The 1987 San Diego Chargers was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League (NFL), and the 28th overall. The team improved on their 4–12 record in 1986, finishing 8–7 but missing the playoffs. A players’ strike reduced the regular season schedule from sixteen to fifteen games. The Chargers started the season 8–1, with victories over eventual division winners Indianapolis and Cleveland, before collapsing to lose their final six games of the season, narrowly missing the playoffs. All but one of their final six losses came to teams that made the postseason.
As was the case with all NFL teams in 1987, the Chargers were obliged to field a replacement team for three weeks due to the NFLPA strike. This team, dubbed the 'Re-Chargers' by head coach Al Saunders, was made up primarily of players who had missed the final cut for an NFL squad in preseason. While the regular players picketed outside San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium, the new Chargers won three games out of three against other replacement teams. After the strike ended, most of the regular Chargers reclaimed their jobs, though some replacements were able to keep their places in the squad beyond the end of the 1987 season.
In the twelve non-strike games, San Diego performed fairly well on defense, with defensive end Lee Williams, linebacker Billy Ray Smith and safety Vencie Glenn among the leaders. The offense, however, struggled increasingly as the season wore on. With the run game contributing little, it fell to quarterback Dan Fouts and the passing attack to produce points, but they were hampered by sacks, turnovers and Fouts' struggle to recapture his mid-career form. It would be his final season in the NFL, having spent his entire fifteen-year career in San Diego. Also retiring after the season was tight end Kellen Winslow, ending his nine-year career with a fifth Pro Bowl berth.
Offseason
Departures and arrivals San Diego lost a future Hall of Fame wide receiver during the offseason when Charlie Joiner announced his retirement. Joiner finished as the NFL career leader in receptions (750) and receiving yards (12,146). At 39, he considered himself too old to play on, but switched to a new role as the Chargers' receiving coach. The Chargers also traded their third-leading wide receiver from 1986, Trumaine Johnson, to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for linebacker David Brandon and a 3rd-round draft pick. They also switched backup running backs, trading Buford McGee and two future draft picks to the Rams in exchange for Barry Redden. McGee had scored seven touchdowns in the first nine weeks in 1986, but missed the final seven games after a double knee surgery; Redden was a former 1st-round draft pick, but went on to have only 30 carries during his two years with the Chargers. On the offensive line, the Chargers added Broderick Thompson, a former Cowboy who started only 3 games in 1987, but 76 out of a possible 80 from 1988 to 1992.
An established defensive player also left the active squad when linebacker Woodrow Lowe was placed on injured reserve during preseason; he did not play again, and was eventually released on 11 March 1988. Lowe spent his entire playing career with the Chargers, appearing in 164 out of a possible 165 games from 1976 to 1986. San Diego also added an established linebacker in Chip Banks, who had made the Pro Bowl in four of his five seasons with the Browns, though he had held out while in Cleveland. After playing a single season in San Diego, he did so once more, and never played for the Chargers again after 1987. On the defensive line, San Diego picked up Mike Charles, a nose tackle recently cut by Miami. He went on to start 25 games during three years with the Chargers. Meanwhile, defensive end Earl Wilson, who had started 15 games over the past two seasons, was cut after week 1. He was arrested as part of a drug investigation later the same day, though the Chargers stated the timing was coincidental and his release was based purely on performance. In the defensive backfield, San Diego traded cornerback Wayne Davis for Buffalo safety Martin Bayless. Bayless started every non-strike game for the Chargers in 1987, and went on to start 66 times in total during five seasons in San Diego.
The Chargers held a battle for the placekicker position through training camp and preseason, eventually won by free agent acquisition Vince Abbott, who secured his first NFL job after losing four previous training camp battles. This meant that veteran Rolf Benirschke lost his job after ten years in San Diego; he was traded to Dallas for a draft pick. Benirschke felt he wasn't given a fair chance to compete for the job after attempting no field goals in preseason. He left as the team's leading scorer (766 points), and the third-best kicker in league history by career field goal percentage (70.2%), though his accuracy had diminished through the past four seasons.
NFL draft
Despite having three veteran tight ends on their roster, the Chargers added more depth at that position with their 1st-round draft pick; Rod Bernstine had played at running back in high school, but converted to tight end under the advice of Texas A&M coach Jackie Sherrill. He had only 10 catches as a rookie, and eventually switched back to the running back position. Bernstine would finish his time with the Chargers having scored 19 touchdowns and rushed for over 2,000 yards, with a further 888 receiving yards.
