 14310 30
• Bills 3 10021 34

[4]

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

Player stats

Passing

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

PlayerGamesCompAttYardsTDINTRating
Jim Kelly122504192798191183.8
John Kidd120100039.6
Dan Manucci372168023.8
Brian McClure120381810332.9
Mark Miller1139012.8
Robb Riddick6113500118.7
Willie Totten213331552249.4

[5]

Rushing
PlayerGamesAttemptsYardsAvgTD
Ronnie Harmon121164852
Jamie Mueller12823542
Carl Byrum13662800
Robb Riddick6592215
Ricky Porter9471770
Jim Kelly12291330

[5]

Receiving
PlayerGamesNumberYardsAvgTD
Chris Burkett125676513.74
Andre Reed125775213.25
Ronnie Harmon12564778.52
Pete Metzelaars122829010.40
Trumaine Johnson121518612.42

[5]

Defense

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

PlayerGamesSacksForced FumblesFRTcklINTYardsTD
Shane Conlan120.510114000
Bruce Smith1212.0302000

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 Norwood12151066.73131100
Todd Schlopy352402150

[5]

  • Punting
PlayerGamesPuntsYardsLongBlockedAvg. yards
John Kidd1264249567039.0
Rick Partridge31867852137.7

[5]

Awards and honors

Defensive Rookie of the Year[6]

AFC Pro Bowl selections

Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player

  • Bruce Smith

All-Pros
Main article: 1987 All-Pro Team

First Team

Second Team

  • Shane Conlan, Linebacker

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. 1987 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players – Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. NFL Rookie of the Year
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