1987 Buffalo Bills season

1987 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach	Marv Levy
General manager	Bill Polian
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	7–8
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1987 Buffalo Bills season was the 28th season for the club and its 18th in the National Football League (NFL).

On October 31, 1987, the Los Angeles Rams traded Eric Dickerson to the Indianapolis Colts in a three team trade involving the Bills. The Rams sent Dickerson to the Colts for six draft choices and two players. Buffalo obtained the rights to Cornelius Bennett from Indianapolis. Buffalo sent running back Greg Bell and three draft choices to the Rams, while Indianapolis added Owen Gill and three of their own draft picks to complete the deal with the Rams.^[1] Adding Bennett to the team helped to form the nucleus for a strong young defensive unit that would become the core of Buffalo's later Super Bowl teams.

Offseason

NFL draft

Buffalo's first two draft picks—linebacker Shane Conlan and defensive back Nate Odomes—would later go on to make to have a great deal of impact on Buffalo's defense. Conlan was named 1987 Defensive Rookie of the Year; he would be selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls, from the 1988–1990 seasons. Odomes would be selected to consecutive Pro Bowls in 1992 and 1993.

Another impactful rookie, Cornelius Bennett, was drafted by Indianapolis in 1987, before being traded to Buffalo.

1987 Buffalo Bills draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	8	Shane Conlan *	Linebacker	Penn State
2	29	Nate Odomes *	Defensive back	Wisconsin
2	33	Roland Mitchell	Defensive back	Texas Tech
3	60	David Brandon	Linebacker	Memphis
3	78	Jamie Mueller	Running back	Benedictine (KS)
4	109	Leon Seals	Defensive end	Jackson State
7	171	Kerry Porter	Running back	Washington State
11	283	Howard Ballard	Offensive Tackle	Alabama A&M
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

1987 Buffalo Bills staff
	Front office President – Ralph Wilson Vice President of Administration/General Manager – Bill Polian Vice President of Football Operations – Marv Levy Director of College Scouting – John Butler Director of Pro Personnel – Bob Ferguson National Scout – Norm Pollom College Scout – A. J. Smith Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Chuck Dickerson Head coaches Head Coach – Marv Levy Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Jim Ringo Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator – Ted Marchibroda Running Backs – Elijah Pitts Receivers – Ted Tollner Tight Ends – Chuck Dickerson			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Walt Corey Defensive Line – Ted Cottrell Defensive Backs – Dick Roach Defensive Assistant – Chuck Lester Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bruce DeHaven Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

^[3]

Regular season

Cornerback Nate Odomes was the youngest starting defensive player in the NFL. It was also his rookie season.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 13, 1987	New York Jets	L 31–28	76,718
2	September 20, 1987	Houston Oilers	W 34–30	56,534
–	September 27, 1987	at Dallas Cowboys	canceled
3	October 4, 1987	Indianapolis Colts	L 47–6	9,860
4	October 11, 1987	at New England Patriots	L 14–7	11,878
5	October 18, 1987	New York Giants	W 6–3	15,737
6	October 25, 1987	at Miami Dolphins	W 34–31	61,295
7	November 1, 1987	Washington Redskins	L 27–7	71,640
8	November 8, 1987	Denver Broncos	W 21–14	63,698
9	November 15, 1987	at Cleveland Browns	L 27–21	78,409
10	November 22, 1987	at New York Jets	W 17–14	58,407
11	November 29, 1987	Miami Dolphins	W 27–0	68,055
12	December 6, 1987	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 34–21	43,143
13	December 13, 1987	at Indianapolis Colts	W 27–3	60,253
14	December 20, 1987	New England Patriots	L 13–7	74,945
15	December 27, 1987	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–7	57,547

Game summaries

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 3 14 3 10 30 • Bills 3 10 0 21 34 Date: September 20 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 62°F • Wind 8

