1987 Houston Oilers season | |
---|---|
Owner | Bud Adams |
Head Coach | Jerry Glanville |
Home Field | Astrodome |
Results | |
Record | 9–6 |
Place | 2nd AFC Central |
Playoff Finish | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs (at Broncos) 10-34 |
Timeline | |
Previous Season | Next Season |
1986 | 1988 |
The 1987 season Houston Oilers season was the team's 28th overall and the 18th in the National Football League. 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.
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 their 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 Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis 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 San Diego Chargers the next week, rebounding from those 2 bad losses. The Oilers would clinch a playoff spot in the seasons final week with a 21–17 win over Cincinnati, thus ending their 6-year playoff drought. 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.
Offseason[]
NFL Draft[]
Pick # | Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|---|
3 | Alonzo Highsmith | Running Back | Miami (FL) |
20 | Haywood Jeffires | Wide Receiver | North Carolina State |
Personnel[]
Staff[]
1987 Houston Oilers final 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:
Roster[]
1987 Houston Oilers roster | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
Practice/Taxi Squad
|
Regular season[]
Schedule[]
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 13 | Los Angeles Rams | W 20–16 | |
2 | September 20 | at Buffalo | L 34–30 | |
– | September 27 | Los Angeles Raiders | canceled | |
3 | October 4 | at Denver | W 40–10 | |
4 | October 11 | at Cleveland | W 15–10 | |
5 | October 18 | New England | L 21–7 | |
6 | October 25 | Atlanta | W 37–33 | |
7 | November 1 | at Cincinnati | W 31–29 | |
8 | November 8 | at San Francisco | L 27–20 | |
9 | November 15 | at Pittsburgh | W 23–3 | |
10 | November 22 | Cleveland | L 40–7 | |
11 | November 29 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 51–27 | |
12 | December 6 | San Diego | W 33–18 | |
13 | December 13 | at New Orleans | L 24–10 | |
14 | December 20 | Pittsburgh | W 24–16 | |
15 | December 27 | Cincinnati | W 21–17 |
Standings[]
1987 AFC Central standings | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | Streak | |
Cleveland Browns(2) | 10 | 5 | 0 | .667 | 5–1 | 8–3 | 390 | 239 | W3 |
Houston Oilers(4) | 9 | 6 | 0 | .600 | 5–1 | 7–4 | 345 | 349 | W2 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | 2–4 | 6–5 | 285 | 299 | L2 |
Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 11 | 0 | .267 | 0–6 | 3–9 | 285 | 370 | L3 |
Playoffs[]
AFC Wild Card[]
Houston Oilers 23, Seattle Seahawks 20 (OT)
|
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
|
Awards and records[]
- Keith Bostic, NFL Leader, Interceptions, (6) – Tied with two others for league lead