1987 Houston Oilers season

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 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 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 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.

Warren Moon (left) and Mike Rozier (right), playing for the Oilers in 1987, led the team in passing and rushing that season, respectively.

1987 Houston Oilers season
Owner	Bud Adams
Head coach	Jerry Glanville
General manager	Ladd Herzeg
Home field	Houston Astrodome
Results
Record	9–6
Division place	2nd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card playoffs (Seahawks) 23–20 (OT) Lost Divisional playoffs (at Broncos) 34–10
Uniform

Offseason

NFL draft

1987 Houston Oilers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	3	Alonzo Highsmith	Running back	Miami (FL)
1	20	Haywood Jeffires *	Wide receiver	North Carolina State
2	46	Walter Johnson	Linebacker	Louisiana Tech
3	64	Cody Carlson	Quarterback	Baylor
4	105	Mark Dusbabek	Linebacker	Minnesota
5	133	Spencer Tillman	Running back	Oklahoma
6	147	Al Smith *	Linebacker	Utah State
6	159	Toby Caston	Linebacker	LSU
7	176	Robert Banks	Defensive end	Notre Dame
8	202	Michel James	Wide receiver	Washington State
9	231	Wes Neighbors	Center	Alabama
10	258	Curtis Duncan *	Wide receiver	Northwestern
11	287	John Davis	Offensive tackle	Georgia Tech
12	314	Ira Valentine	Running back	Texas A&M
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1987 Houston Oilers staff

	Front office Owner/Chairman of the Board/President – Bud Adams Executive Vice President/General Manager – Ladd Herzeg Head coaches Head Coach – Jerry Glanville Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – June Jones Running Backs – Dick Jamieson Receivers – Milt Jackson Tight Ends – Miller McCalmon Offensive Line – Kim Helton			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Doug Shively Linebackers – Floyd Reese Secondary – Tom Bettis Special teams coaches Special Teams – Miller McCalmon Strength and conditioning Strength and Rehabilitation – Steve Watterson

Roster

1987 Houston Oilers roster

	Quarterbacks 14 Cody Carlson  1 Warren Moon 10 Brent Pease Running backs 32 Alonzo Highsmith FB 20 Allen Pinkett KR 30 Mike Rozier 35 Ray Wallace FB Wide receivers 82 Willie Drewrey 80 Curtis Duncan 81 Ernest Givins 85 Drew Hill 84 Haywood Jeffires Tight ends 88 Mark Gehring 89 Jeff Parks 87 Jamie Williams		Offensive linemen 77 Bruce Davis T 72 Kent Hill G 74 Bruce Matthews G 63 Mike Munchak G 52 Jay Pennison C 70 Dean Steinkuhler T Defensive linemen 71 Richard Byrd DE 79 Ray Childress DT 95 William Fuller DE 64 Joe Dixon DT 99 Doug Smith DT		Linebackers 92 Tom Briehl 51 Eric Fairs 59 John Grimsley OLB 57 Walter Johnson 91 Johnny Meads OLB 53 Eugene Seale MLB Defensive backs 29 Patrick Allen CB 25 Keith Bostic SS 24 Steve Brown CB 31 Jeff Donaldson S 22 Kenny Johnson 23 Richard Johnson CB 28 Allen Lyday 26 Audray McMillian Special teams  8 Jeff Gossett P  7 Tony Zendejas K		Reserve lists ## Neal Dellocono LB (IR) 78 Don Maggs T (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

1987 Houston Oilers replacement roster
Quarterbacks 10 David Worsham 12 David Witkowski 14 Brent Pease 18 Paul Williams Running backs 30 Herman Hunter 32 Ricky Moore 33 Don Williams 35 Eric Cobble 36 Jarvis McKyer 38 Lionel Wilson 40 Andrew Jackson Wide receivers 15 Roger Coleman 16 Chris Darrington 17 Oliver Williams 80 Leonard Harris 81 Keith McDonald 82 Sam Moore 83 Joey Walters 84 Haywood Jeffires 84 Robert Mitchell 85 Matt Conerly 86 Jeff Fields Tight ends 87 Scott Eccles 88 Mark Gehring 89 James Arrike		Offensive linemen 52 Billy Kidd 60 Jerrell Franklin 62 Doug Kellermeyer 66 Clay Miller 69 Brent Petersmark 70 Charles Agee 73 Almon Young 76 Louis Garza 77 Scott Boucher 78 Roland Aumueller Defensive linemen 71 Gerald Browner 75 Jesse Baker 75 Kenny Neil 94 Eric Larkin 94 Charles Martin 95 Dwain Turner 98 Rayford Cooks 99 Rickey Hagood 99 Doug Smith		Linebackers 51 Eugene Seale 53 Thad Jefferson 54 Larry Smith 55 Scott Stoughton 56 George Woods 57 Bryon Johnson 59 Scott Fox Defensive backs 20 Earl Allen 21 Craig Birdsong 22 Kenneth Johnson 23 Domingo Bryant 24 Clinton Charles 25 Larry Joyner 26 Tony Newsom 27 Donovan Small 28 Emmuel Thompson 29 Robert White 31 Darrell Francis 37 Ken McKyer Special teams  4 Florian Kempf K  7 Tony Zendejas K  8 Steve Superick P  9 John Diettrich K 11 Lee Johnson P

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 13, 1987	Los Angeles Rams	W 20–16	33,186
2	September 20, 1987	at Buffalo Bills	L 34–30	56,534
–	September 27, 1987	Los Angeles Raiders	canceled
3	October 4, 1987	at Denver Broncos	W 40–10	38,494
4	October 11, 1987	at Cleveland Browns	W 15–10	38,927
5	October 18, 1987	New England Patriots	L 21–7	26,294
6	October 25, 1987	Atlanta Falcons	W 37–33	29,062
7	November 1, 1987	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 31–29	52,700
8	November 8, 1987	at San Francisco 49ers	L 27–20	59,740
9	November 15, 1987	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 23–3	56,177
10	November 22, 1987	Cleveland Browns	L 40–7	51,161
11	November 29, 1987	at Indianapolis Colts	L 51–27	54,999
12	December 6, 1987	San Diego Chargers	W 33–18	31,714
13	December 13, 1987	at New Orleans Saints	L 24–10	68,257
14	December 20, 1987	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 24–16	38,683
15	December 27, 1987	Cincinnati Bengals	W 21–17	49,775

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 3 10 14 6 33 • Oilers 3 10 7 17 37 Date: October 25 Location: Houston Astrodome Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary 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

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
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)

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Seahawks	7	3	3	7	0	20
Oilers	3	10	7	0	3	23

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
• Game attendance: 50,519
• Referee: Bob McElwee
• TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Joe Namath

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	0	3	0	7	10
Broncos	14	10	3	7	34

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. MST
• Game attendance: 75,440
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Awards and records

• Keith Bostic, NFL Leader, Interceptions, (6) – Tied with two others for league lead

References

1. "1987 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2014.

External links

• 1987 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com