| 1987 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| General manager | Bill Polian |
| Head coach | Marv Levy |
| Home field | Rich Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–8 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did 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.
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.
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 | |||||
| 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 State | |
| 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 | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
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
| ||||
Cornerback Nate Odomes was the youngest starting defensive player in the NFL. It was also his rookie season.
| 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. | |||||
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| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Bills | 0 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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|
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bills | 0 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 27 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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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 |
Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
| Player | Games | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Kelly | 12 | 250 | 419 | 2798 | 19 | 11 | 83.8 |
| John Kidd | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| Dan Manucci | 3 | 7 | 21 | 68 | 0 | 2 | 3.8 |
| Brian McClure | 1 | 20 | 38 | 181 | 0 | 3 | 32.9 |
| Mark Miller | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2.8 |
| Robb Riddick | 6 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 118.7 |
| Willie Totten | 2 | 13 | 33 | 155 | 2 | 2 | 49.4 |
| Player | Games | Attempts | Yards | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronnie Harmon | 12 | 116 | 485 | 2 | |
| Jamie Mueller | 12 | 82 | 354 | 2 | |
| Carl Byrum | 13 | 66 | 280 | 0 | |
| Robb Riddick | 6 | 59 | 221 | 5 | |
| Ricky Porter | 9 | 47 | 177 | 0 | |
| Jim Kelly | 12 | 29 | 133 | 0 |
| Player | Games | Number | Yards | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Burkett | 12 | 56 | 765 | 13.7 | 4 |
| Andre Reed | 12 | 57 | 752 | 13.2 | 5 |
| Ronnie Harmon | 12 | 56 | 477 | 8.5 | 2 |
| Pete Metzelaars | 12 | 28 | 290 | 10.4 | 0 |
| Trumaine Johnson | 12 | 15 | 186 | 12.4 | 2 |
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 |
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
| Player | Games | FGA | FGM | FG % | XPA | XPM | XP % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Norwood | 12 | 15 | 10 | 66.7 | 31 | 31 | 100 |
| Todd Schlopy | 3 | 5 | 2 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 50 |
| Player | Games | Punts | Yards | Long | Blocked | Avg. yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Kidd | 12 | 64 | 2495 | 67 | 0 | 39.0 |
| Rick Partridge | 3 | 18 | 678 | 52 | 1 | 37.7 |
Defensive Rookie of the Year [11]
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| Franchise | |
| Stadiums |
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| Culture | |
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Division championships (14) | |
| Conference championships (4) | |
| League championships (2) | |
| Wall of Fame | |
| Media |
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| Owners | |
| Current league affiliations |
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