1987 Miami Dolphins season
22nd season in franchise history; first in Joe Robbie Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1987 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 22nd as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 8–8, losing one fewer game.[1] Despite the improvement the team failed to reach the playoffs. This was also the first season the Dolphins played their home games at Joe Robbie Stadium. Their first game at Joe Robbie Stadium was scheduled to open the stadium against the defending champion New York Giants but the 1987 strike resulted in all games from week 3 being permanently cancelled. So the first contest at the new venue involved replacement players, as 25,867 fans saw the Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.[2] The Dolphins finally played a 1987 home game with the regular players in week 6, losing in overtime to the Buffalo Bills.
| 1987 Miami Dolphins season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Don Shula |
| Home stadium | Joe Robbie Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–7 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC East |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | 3 |
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1987 Miami Dolphins draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | John Bosa | Defensive end | Boston College | |
| 2 | 43 | Rick Graf | Linebacker | Wisconsin | |
| 2 | 56 | Scott Schwedes | Wide receiver | Syracuse | |
| 4 | 99 | Troy Stradford | Running back | Boston College | |
| 5 | 132 | Chris Conlin | Tackle | Penn State | |
| 6 | 155 | Lance Sellers | Linebacker | Boise State | |
| 7 | 182 | Tom Brown | Running back | Pittsburgh | |
| 8 | 210 | Joel Williams | Tight end | Notre Dame | |
| 8 | 212 | Mark Dennis | Tackle | Illinois | |
| 9 | 237 | Tim Pidgeon | Linebacker | Syracuse | |
| 10 | 266 | Bobby Taylor | Defensive back | Wisconsin | |
| 11 | 293 | Terence Mann | Defensive tackle | SMU | |
| 12 | 322 | Jim Karsatos | Quarterback | Ohio State | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
NFL replacement players
After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
- Kyle Mackey, whose father, Dee Mackey, played for Don Shula with the Baltimore Colts, served as a replacement quarterback.[3]
| 1987 Miami Dolphins replacement roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| ||||
Roster
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | at New England Patriots | L 21–28 | 0–1 | Sullivan Stadium | 54,642 | |
| 2 | September 20 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 23–10 | 1–1 | Hoosier Dome | 57,524 | |
| – | September 27 | New York Giants | canceled | 1–1 | Joe Robbie Stadium | ||
| 3 | October 4 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 20–24 | 1–2 | Kingdome | 19,448 | |
| 4 | October 11 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 42–0 | 2–2 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 25,867 | |
| 5 | October 18 | at New York Jets | L 31–37 (OT) | 2–3 | Giants Stadium | 18,249 | |
| 6 | October 25 | Buffalo Bills | L 31–34 (OT) | 2–4 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 61,295 | |
| 7 | November 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 35–24 | 3–4 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 52,578 | |
| 8 | November 8 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 20–14 | 4–4 | Riverfront Stadium | 53,840 | |
| 9 | November 15 | Indianapolis Colts | L 21–40 | 4–5 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 65,433 | |
| 10 | November 22 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 20–14 | 5–5 | Texas Stadium | 56,519 | |
| 11 | November 29 | at Buffalo Bills | L 0–27 | 5–6 | Rich Stadium | 68,055 | |
| 12 | December 7 | New York Jets | W 37–28 | 6–6 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 62,592 | |
| 13 | December 13 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–10 | 7–6 | Veterans Stadium | 63,841 | |
| 14 | December 20 | Washington Redskins | W 23–21 | 8–6 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 65,715 | |
| 15 | December 28 | New England Patriots | L 10–24 | 8–7 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 61,192 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Season summary
Week 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| • Patriots | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
- Date: September 13, 1987
- Location: Schaefer Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 54,642
- Game weather: 61 °F (16.1 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn), rainy
- Referee: Tom Dooley
- TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy
Miami Dolphins punter Reggie Roby injured in the game, forcing Don Strock to punt in the emergency situation. Additionally, with 2:22 left in the game Dan Marino was injured forcing Strock to fill in at the quarterback position as well, nearly mounting a winning comeback drive.
Week 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bills | 0 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 34 |
| Dolphins | 14 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 31 |
- Date: October 25, 1987
- Location: Joe Robbie Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 61,295
- Game weather: 78 °F (25.6 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers (NBC): Jim Donovan and Paul Maguire
Week 14
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • Dolphins | 0 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 23 |
- Date: December 20
- Location: Joe Robbie Stadium
- Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 65,715
- Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C); wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
- Referee: Fred Wyant
- TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Roy Firestone, Larry Csonka
| Q2 | MIA | Reviez 48 yard field goal | MIA 3–0 | |
| Q2 | WSH | Bryant 6 yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick) | WSH 7–3 | |
| Q2 | MIA | Duper 26 yard pass from Marino | MIA 9–7 | |
| Q3 | WSH | Schroeder 6 yard run (Hajji-Sheikh kick) | WSH 14–9 | |
| Q4 | MIA | Duper 59 yard pass from Marino (Reveiz kick) | MIA 16–14 | |
| Q4 | WSH | Rogers 2yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick) | WSH 21–16 | |
| Q4 | MIA | Duper 6 yard pass from Marino (Reveiz kick) | MIA 23–21 | |
- Dan Marino 22/50, 393 Yds
- Mark Duper 6 Rec, 170 Yds
Standings
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Indianapolis Colts(3) | 9 | 6 | 0 | .600 | 5–3 | 8–6 | 300 | 238 | W2 |
| New England Patriots | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 320 | 293 | W3 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | 2–6 | 5–7 | 362 | 335 | L1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 270 | 305 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 6 | 9 | 0 | .400 | 3–5 | 6–5 | 334 | 360 | L4 |