1987 Houston Oilers season

NFL team season November 2013 March 2026 Houston Oilers 1987 9–6 2nd AFC Central Jerry Glanville Dick Jamieson Ladd Herzeg Bud Adams Houston Astrodome Won Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Seahawks) 23–20 (OT Overtime)Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Broncos) 10–34 180px Oilers seasons The 1987 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League and the 28th overall. The Oilers came into the season looking to improve on their 5–11 record from 1986, and make the playoffs for the first time since 1980; the team did precisely that, improving sharply from the previous season in a 15-game season in which replacement players were used in weeks 4-6 as a result of a players' strike, which wiped out week 3 of the season, finishing 9-6. Season summary The 1987 NFL season was affected by a players strike that took place in week 3 of the season, which canceled all week 3 games. As a result, the Oilers canceled there was-to-be week 3 game against the Los Angeles Raiders. The Oilers began the season 3–1, their best start to a season since 1980. After the Oilers lost at home to the Patriots 21–7 in week 5, the Oilers defeated the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals to give them a 5–2 start to the season. After the Oilers lost to the 49ers on the road, they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road, 23–3, for their first win in Pittsburgh since 1978. The Oilers would then play 2 disastrous games against the Browns and the Colts, as they allowed 40+ points in each game, losing 40–7 to Cleveland at home and losing 51–27 to the Colts in Indianapolis. The Oilers would defeat the Chargers the next week, rebounding from those 2 bad losses. The Oilers would clinch a playoff spot in the season's final week with a 21–17 win over Cincinnati, thus ending their 6-year playoff drought. This was the first of seven consecutive playoff appearances for the Oilers. In the playoffs, they defeated the Seattle Seahawks 23–20 in overtime on a Tony Zendejas field goal. However, the next week, they lost to the Broncos 34–10 in the Divisional Round, ending their season. thumb|275px|Warren Moon (left) and Mike Rozier (right), playing for the Oilers in 1987, led the team in passing and rushing that season, respectively. Offseason NFL draft 1987 NFL draft 1987 Houston Oilers 1 3 Alonzo Highsmith Running back Miami (FL) yes 1 20 Haywood Jeffires Wide receiver North Carolina State yes yes 2 46 Walter Johnson Linebacker Louisiana Tech yes 3 64 Cody Carlson Quarterback Baylor yes 4 105 Mark Dusbabek Linebacker Minnesota 5 133 Spencer Tillman Running back Oklahoma yes 6 147 Al Smith Linebacker Utah State yes yes 6 159 Toby Caston Linebacker LSU yes 7 176 Robert Banks Defensive end Notre Dame yes 8 202 Michel James Wide receiver Washington State 9 231 Wes Neighbors Center Alabama 10 258 Curtis Duncan Wide receiver Northwestern yes yes 11 287 John Davis Offensive tackle Georgia Tech yes 12 314 Ira Valentine Running back Texas A&M no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/oti/1987_draft.htm 1987 Houston Oilers draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 20, 2014 Personnel Staff 1987 Houston Oilers Owner/Chairman of the Board/President – Bud Adams Executive Vice President/General Manager – Ladd Herzeg Head Coach – Jerry Glanville Quarterbacks – June Jones Running Backs – Dick Jamieson Receivers – Milt Jackson Tight Ends – Miller McCalmon Offensive Line – Kim Helton Defensive Line – Doug Shively Linebackers – Floyd Reese Secondary – Tom Bettis Special Teams – Miller McCalmon Strength and Rehabilitation – Steve Watterson Roster 1987 Houston Oilers 49 14 0 14 Cody Carlson y 10 Brent Pease y  1 Warren Moon 32 Alonzo Highsmith y FB 20 Allen Pinkett KR 30 Mike Rozier 33 Spencer Tillman y 45 Ira Valentine y 35 Ray Wallace American football FB 82 Willie Drewrey 80 Curtis Duncan y 81 Ernest Givins 85 Drew Hill 84 Haywood Jeffires y 89 Jeff Parks 87 Jamie Williams American football 77 Bruce Davis offensive tackle T 72 Kent Hill G 50 Billy Kidd American football C 78 Don Maggs G/T 74 Bruce Matthews G 63 Mike Munchak G 52 Jay Pennison C 70 Dean Steinkuhler T 69 Doug Williams offensive lineman T 75 Jesse Baker American football DE 71 Richard Byrd American football DE 79 Ray Childress DE 98 Rayford Cooks DE 95 William Fuller American football DE 94 Charles Martin American football NT 99 Doug Smith defensive lineman NT 51 Eric Fairs OLB 59 John Grimsley ILB 57 Walter Johnson linebacker y ILB 93 Robert Lyles OLB 91 Johnny Meads OLB 53 Eugene Seale y ILB 54 Al Smith American football ILB 29 Patrick Allen American football CB 25 Keith Bostic American football SS 24 Steve Brown American football CB 23 Domingo Bryant SS 31 Jeff Donaldson American football SS 21 Bo Eason FS 22 Kenny Johnson defensive back FS 26 Audray McMillian CB  8 Jeff Gossett P  7 Tony Zendejas K 56 Robert Abraham American football LB IR 97 Robert Banks American football y DE IR -- Craig Birdsong y S IR 90 Toby Caston y LB IR -- Charles Clinton American football y CB IR 73 John Davis offensive lineman y T IR -- Neal Dellocono LB IR -- Mark Dusbabek