Scoring summary 1 BUF Scott Norwood 45 yard field goal Bills 3–0 1 HOU Tony Zendejas 52 yard field goal Tie 3–3 2 HOU Drew Hill 2 yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick) Oilers 10–3 2 BUF Scott Norwood 38 yard field goal Oilers 10–6 2 HOU Mike Rozier 8 yard run (Tony Zendejas kick) Oilers 17–6 2 BUF Robb Riddick 11 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Oilers 17–13 3 HOU Tony Zendejas 27 yard field goal Oilers 20–13 4 BUF Andre Reed 8 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Tie 20–20 4 HOU Ernest Givens 12 yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick) Oilers 27–20 4 HOU Tony Zendejas 30 yard field goal Oilers 30–20 4 BUF Robb Riddick 2 yard run (Scott Norwood kick) Oilers 30–27 4 BUF Ronnie Harmon 2 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 34–30

^[4]

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Indianapolis Colts^(3)	9	6	0	.600	300	238	W2
New England Patriots	8	7	0	.533	320	293	W3
Miami Dolphins	8	7	0	.533	362	335	L1
Buffalo Bills	7	8	0	.467	270	305	L2
New York Jets	6	9	0	.400	334	360	L4

Player stats

Passing

Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions

Player	Games	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Jim Kelly	12	250	419	2798	19	11	83.8
John Kidd	12	0	1	0	0	0	39.6
Dan Manucci	3	7	21	68	0	2	3.8
Brian McClure	1	20	38	181	0	3	32.9
Mark Miller	1	1	3	9	0	1	2.8
Robb Riddick	6	1	1	35	0	0	118.7
Willie Totten	2	13	33	155	2	2	49.4

^[5]

Rushing

Player	Games	Attempts	Yards	Avg	TD
Ronnie Harmon	12	116	485		2
Jamie Mueller	12	82	354		2
Carl Byrum	13	66	280		0
Robb Riddick	6	59	221		5
Ricky Porter	9	47	177		0
Jim Kelly	12	29	133		0

^[5]

Receiving

Player	Games	Number	Yards	Avg	TD
Chris Burkett	12	56	765	13.7	4
Andre Reed	12	57	752	13.2	5
Ronnie Harmon	12	56	477	8.5	2
Pete Metzelaars	12	28	290	10.4	0
Trumaine Johnson	12	15	186	12.4	2

^[5]

Defense

Note: FR = Fumble Recoveries; TCKL = Tackles; INT = Interceptions; TD = Touchdowns

Player	Games	Sacks	Forced Fumbles	FR	Tckl	INT	Yards	TD
Shane Conlan	12	0.5	1	0	114	0	0	0
Bruce Smith	12	12.0	3	0	2	0	0	0

Special teams

Note: FGA = Field Goals Attempted; FGM = Field Goals Made; FG% = Field Goal Percentage; XPA = Extra Points Attempted; XPM = Extra Points Made; XP% = Extra Points Percentage

Player	Games	FGA	FGM	FG %	XPA	XPM	XP %
Scott Norwood	12	15	10	66.7	31	31	100
Todd Schlopy	3	5	2	40	2	1	50

^[5]

• Punting

Player	Games	Punts	Yards	Long	Blocked	Avg. yards
John Kidd	12	64	2495	67	0	39.0
Rick Partridge	3	18	678	52	1	37.7

^[5]

Awards and honors

Defensive Rookie of the Year^[6]

• Shane Conlan

AFC Pro Bowl selections

• Jim Kelly
• Bruce Smith

Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player

• Bruce Smith

All-Pros

First Team

• Bruce Smith, Defensive end
• Steve Tasker, Special teams

Second Team

• Shane Conlan, Linebacker

References

1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.286
2. "1987 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
3. 1987 Buffalo Bills Media Guide. pp. 3–24.
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
5. 1987 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players – Pro-Football-Reference.com
6. NFL Rookie of the Year

External links

• 1987 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com