The 1987 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 55th in the National Football League (NFL). Despite the interruption of the schedule by the second strike in six seasons, the team improved upon its previous output of 5–10–1, going 7–8.1987 Philadelphia Eagles at Pro Football Reference. However, three of those losses came during the three-game stretch during the strike when teams were staffed primarily with replacement players, or "scabs," who crossed the picket lines to suit up. Despite the improvement, the team once again failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Defensive lineman Reggie White nonetheless had a breakout season, establishing a new NFL record by exploding for 21 sacks in only 12 games.
On October 25 at Veterans Stadium, in the first game back after the strike was settled, Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan called for the infamous "fake kneel" in the final seconds with the hosts leading the Dallas Cowboys by 10 points. The fake eventually led to another late touchdown, payback for Cowboys head coach Tom Landry running up the score with starters who crossed the picket line to play two weeks earlier at Texas Stadium. One week later, Philadelphia won its final road game against the Cardinals at the old Busch Stadium, before the franchise moved to Phoenix for the 1988 season.
Offseason NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, in New York City. This again would be a 12-round draft of 28 teams. The Philadelphia Eagles would get the 9th in the 12 rounds. They would make 10 selections in the draft.
The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away. = Pro BowlerPlayers are identified as Pro Bowlers if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.= Hall of Famer RoundPick Player Position School 1 9 Jerome Brown Defensive tackle Miami (FLA) 2 39 Traded Pick to San Francisco 49ers 3 65 Ben Tamburello Center Auburn 4 93 Byron Evans Linebacker Arizona 5 121 David Alexander Center Tulsa 6 149 Ron Moten Linebacker Florida 6 158 Chris Pike Defensive Tackle Tulsa 7 177 Brian Williams Tackle Central Michigan 8 204 Traded Pick to San Diego Chargers 9 232 Ken Lambiotte Quarterback William & Mary 10 260 Paul Carberry Defensive Tackle Oregon State 11 288 Traded Pick to Los Angeles Raiders 12 316 Bobby Morse Running Back Michigan State
NFL supplemental draft The Eagles would also use a pick in the 1987 NFL supplemental draft to take Cris Carter a wide receiver out of Ohio State. Prior to Carter's senior season in 1987, he secretly signed with notorious sports agent Norby Walters. When the contract was discovered, Carter was ruled ineligible to play for Ohio State.
Personnel Staff / Coaches
NFL replacement players After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
1987 Philadelphia Eagles replacement rosterQuarterbacks Pat Brennan Marty Horn Guido Merkens Scott Tinsley
Running backs Jacque Robinson Willie Turral Reggie Brown Topper Clemons Alvin Ross Joel Sense
Wide receivers Otis Grant Kenny Hansmire Kevin Bowman Jesse Bendross Mike Siano
Tight ends Ron Fazio Eric Bailey Jay RepkoOffensive linemen Jim Angelo Scott Leggett Matt Long Mike Nease Mike Perrino Pete Walters Jeff Wenzel
Defensive linemen Jim Auer Marvin Ayers Rick Bodmar Gary Bolden Randall Mitchell Tim Mooney Ray PhillipsLinebackers Matt Battaglia Carlos Bradley Dave Brosn Chuck Gorecki Kelly Kirchbaum Byron Lee Fred Smalls
Defensive backs Vic Bellamy Thomas Caterbone Chris Gerhard Greg Harding Carter Hartwig Angelo James Mike Kullman Mike Ulmer Troy West
Special teams Dave Jacobs K Mark Royals P Jim Villani P
Roster
Regular season In 1987, Mike Quick was part of NFL history. He finished second in the NFL in touchdown receptions with 11. The leader was Jerry Rice with 23. This marked the first time in NFL history that a category leader doubled the total of his nearest competitor.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 13, 1987 at Washington Redskins L 34–24 0–1 52,188 2 September 20, 1987 New Orleans Saints W 27–17 1–1 57,485 – September 27, 1987 at San Francisco 49ers canceled 3 October 4, 1987 Chicago Bears L 35–3 1–2 4,074 4 October 11, 1987 at Dallas Cowboys L 41–22 1–3 40,622 5 October 18, 1987 at Green Bay Packers L 16–10 1–4 35,842 6 October 25, 1987 Dallas Cowboys W 37–20 2–4 61,630 7 November 1, 1987 at St. Louis Cardinals W 28–23 3–4 24,586 8 November 8, 1987 Washington Redskins W 31–27 4–4 63,609 9 November 15, 1987 New York Giants L 20–17 4–5 66,172 10 November 22, 1987 St. Louis Cardinals L 31–19 4–6 55,592 11 November 29, 1987 at New England Patriots W 34–31 5–6 54,198 12 December 6, 1987 at New York Giants L 23–20 5–7 65,874 13 December 13, 1987 Miami Dolphins L 28–10 5–8 63,841 14 December 20, 1987 at New York Jets W 38–27 6–8 30,572 15 December 27, 1987 Buffalo Bills W 17–7 7–8 57,547 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Games summaries Week 1 Sunday, September 13, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern
Played at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium on grass playing surface in 74F degrees with wind at 11 MPH.