y LB IR -- Tony Fitzpatrick American football NT IR -- Leonard Harris American football WR IR -- Arkkie James y TE IR 23 Richard Johnson defensive back CB IR 28 Allen Lyday S IR -- Keith McDonald American football WR IR 68 Vince Stroth G IR -- Bucky White CB IR None - N/A NFL replacement players After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled: 1987 Houston Oilers replacement rosterQuarterbacks 10 David Worsham no 11 Robbie Robbins 12 John Witkowski Running backs 30 Herman Hunter 32 Ricky Moore American football 33 Don Williams no 35 Eric Cobble 36 Jarvis McKyer no 38 Lionel Wilson no 40 Andrew Jackson running back y Wide receivers 15 Roger Coleman no 80 Leonard Harris American football 81 Keith McDonald American football 82 Sam Moore gridiron football 83 Joey Walters 84 Haywood Jeffires 84 Robert Mitchell no 85 Chris Darrington y 86 Oliver Williams American football Tight ends 87 Scott Eccles y 88 Mark Gehring 89 James Arrike Offensive linemen 50 Billy Kidd American football 60 Jerrell Franklin 62 Doug Kellermeyer 66 Clay Miller 69 Brett Petersmark y 70 Charles Agee no 73 Almon Young 76 Louis Garza no 77 Scott Boucher 77 Barry Pettyjohn 78 Roland Aumueller no Defensive linemen 71 Gerald Browner no 75 Jesse Baker American football 75 Kenny Neil 94 Eric Larkin 94 Charles Martin American football 95 Dwain Turner 98 Rayford Cooks y 99 Rickey Hagood no 99 Doug Smith defensive linemanLinebackers 50 Paul Vogel American football 51 Eugene Seale y 53 Thad Jefferson y 54 Larry Smith linebacker y 55 Scott Stoughton no 56 George Woods no 57 Bryon Johnson 59 Scott Fox American football y Defensive backs 20 Earl Allen 21 Craig Birdsong y 22 Kenneth Johnson American football 23 Domingo Bryant 24 Clinton Charles 25 Larry Joyner y 26 Tony Newsom y 27 Donovan Small y 28 Emmuel Thompson 29 Robert White no 31 Darrell Francis no 37 Ken McKyer no Special teams  4 Florian Kempf K  7 Tony Zendejas K  8 Steve Superick P  9 John Diettrich y K 11 Lee Johnson P punter Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 13 Los Angeles Rams W 20–16 1–0 Astrodome 33,186 2 September 20 at Buffalo Bills L 30–34 1–1 Rich Stadium 56,534 – September 27 Los Angeles Raiders canceled 1–1 Astrodome – 3 October 4 at Denver Broncos W 40–10 2–1 Mile High Stadium 38,494 4 October 11 at Cleveland Browns W 15–10 3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 38,927 5 October 18 New England Patriots L 7–21 3–2 Astrodome 26,294 6 October 25 Atlanta Falcons W 37–33 4–2 Astrodome 29,062 7 November 1 at Cincinnati Bengals W 31–29 5–2 Riverfront Stadium 52,700 8 November 8 at San Francisco 49ers L 20–27 5–3 Candlestick Park 59,740 9 November 15 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–3 6–3 Three Rivers Stadium 56,177 10 November 22 Cleveland Browns L 7–40 6–4 Astrodome 51,161 11 November 29 at Indianapolis Colts L 27–51 6–5 Hoosier Dome 54,999 12 December 6 San Diego Chargers W 33–18 7–5 Astrodome 31,714 13 December 13 at New Orleans Saints L 10–24 7–6 Louisiana Superdome 68,257 14 December 20 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–16 8–6 Astrodome 38,683 15 December 27 Cincinnati Bengals W 21–17 9–6 Astrodome 49,775 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 7 Falcons 3 10 14 6 Oilers 3 10 7 17 October 25 Houston Astrodome 1:00 p.m. EST Indoors (dome) Fred Silva yes Q1 ATL Luckhurst 39 yard field goal ATL 3–0 Q1 HOU Zendejas 31 yard field goal Tie 3−3 Q2 ATL Luckhurst 37 yard field goal ATL 6–3 Q2 HOU Zendejas 43 yard field goal Tie 6–6 Q2 ATL Dixon 10 yard pass from Campbell (Luckhurst kick) ATL 13−6 Q2 HOU Duncan 41 yard pass from Moon (Zendejas kick) Tie 13−13 Q3 HOU Givins 8 yard pass from Moon (Zendejas kick) HOU 20–13 Q3 ATL Bailey 29 yard pass from Campbell (Luckhurst kick) Tie 20–20 Q3 ATL Whisenhunt 3 yard pass from Campbell (Luckhurst kick) ATL 27−20 Q4 HOU Rozier 14 yard run (Zendejas kick) Tie 27–27 Q4 HOU Zendejas 24 yard field goal HOU 30–27 Q4 ATL Luckhurst 45 yard field goal Tie 30–30 Q4 ATL Luckhurst 18 yard field goal ATL 33–30 Q4 HOU Duncan 14 yard pass from Moon (Zendejas kick) HOU 37–33 yes Standings Playoffs AFC Wild Card Houston Oilers 23, Seattle Seahawks 20 (OT) Seahawks 7 3 3 7 0 Oilers 3 10 7 0 3 Astrodome, Houston, Texas 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST NBC Marv Albert and Joe Namath Bob McElwee 50,519 Oilers kicker Tony Zendejas won the game with a 42-yard field goal 8:05 into overtime. Although Houston outgained Seattle with 427 total offensive yards to 250, the game remained close until the very end. AFC Divisional Playoff Denver Broncos 34, Houston Oilers 10 Oilers 0 3 0 7 Broncos 14 10 3 7 Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado 4:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. MST NBC Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen Jerry Markbreit 28 °F °C 1 or, relative humidity 55%, wind 9 mph km/h knots, wind chill 19 °F °C 1 or 75,440 Awards and records Keith Bostic, NFL Leader, Interceptions, (6) – Tied with two others for league lead References External links 1987 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com Houston Oilers Category:Houston Oilers seasons Houston