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1987 Buffalo Bills season
Head Coach Marv Levy
Home Field Rich Stadium
Results
Record 7–8
Place 4th AFC East
Playoff Finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
1986 1988

The 1987 Buffalo Bills season was the 28th season for the club and its 18th in the National Football League.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team
1 8 Shane Conlan Linebacker Penn State
2 29 Nate Odomes Defensive Back Wisconsin
2 33 Roland Mitchell Defensive Back Texas Tech
3 60 David Brandon Linebacker Memphis
3 78 Jamie Mueller Running Back Benedictine
4 109 Leon Seals Defensive End Jackson State
7 171 Kerry Porter Running Back Washington State

[1]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1987 Buffalo Bills staff

Front Office

  • President – Ralph Wilson
  • Vice President of Administration/General Manager – Bill Polian
  • Director of College Scouting – John Butler
  • Director of Pro Personnel – Bob Ferguson
  • National Scout – Norm Pollom
  • College Scout – A. J. Smith

Head Coaches

  • Vice President for Football Operations/Head Coach – Marv Levy
  • Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Chuck Dickerson

Offensive Coaches

 

Defensive Coaches

  • Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Walt Corey
  • Defensive Line – Ted Cottrell
  • Defensive Backs – Dick Roach
  • Defensive Assistant – Chuck Lester

Special Teams Coaches

  • Special Teams – Bruce DeHaven

Strength and Conditioning

[2]

Regular season[]

On October 31, 1987, the Los Angeles Rams traded Eric Dickerson to the Indianapolis Colts in a three team trade involving the Buffalo 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.[3]

Cornerback Nate Odomes was the youngest starting defensive player in the NFL. It was also his rookie season.

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 13, 1987 New York Jets L 31–28
76,718
2 September 20, 1987 Houston Oilers W 34–30
56,534
September 27, 1987 at Dallas Cowboys canceled
3 October 4, 1987 Indianapolis Colts L 47–6
9,860
4 October 11, 1987 at New England Patriots L 14–7
11,878
5 October 18, 1987 New York Giants W 6–3
15,737
6 October 25, 1987 at Miami Dolphins W 34–31
61,295
7 November 1, 1987 Washington Redskins L 27–7
71,640
8 November 8, 1987 Denver Broncos W 21–14
63,698
9 November 15, 1987 at Cleveland Browns L 27–21
78,409
10 November 22, 1987 at New York Jets W 17–14
58,407
11 November 29, 1987 Miami Dolphins W 27–0
68,055
12 December 6, 1987 at Los Angeles Raiders L 34–21
43,143
13 December 13, 1987 at Indianapolis Colts W 27–3
60,253
14 December 20, 1987 New England Patriots L 13–7
74,945
15 December 27, 1987 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–7
57,547

Standings[]

AFC East
view · talk · edit W L T PCT PF PA STK
Indianapolis Colts 9 6 0 .600 300 238 W2
New England Patriots 8 7 0 .533 320 293 W3
Miami Dolphins 8 7 0 .533 362 335 L1
Buffalo Bills 7 8 0 .467 270 305 L2
New York Jets 6 9 0 .400 334 360 L4

[4]

Roster[]

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 49.4

[5]

Rushing[]

Player Games Attempts Yards Avg TD
Ronnie Harmon 12 116 485 2
Jamie Mueller 12 82 354 2
Carl Byrum 13 66 280 0
Robb Riddick 6 59 221 5
Ricky Porter 9 47 177 0
Jim Kelly 12 29 133 0

[5]

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

[5]

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

[5]

  • 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

[5]

Awards and honors[]

  • Shane Conlan, Defensive Rookie of the Year[6]
  • Jim Kelly, AFC Pro Bowl selection
  • Bruce Smith, AFC Pro Bowl selection
  • Bruce Smith, Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player

References[]

AFC East Central West East Central West NFC
Buffalo Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Indianapolis Cleveland Kansas City NY Giants Detroit LA Rams
Miami Houston LA Raiders Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans
New England Pittsburgh San Diego St. Louis Minnesota San Francisco
NY Jets Seattle Washington Tampa Bay
1987 NFL Draft1987 NFL strikeNFL PlayoffsPro BowlSuper Bowl XXII


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