1987 San Francisco 49ers season

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1987 San Francisco 49ers season
San Francisco 49ers Saloon Wordmark.svg
Owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.
General manager John McVay
Head coach Bill Walsh
Defensive coordinator George Seifert
Home field Candlestick Park
Results
Record13–2
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishLost 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, and ended the season as the top seed in the NFC playoffs. The season ended with an upset loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Contents

The season

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]

Offseason

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.

NFL draft

1987 San Francisco 49ers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
1 22 Harris Barton  *  Tackle North Carolina
1 25 Terrence Flagler   Running back Clemson
237 Jeff Bregel   Guard USC
5134Paul Jokisch  Wide receiver Michigan
6162Bob White  Linebacker Penn State
7189 Steve DeLine   Kicker Colorado State
8217 David Grayson  Linebacker Fresno State
9245Jonathan Shelley  Defensive back Ole Miss
10275 John Paye   Quarterback Stanford
11301 Calvin Nicholas  Wide receiver Grambling State
      Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Source: [4]

Personnel

Staff

1987 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Bill Walsh

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway

NFL replacement players

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

Roster

1987 San Francisco 49ers 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

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]

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 13at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–300–1 Three Rivers Stadium 55,735
2September 20at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–261–1 Riverfront Stadium 53,498
–September 27 Philadelphia Eagles Canceled
3October 5at New York Giants W 41–212–1 Giants Stadium 16,471
4October 11at Atlanta Falcons W 25–173–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 8,684
5October 18 St. Louis Cardinals W 34–284–1Candlestick Park38,094
6October 25at New Orleans Saints W 24–225–1 Louisiana Superdome 60,497
7November 1at Los Angeles Rams W 31–106–1 Anaheim Stadium 55,328
8November 8 Houston Oilers W 27–207–1Candlestick Park59,740
9November 15New Orleans SaintsL 24–267–2Candlestick Park60,436
10November 22at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–108–2 Tampa Stadium 63,211
11November 29 Cleveland Browns W 38–249–2Candlestick Park60,248
12December 6at Green Bay Packers W 23–1210–2 Lambeau Field 51,118
13December 14 Chicago Bears W 41–011–2Candlestick Park63,509
14December 20Atlanta FalconsW 35–712–2Candlestick Park54,698
15December 27Los Angeles RamsW 48–013–2Candlestick Park57,950
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2: at Cincinnati Bengals

1234Total
•49ers0713727
Bengals10100626
Scoring summary
1CIN Larry Kinnebrew 2-yard run (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 7–0
1CINJim Breech 23-yard field goalBengals 10–0
2SF Mike Wilson 38-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick)Bengals 10–7
2CIN Rodney Holman 46-yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 17–7
2CINJim Breech 42-yard field goalBengals 20–7
3SF Jerry Rice 34-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick)Bengals 20–14
3SFRay Wersching 24-yard field goalBengals 20–17
3SFRay Wersching 31-yard field goalTie 20–20
4CINJim Breech 41-yard field goalBengals 23–20
4CINJim Breech 46-yard field goalBengals 26–20
4SFJerry Rice 25-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick)49ers 27–26

[6]

Standings

NFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
San Francisco 49ers (1)1320.8675–110–1459253W6
New Orleans Saints (4)1230.8004–18–3426283W9
Los Angeles Rams 690.4001–55–7317361L2
Atlanta Falcons 3120.2001–43–8205436L3

Postseason

Schedule

RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenue
Divisional January 9 Minnesota Vikings (5)L 24–360–1 Candlestick Park

Game summaries

NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (5) Minnesota Vikings

NFC Divisional Round: Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Vikings31710636
49ers3014724

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.

Awards and records

Notes

  1. ↑ This record was broken by Randy Moss in 2007, with his 22nd and 23rd TD receptions occurring in the 16th and final game of the season.

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References

  1. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1987 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
  2. ↑ Byrne, Kerry (June 11, 2012). "40 and Fabulous: in praise of passer rating". Cold Hard Football Facts. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  3. ↑ 1990 NFL Pro Set Harris Barton trading card, Card No. 284, Pro Set Properties
  4. ↑ "1987 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  5. ↑ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 147. ISBN   978-1-57243-990-0.
  6. ↑ "San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati Bengals - September 20th, 1987". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  7. 1 2 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 142
  8. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 447
  9. ↑ "Bert Bell Award – Professional Player of the Year: Past Recipients". Maxwell Football Club. Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
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