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1987 New Orleans Saints season

NFL team season; first playoff berth

Field	Value
team	New Orleans Saints
year	1987
record	12–3
division_place	2nd NFC West
coach	Jim Mora
general manager	Jim Finks
owner	Tom Benson
stadium	Louisiana Superdome
playoffs	Lost [Wild Card Playoffs](1987-88-nfl-playoffs)
(vs. [Vikings](1987-minnesota-vikings-season)) 10–44
pro_bowlers	G Brad Edelman
T Hoby Brenner
RB Reuben Mayes
LB Sam Mills
CB Dave Waymer
K Morten Andersen
shortnavlink	Saints seasons

(vs. Vikings) 10–44 T Hoby Brenner RB Reuben Mayes LB Sam Mills CB Dave Waymer K Morten Andersen

New Orleans Saints' Fleur-de-lis logo, 1967 - 1999

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. The Saints earned the second-best record in the NFL in 1987, but were in the same division as the team with the best record, the San Francisco 49ers, and entered the playoffs as a wild card. 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

Main article: 1987 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

Owner/General Partner – Tom Benson
President/General Manager – Jim Finks
Vice president of administration – Jim Miller
Director of player personnel – Bill Kuharich
Head coach – Jim Mora
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Carl Smith
Running backs – Jim Skipper
Wide receivers – Steve Walters
Offensive line – Paul Boudreau
Defensive coordinator – Steve Sidwell
Defensive line – John Pease
Linebackers – Vic Fangio
Defensive backs – Dom Capers
Special teams/tight ends – Joe Marciano
Strength and conditioning – Russell Paternostro

NFL replacement players

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

New Orleans Saints	year=1987	border=2}};"	1987 New Orleans Saints replacement roster

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

New Orleans Saints	year=1987	border=2}}"	Week	New Orleans Saints	year=1987
September 13	[Cleveland Browns](1987-cleveland-browns-season)	W 28–21	1–0	Louisiana Superdome	59,900
September 20	at [Philadelphia Eagles](1987-philadelphia-eagles-season)	L 17–27	1–1	Veterans Stadium	57,485
September 27	[Atlanta Falcons](1987-atlanta-falcons-season)	canceled	1–1	Louisiana Superdome
October 4	[Los Angeles Rams](1987-los-angeles-rams-season)	W 37–10	2–1	Louisiana Superdome	29,745
October 11	at [St. Louis Cardinals](1987-st-louis-cardinals-nfl-season)	L 19–24	2–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	11,795
October 18	at [Chicago Bears](1987-chicago-bears-season)	W 19–17	3–2	Soldier Field	46,813
October 25	[San Francisco 49ers](1987-san-francisco-49ers-season)	L 22–24	3–3	Louisiana Superdome	60,497
November 1	at [Atlanta Falcons](1987-atlanta-falcons-season)	W 38–0	4–3	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	42,196
November 8	at [Los Angeles Rams](1987-los-angeles-rams-season)	W 31–14	5–3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	43,379
November 15	at [San Francisco 49ers](1987-san-francisco-49ers-season)	W 26–24	6–3	Candlestick Park	60,436
November 22	[New York Giants](1987-new-york-giants-season)	W 23–14	7–3	Louisiana Superdome	67,639
November 29	at [Pittsburgh Steelers](1987-pittsburgh-steelers-season)	W 20–16	8–3	Three Rivers Stadium	47,896
December 6	[Tampa Bay Buccaneers](1987-tampa-bay-buccaneers-season)	W 44–34	9–3	Louisiana Superdome	66,471
December 13	[Houston Oilers](1987-houston-oilers-season)	W 24–10	10–3	Louisiana Superdome	68,257
December 20	at [Cincinnati Bengals](1987-cincinnati-bengals-season)	W 41–24	11–3	Riverfront Stadium	43,424
December 27	[Green Bay Packers](1987-green-bay-packers-season)	W 33–24	12–3	Louisiana Superdome	68,364
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Playoffs

NFC Wild Card Game

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, which was actually an untimed play after the Saints were penalized for offsides on the previous play (a half cannot end on an accepted penalty against the defense).

References

"1987 New Orleans Saints draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
"All-Time Roster". NewOrleansSaints.com.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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