1987 New Orleans Saints season

1987 New Orleans Saints season
Head coach	Jim Mora
General manager	Jim Finks
Owner	Tom Benson
Home field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	12–3
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoff finish	Lost NFC Wild Card (Vikings) 44–10

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. 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.

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	Defensive back	Arkansas State
4	96	Steve Trapilo	Guard	Boston College
5	123	Milton Mack	Defensive back	Alcorn State
6	152	Thomas Henley	Wide receiver	Stanford
7	179	Gene Atkins	Defensive back	Florida A&M
8	207	Toi Cook	Defensive back	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

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Personnel

Staff

1987 New Orleans Saints staff
	Front office Owner/General Partner – Tom Benson President/General Manager – Jim Finks Vice President of Administration – Jim Miller Director of Player Personnel – Bill Kuharich Head coaches Head Coach – Jim Mora Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Carl Smith Running Backs – Jim Skipper Wide Receivers – Steve Walters Tight Ends – Joe Marciano Offensive Line – Paul Boudreau			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers – Steve Sidwell Defensive Line – John Pease Outside Linebackers – Vic Fangio Defensive Backs – Dom Capers Special teams coaches Special Teams – Joe Marciano Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Russell Paternostro

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Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 13, 1987	Cleveland Browns	W 28–21	59,900
2	September 20, 1987	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 27–21	57,485
–	September 27, 1987	Atlanta Falcons	canceled
3	October 4, 1987	Los Angeles Rams	W 37–10	29,745
4	October 11, 1987	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 24–19	11,795
5	October 18, 1987	at Chicago Bears	W 19–17	46,813
6	October 25, 1987	San Francisco 49ers	L 24–22	60,497
7	November 1, 1987	at Atlanta Falcons	W 38–0	42,196
8	November 8, 1987	at Los Angeles Rams	W 31–14	43,379
9	November 15, 1987	at San Francisco 49ers	W 26–24	60,436
10	November 22, 1987	New York Giants	W 23–14	67,639
11	November 29, 1987	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 20–16	47,896
12	December 6, 1987	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 44–34	66,471
13	December 13, 1987	Houston Oilers	W 24–10	68,257
14	December 20, 1987	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 41–24	43,424
15	December 27, 1987	Green Bay Packers	W 33–24	68,364

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	422	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

Minnesota Vikings 44, New Orleans Saints 10

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	10	21	3	10	44
Saints	7	3	0	0	10

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

• 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.

References

1. "1987 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
2. "All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com. Retrieved February 28, 2011.

External links

• 1987 New Orleans Saints at Pro-Football-Reference.com