1987 New Orleans Saints season
OwnerTom Benson
General managerJim Finks
Head coachJim Mora
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record12–3
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Vikings) 10–44
Pro BowlersG Brad Edelman
T Hoby Brenner
RB Reuben Mayes
LB Sam Mills
CB Dave Waymer
K Morten Andersen

The 1987 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 21st year in the National Football League (NFL). The strike-shortened year was the Saints' first-ever winning season. The Saints also qualified for the postseason for the first time, riding largely on a nine-game winning streak to close the season. The Saints earned the second-best record in the NFL in 1987, but were in the same division as the team with the best record, the San Francisco 49ers, and entered the playoffs as a wild card. However, they were soundly defeated at home by the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, by a score of 44–10. The Vikings entered the playoffs with an 8–7 record and needed the Dallas Cowboys to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals on the final day of the season to qualify. The Saints' first winning season would be followed by another six consecutive non-losing seasons. Before the 1987 season, the Saints' non-losing seasons had consisted of only two 8–8 seasons, in 1979 and 1983. Head coach Jim Mora was named NFL Coach of the Year.

Offseason

NFL draft

1987 New Orleans Saints draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 11 Shawn Knight  Defensive end BYU
2 40 Lonzell Hill  Wide receiver Washington
3 67 Michael Adams  Defensive back Arkansas State
4 96 Steve Trapilo  Guard Boston College
5 123 Milton Mack  Defensive back Alcorn State
6 152 Thomas Henley  Wide receiver Stanford
7 179 Gene Atkins  Defensive back Florida A&M
8 207 Toi Cook  Defensive back Stanford
9 234 Scott Leach  Linebacker Ohio State
10 263 Robert Clark  Wide receiver North Carolina Central
11 290 Arthur Wells  Tight end Grambling State
12 319 Tyrone Sorrells  Guard Georgia Tech
      Made roster  

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1987 New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
  • Owner/General Partner – Tom Benson
  • President/General Manager – Jim Finks
  • Vice president of administration – Jim Miller
  • Director of player personnel – Bill Kuharich

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Russell Paternostro

[2]

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

1987 New Orleans Saints replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Roster

1987 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 40 Michael Adams DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 89 Robert Clark WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 78 Shawn Knight NT (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • —- Mike Waters TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • -- Jeff Wenzel T (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 13 Cleveland Browns W 28–21 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 59,900
2 September 20 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–27 1–1 Veterans Stadium 57,485
September 27 Atlanta Falcons canceled 1–1 Louisiana Superdome
3 October 4 Los Angeles Rams W 37–10 2–1 Louisiana Superdome 29,745
4 October 11 at St. Louis Cardinals L 19–24 2–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 11,795
5 October 18 at Chicago Bears W 19–17 3–2 Soldier Field 46,813
6 October 25 San Francisco 49ers L 22–24 3–3 Louisiana Superdome 60,497
7 November 1 at Atlanta Falcons W 38–0 4–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 42,196
8 November 8 at Los Angeles Rams W 31–14 5–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 43,379
9 November 15 at San Francisco 49ers W 26–24 6–3 Candlestick Park 60,436
10 November 22 New York Giants W 23–14 7–3 Louisiana Superdome 67,639
11 November 29 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–16 8–3 Three Rivers Stadium 47,896
12 December 6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 44–34 9–3 Louisiana Superdome 66,471
13 December 13 Houston Oilers W 24–10 10–3 Louisiana Superdome 68,257
14 December 20 at Cincinnati Bengals W 41–24 11–3 Riverfront Stadium 43,424
15 December 27 Green Bay Packers W 33–24 12–3 Louisiana Superdome 68,364
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Francisco 49ers(1) 13 2 0 .867 5–1 10–1 459 253 W6
New Orleans Saints(4) 12 3 0 .800 4–1 8–3 426 283 W9
Los Angeles Rams 6 9 0 .400 1–5 5–7 317 361 L2
Atlanta Falcons 3 12 0 .200 1–4 3–8 205 436 L3

Playoffs

NFC Wild Card Game

Minnesota Vikings 44, New Orleans Saints 10
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 10 21 31044
Saints 7 3 0010

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans

In the Saints' first playoff game in history, the Vikings dominated the game by recording two sacks, forcing four turnovers, and allowing only 149 yards. Anthony Carter returned a punt for a touchdown, and future Saints quarterback Wade Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass for a touchdown to Hassan Jones on the last play of the first half, which was actually an untimed play after the Saints were penalized for offsides on the previous play (a half cannot end on an accepted penalty against the defense).

References

  1. "1987 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  2. "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2011.


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