1987 San Francisco 49ers season | |
---|---|
Owner | Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. |
General manager | John McVay |
Head coach | Bill Walsh |
Defensive coordinator | George Seifert |
Home field | Candlestick Park |
Results | |
Record | 13–2 |
Division place | 1st NFC West |
Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Vikings) 24–36 |
Pro Bowlers | QB Joe Montana WR Jerry Rice RB Roger Craig NT Michael Carter FS Ronnie Lott |
The 1987 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Football League and their 42nd overall. The 49ers won the division for the second consecutive season, ended the season as the top seed in the NFC and were heavily favored to represent the conference in the Super Bowl. The season ended with an upset loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The 49ers lost the first game of the season to Pittsburgh. In their second game, against Cincinnati, it appeared that they were going to start the season 0–2, down by 6 points with just 2 seconds to play. However, quarterback Joe Montana threw a 25-yard pass to wide receiver Jerry Rice as time expired. The 49ers used the victory as a springboard to a 13–1 run to end the season with the best record in the NFL.
The 49ers scored 459 points, the most in the NFL in 1987; they also scored 206 more points than they allowed, best in the league as well. The 49ers gained the most total yards (5,987), the most rushing yards (2,237) and second most passing yards (3,750) in the NFL in 1987. [1]
Wide receiver Jerry Rice was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year and the Bert Bell Award (for Player of the Year). Rice caught 22 touchdown passes in a strike-shortened 12 games (1 game was canceled because of the strike, and Rice didn't play in the next 3 games while the strike was on). This record stood for twenty years. [lower-alpha 1] Rice led the league in receiving yards per game (89.8), total touchdowns (23: 22 receiving, 1 rushing), and points scored (138). Quarterback Joe Montana (who crossed the picket line during the strike) led the league with 31 touchdown passes. He also led the league in passer rating (102.1) and completion percentage (66.8%).
The San Francisco defense was also very strong, surrendering the fewest total yards (4,095), fewest passing yards (2,484) and fifth-fewest rushing yards (1,611) in the NFL in 1987. The 1987 49ers have the best passer rating differential (offensive passer rating minus opponents' combined passer rating) of the Live Ball Era (1978–present), with +52.4. [2]
When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected quarterback Vinny Testaverde first overall in the 1987 NFL draft, Tampa Bay quarterback Steve Young was traded to the 49ers on April 24, 1987. The Buccaneers received 2nd and 4th round draft picks in the trade, which they used to draft Miami linebacker Winston Moss, and Arizona State wide receiver Bruce Hill.
1987 San Francisco 49ers draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 22 | Harris Barton * | Tackle | North Carolina | |
1 | 25 | Terrence Flagler | Running back | Clemson | |
2 | 37 | Jeff Bregel | Guard | USC | |
5 | 134 | Paul Jokisch | Wide receiver | Michigan | |
6 | 162 | Bob White | Linebacker | Penn State | |
7 | 189 | Steve DeLine | Kicker | Colorado State | |
8 | 217 | David Grayson | Linebacker | Fresno State | |
9 | 245 | Jonathan Shelley | Defensive back | Ole Miss | |
10 | 275 | John Paye | Quarterback | Stanford | |
11 | 301 | Calvin Nicholas | Wide receiver | Grambling State | |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Source: [4]
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 San Francisco 49ers replacement roster | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| ||||
In 1987, Jerry Rice led the NFL with 22 touchdown receptions. The runner-up was Philadelphia Eagles receiver Mike Quick with 11. This marked the first time in NFL history that a category leader doubled the total of his nearest competitor. [5]
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 13 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–30 | 0–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 55,735 | |
2 | September 20 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–26 | 1–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 53,498 | |
– | September 27 | Philadelphia Eagles | Canceled | ||||
3 | October 5 | at New York Giants | W 41–21 | 2–1 | Giants Stadium | 16,471 | |
4 | October 11 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 25–17 | 3–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 8,684 | |
5 | October 18 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 34–28 | 4–1 | Candlestick Park | 38,094 | |
6 | October 25 | at New Orleans Saints | W 24–22 | 5–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 60,497 | |
7 | November 1 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 31–10 | 6–1 | Anaheim Stadium | 55,328 | |
8 | November 8 | Houston Oilers | W 27–20 | 7–1 | Candlestick Park | 59,740 | |
9 | November 15 | New Orleans Saints | L 24–26 | 7–2 | Candlestick Park | 60,436 | |
10 | November 22 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 24–10 | 8–2 | Tampa Stadium | 63,211 | |
11 | November 29 | Cleveland Browns | W 38–24 | 9–2 | Candlestick Park | 60,248 | |
12 | December 6 | at Green Bay Packers | W 23–12 | 10–2 | Lambeau Field | 51,118 | |
13 | December 14 | Chicago Bears | W 41–0 | 11–2 | Candlestick Park | 63,509 | |
14 | December 20 | Atlanta Falcons | W 35–7 | 12–2 | Candlestick Park | 54,698 | |
15 | December 27 | Los Angeles Rams | W 48–0 | 13–2 | Candlestick Park | 57,950 | |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
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NFC West | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
San Francisco 49ers (1) | 13 | 2 | 0 | .867 | 5–1 | 10–1 | 459 | 253 | W6 |
New Orleans Saints (4) | 12 | 3 | 0 | .800 | 4–1 | 8–3 | 426 | 283 | W9 |
Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 9 | 0 | .400 | 1–5 | 5–7 | 317 | 361 | L2 |
Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 12 | 0 | .200 | 1–4 | 3–8 | 205 | 436 | L3 |
Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Divisional | January 9 | Minnesota Vikings (5) | L 24–36 | 0–1 | Candlestick Park |
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vikings | 3 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 36 |
49ers | 3 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 24 |
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
The 13–2 49ers suffered one of the biggest upsets in playoff history as the 8–7 Vikings came into Candlestick and beat the 49ers 36–24. Vikings QB Wade Wilson threw for 298 yards, and Anthony Carter caught 10 passes for 227 yards. Joe Montana struggled so much that Steve Young came in to relieve him. Though he played better, it was not enough. The Vikings took a 20–3 halftime lead, and held on for the major upset.
Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1981 season. The 49ers defeated the Bengals by the score of 26–21 to win their first Super Bowl.
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Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", Montana is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. After winning a national championship with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Montana began his NFL career in 1979 at San Francisco, where he played for the next 14 seasons. With the 49ers, Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player to be named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. He also holds Super Bowl career records for most passes without an interception and the all-time highest passer rating of 127.8. In 1993, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played for his last two seasons and led the franchise to its first AFC Championship Game. Montana was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Jon Steven Young is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the San Francisco 49ers. He was drafted by and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL career, Young was a member of the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons. He played college football for the BYU Cougars, setting school and NCAA records en route to being runner-up for the 1983 Heisman Trophy.
Jerry Lee Rice is an American former football wide receiver who played for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter stints at the end of his career with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. Nicknamed "World" because of his superb catching ability, his accomplishments and numerous records, Rice is widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in NFL history. His biography on the official Pro Football Hall of Fame website names him "the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals". In 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history.
Kenneth Allan Anderson is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL), spending his entire career with the Cincinnati Bengals. He later returned as a position coach.
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The 1989 Green Bay Packers season was their 71st overall and their 69th in the National Football League. The Packers finished with a 10–6 record, their best since 1972, but failed to make the playoffs. The team was often referred to as "The Cardiac Pack" due to several close-game wins. The 1989 Packers hold the NFL record for most one-point victories in a season with four. The team was coached by Lindy Infante and led by quarterback Don Majkowski, who attained his nickname "The Majik Man."
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