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.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p.286 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
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.
Personnel
Staff
NFL replacement players After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
1987 Buffalo Bills replacement rosterQuarterbacks Brian McClure Mark Miller Willie Totten
Running backs Joe Chetti Barry Chubb Warren Loving Mike Panepinto Johnny Shepherd Leonard Williams
Wide receivers Marc Brown Reggie Bynum Sheldon Gaines Kris Haines Thad McFadden
Tight ends Veno Belk Mark Walczak Offensive linemen Tony Brown T Glen Campbell Sean Dowling Erik Rosenmeier C Rick Schulte T Joe Silipo Don Sommer
Defensive linemen Ira Albright DT/FB Jack Bravyak Arnold Campbell DE Scott Hernandez Joe McGrail Richard Tharpe Billy Witt DELinebackers Will Cokeley Bob LeBlanc Scott Schankweiler Craig Walls Scott Watters Al Wenglikowski
Defensive backs John Armstrong Gerald Bess Bill Callahan Steve Clark Larry Friday John Lewis Chip Nuzzo Kerry Parker David Martin
Special teams Rick Partridge P Todd Schlopy K
Roster
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 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 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 57,547Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 2
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 6
. Retrieved 2021-Jul-19.
Week 7
. Retrieved 2021-Jun-05.
Week 8
Cornelius Bennett’s first game as a Buffalo Bill, wearing #55. Steve Tasker blocked punt just before halftime resulting in a safety and 18–0 halftime score.
Week 9
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 11 vs Dolphins
Week 12
Week 15
Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 2022-Mar-23.
Standings
Player stats
Passing 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 49.41987 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players – Pro-Football-Reference.com
Rushing Player Games Attempts Yards Avg TD Ronnie Harmon 12 116 485 2 Jamie Mueller 1282 354 2 Carl Byrum 13 66 280 0 Robb Riddick 6 59 221 5 Ricky Porter 947 177 0 Jim Kelly 1229 133 0
Receiving 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
Defense 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
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 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
Punting 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
Awards and honors Defensive Rookie of the Year Shane Conlan
Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player Bruce Smith
References
External links 1987 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com