1 2 3 4 FinalPhiladelphia Eagles (0–1) 0 10 14 0 24Washington Redskins (1–0) 10 7 7 10 34 SCORING PLAYS PHIL WASH TIME 1st Redskins Jess Atkinson 27-yard field goal 0 3 Redskins Art Monk 6-yard pass from Doug Williams (Jess Atkinson kick) 0 10 2nd Eagles Mike Quick 30-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Paul McFadden kick) 7 10 Eagles Paul McFadden 33-yard field goal 10 10 Redskins George Rogers 1-yard rush (Steve Cox kick) 10 17 3rd Redskins Reggie Branch 1-yard rush (Steve Cox kick) 10 24 Eagles Randall Cunningham 2-yard rush (Paul McFadden kick) 17 24 Eagles Reggie White 70-yard fumble return (Paul McFadden kick) 24 24 4th Redskins Art Monk 39-yard pass from Doug Williams (Steve Cox kick) 24 31 Redskins Steve Cox 40-yard field goal 24 34
Week 2 Sunday, September 20, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern
Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface in 62F degrees with wind at 12 MPH.
1 2 3 4 Final New Orleans Saints (1–1) 10 0 0 7 17 Philadelphia Eagles 1–1 0 17 3 7 27 SCORING PLAYS N OR PHIL TIME 1st Saints Morten Andersen 45-yard field goal 3 0 Saints John Tice 6-yard pass from Bobby Hebert (Morten Andersen kick) 10 0 2nd Eagles Paul McFadden 30-yard field goal 10 3 Eagles Mike Quick 19-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Paul McFadden kick) 10 10 Eagles Kenny Jackson 25-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Paul McFadden kick) 10 17 3rd Eagles Paul McFadden 30-yard field goal 10 20 Eagles Seth Joyner 18-yard fumble return (Paul McFadden kick) 10 27 Saints John Tice 27-yard pass from Dave Wilson (Morten Andersen kick) 17 27
Week Canceled
Because of the NFLPA union's players strike against the NFL, all the games this week were cancelled. Replacement players were used when the season resumed the following week.
The Eagles would have traveled to Candlestick Park to face the host 49ers in what would have been Buddy Ryan's only trip to the Bay Area as the Eagles' head coach. The Eagles sought their second win in San Francisco since 1983 (and also since the AFL-NFL merger). Ryan's Eagles did meet the 49ers once, losing at Veterans Stadium in 1989. The Eagles did not travel to San Francisco until 1992, nor did they win in San Francisco until the final night of the 1993 season.
Week 3 Sunday, October 4, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 PM Eastern
Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface; 48 degrees with wind at 19 MPH. This was the first game of the season with replacement players. The announced attendance was 4,074, the smallest crowd at an NFL contest in almost 40 years (since October 30, 1949, when 3,678 people attended a Washington Redskins-New York Bulldogs game at the Polo Grounds).
1 2 3 4 FinalChicago Bears (3–0) 7 28 0 0 35 Philadelphia Eagles (1–2) 0 3 0 0 3 SCORING PLAYS CHI PHIL TIME 1st Bears Lakei Heimuli 9-yard pass from Mike Hohensee (Tim Lashar kick) 7 0 2nd Eagles Dave Jacobs 27-yard field goal 7 3 Bears Glen Kozlowski 20-yard pass from Mike Hohensee (Tim Lashar kick) 14 3 Bears Chris Brewer 1-yard rush (Tim Lashar kick) 21 3 Bears Anthony Mosley 9-yard blocked punt return (Tim Lashar kick) 28 3 Bears Don Kindt 3-yard pass from Mike Hohensee (Tim Lashar kick) 35 3
Week 4 Sunday, October 11, 1987 Kickoff 12:00 pm Central
Played at Texas Stadium on a grass playing surface in 58F degrees with wind at 16 MPH. Played with replacement players.