Except for Bernstine, the Chargers received little production from their 1987 draft class, with all but four having left the team within two years. 2nd-round pick Lou Brock was placed on injured reserve with an infection of the lymphatic system after only one game, and released before the following season without playing again. Defensive end Karl Wilson started only twice in two years, while quarterback Mark Vlasic started three times in three years. Wide receiver Jamie Holland started in 12 games and also featured as a kickoff returner, but scored only twice in three seasons with the team.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason
For the second consecutive season, the Chargers opened their preseason schedule by shutting out the Cowboys. They allowed only 11 first downs and 208 yards, while scoring on a Mark Herrmann touchdown pass to Lionel James and runs by Frank Middleton and Kevin Scott. In the following game, three different quarterbacks (Herrmann, Rick Neuheisel and Vlasic) threw touchdowns to three different receivers (Tim Spencer, Bernstine and Holland). The last of these put San Diego ahead 21–20 with 2:47 to play, but the Rams drove into position for a game-winning field goal with four seconds left.
Starting quarterback Dan Fouts hadn't played at all in the first two games. He did so at San Francisco, completing only 3 of 11 passes for 14 yards while getting sacked three times in a quarter of action, but leading the Chargers to their only points, an Abbott field goal. Fouts played into the 3rd quarter in the final game, leading three touchdown drives. He threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Wes Chandler and a 1-yarder to Sam Claphan on a tackle-eligible play, before Spencer scored his second touchdown of the preseason on a 4-yard run.
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance 1 August 15 Dallas Cowboys W 29–0 1–0 Jack Murphy Stadium 48,020 2 August 23 Los Angeles Rams L 21–23 1–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 45,433 3 August 27 at San Francisco 49ers L 3–17 1–2 Candlestick Park 52,733 4 September 4 New York Jets W 30–6 2–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 45,757
Regular season Overview San Diego lost their opening game and won the next, leaving them at 1–1 heading into the players' strike (see following section). Their replacement players won all three of their games, before the regulars returned and extended the Charger winning streak to eight games in total, including seven wins by six points or fewer. At 8–1, San Diego had the best record in the NFL, and a two-game lead in the AFC West. However, they lost their remaining six games and missed the playoffs, being outscored 162–61 during the losing streak. , the 1987 Chargers remain the only post-merger team to miss the playoffs after starting 8–1. On a 2012 episode of NFL Top 10, theirs was named the #5 worst single season collapse in NFL history.
A weak offense increasingly hampered the Chargers as the season wore on – they scored only seven offensive touchdowns in their final eight games. They finished the season ranked 27th out of 28 teams for points scored, and 21st for yards gained, while converting a league-worst 30% of their third downs. Fouts struggled with injuries, missing two non-strike games, and posted a passer rating of 70.0, below the league average of 75.2 and his worst for 12 years. Chandler led the team with 617 receiving yards, while James, Kellen Winslow and Gary Anderson had over 500 each. Winslow's 53 catches were the second most in the league for a tight end, earning him a fifth Pro Bowl appearance in his ninth and final season, though his yards per catch dropped to a career-low 9.8. While San Diego's passing yardage was the 8th-best in the league, their rushing yardage ranked 27th, and their average yards-per-carry of 3.3 ranked dead last. Curtis Adams led the team, but his 343 yards ranked only 44th in the league.
The defense was middling, finishing 15th in the NFL for both points conceded and yards allowed. This represented an improvements on recent years – San Diego had ranked 23rd or worse in both categories for six consecutive seasons. They were stronger against the pass than the run (4th-ranked vs. 24th-ranked). Defensive end Leslie O'Neal, who had been named AP Defensive Rookie of the Year the previous season, missed all of 1987 with an injury. In his absence, the team's sack total dropped from 62 to 45; Lee Williams repeated as sack leader, though his total dropped from 15 in 16 games to 8 in 12 games. Linebacker Billy Ray Smith led the team with 5 interceptions (he also had 3 sacks), while safety Vencie Glenn was second with 4, one of which he returned 103 yards for a touchdown. On special teams, James ranked fifth in the league with 12.5 yards per punt return, including a touchdown, while Anderson was 17th with 19.7 yards per kickoff return. New kicker Abbott made 13 of his first 17 field goals, but missed his last five attempts and finished 25th in the league with a 59.1% conversion rate. Punter Ralf Mojsiejenko averaged 42.9 yards per kick, earning the lone Pro Bowl nomination of his career.
NFLPA strike
The strike begins
The 1987 NFL season began under the shadow of a potential National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) strike, with the collective bargaining agreement set to expire and talks stalling as the players pushed for improved free agency rights. The NFLPA set a date of September 22 to strike, two weeks into the season; in response, the owners threatened to field replacement teams stocked with free agents. With this possibility in mind, San Diego was one of several teams who offered optional agreements to players they waived in the build-up to the season, allowing them to rejoin the Chargers in the event of a strike.