1987 New Orleans Saints season
NFL team season; first playoff berth
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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.
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| 1987 New Orleans Saints season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Tom Benson |
| General manager | Jim Finks |
| Head coach | Jim Mora |
| Offensive coordinator | Carl Smith |
| Defensive coordinator | Steve Sidwell |
| Home stadium | Louisiana Superdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–3 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC West |
| Playoffs | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Vikings) 10–44 |
| Pro Bowlers | G Brad Edelman T Hoby Brenner RB Reuben Mayes LB Sam Mills CB Dave Waymer K Morten Andersen |
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 | Cornerback | Arkansas State | |
| 4 | 96 | Steve Trapilo | Guard | Boston College | |
| 5 | 123 | Milton Mack | Cornerback | Alcorn State | |
| 6 | 152 | Thomas Henley | Wide receiver | Stanford | |
| 7 | 179 | Gene Atkins | Safety | Florida A&M | |
| 8 | 207 | Toi Cook | Cornerback | 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 | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Vince Alexander | Running back | Southern Miss |
| Eric Cuffee | Wide receiver | North Texas |
| Tim Cunningham | Linebacker | Indiana State |
| Stacey Dawsey | Wide receiver | Indiana |
| Ted Elliott | Defensive tackle | Minnesota State |
| Darren Gottschalk | Tight end | Cal Lutheran |
| Tim Healy | Tackle | Saint John's (MN) |
| Jeffery Holley | Defensive back | Texas A&M |
| Fuzzy Huddleston | Linebacker | Ole Miss |
| Vince Jasper | Guard | Iowa State |
| Erik Kramer | Quarterback | NC State |
| Anthony Lewis | Cornerback | McNeese State |
| Kenneth Marchiol | Linebacker | Mesa |
| Les Miller | Defensive end | Fort Hays State |
| Ricky Myers | Wide receiver | Ole Miss |
| Victor Patterson | Guard | Minot State |
| Dan Rice | Running back | Michigan |
| Mark Russell | Linebacker | Weber State |
| Darin Schubeck | Linebacker | Colorado |
| Monte Sharpe | Wide receiver | Georgia Southern |
| Tony Shelman | Tight end | SMU |
| Todd Steele | Fullback | USC |
| Terry Summers | Defensive tackle | |
| Derrick Taylor | Defensive back | NC State |
| Junior Thurman | Defensive back | USC |
| Anthony Tuggle | Defensive back | |
| Lonnie White | Wide receiver | USC |
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:
| 1987 New Orleans Saints replacement roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| ||||
Roster
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
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 10 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 44 |
| Saints | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
- Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. CST
- Game attendance: 68,127
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
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).