1 2 3 4 Final Philadelphia Eagles (1–3) 3 7 6 6 22 Dallas Cowboys (3–1) 21 6 14 0 41 SCORING PLAYS PHIL DAL TIME 1st Cowboys Kelvin Edwards 62-yard rush (Luis Zendejas kick) 0 7 Cowboys Alvin Blount 8-yard rush (Luis Zendejas kick) 0 14 Cowboys Cornell Burbage 77-yard pass from Kevin Sweeney (Luis Zendejas kick) 0 21 Eagles Dave Jacobs 40-yard field goal 3 21 2nd Eagles Kevin Bowman 62-yard pass from Scott Tinsley (Dave Jacobs kick) 10 21 Cowboys Luis Zendejas 44-yard field goal 10 24 Cowboys Luis Zendejas 50-yard field goal 10 27 3rd Cowboys Tony Dorsett 10-yard rush (Luis Zendejas kick) 10 34 Cowboys Alvin Blount 1-yard rush (Luis Zendejas kick) 10 41 Eagles Mike Siano 13-yard pass from Scott Tinsley (kick failed) 16 41 4th Eagles Clemons 13-yard pass from Scott Tinsley (kick failed) 22 41
Week 5 Sunday, October 18, 1987 Kickoff 12:00 pm Central
Played at Lambeau Field on a grass playing surface in 46F degrees with wind at 11 MPH. Played with replacement players.
1 2 3 4 OT Final Philadelphia Eagles (1–4) 7 0 0 3 0 10 Green Bay Packers (2–2) 0 3 7 0 6 16 SCORING PLAYS PHIL GB TIME 1st Eagles Alvin Ross 5-yard rush (Dave Jacobs kick) 7 0 2nd Packers Max Zendejas 42-yard field goal 7 3 3rd Packers Lee Morris 46-yard pass from Alan Risher (Max Zendejas kick) 7 10 4th Eagles Dave Jacobs 44-yard field goal 10 10 OT Packers Jimmy Hargrove 5-yard rush 10 16
Week 6 Sunday October 25, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern
Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface in 56F degrees with wind at 15 MPH. This was the first week the Eagles played after the NFLPA strike ended.
This was the revenge game for Week 4, where the Cowboys ran up the score against an Eagles replacement squad. Despite the game being effectively over, with the Eagles leading and having possession of the ball, the Eagles performed a fake kneel into a pass. Pass interference was called, and the Eagles successfully scored from the 1-yard line on the next play as time expired.
1 2 3 4 Final Dallas Cowboys (3–3) 3 7 3 7 20 Philadelphia Eagles (2–4) 3 10 7 17 37 SCORING PLAYS DAL PHIL TIME 1st Cowboys Roger Ruzek 23-yard field goal 3 0 Eagles Paul McFadden 46-yard field goal 3 3 2nd Eagles Paul McFadden 45-yard field goal 3 6 Eagles John Spagnola 10-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Paul McFadden kick) 3 13 Cowboys Herschel Walker 1-yard rush (Roger Ruzek kick) 10 13 3rd Cowboys Roger Ruzek 25-yard field goal 13 13 Eagles Anthony Toney 1-yard rush (Paul McFadden kick) 13 20 4th Eagles Paul McFadden 21-yard field goal 13 23 Eagles John Spagnola 5-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Paul McFadden kick) 13 30 Cowboys Tony Dorsett 19-yard pass from Danny White (Roger Ruzek kick) 20 30 Eagles Keith Byars 1-yard rush (Paul McFadden kick) 20 37
Week 7 Sunday, November 1, 1987 Kickoff 12:00 pm Central
Played at Busch Stadium on an AstroTurf playing surface in 68F degrees with wind at 10 MPH.
1 2 3 4 Final Philadelphia Eagles (3–4) 0 7 14 7 28 St. Louis Cardinals (2–5) 6 0 7 10 23