1987 Los Angeles Raiders season

The 1987 Los Angeles Raiders season was the franchise's strike-shortened 28th season overall, and the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League. They finished with a disappointing record of 5–10 (the team's worst finish since Al Davis arrived in 1963). It was only the sixth losing season in franchise history.

1987 Los Angeles Raiders season
OwnerAl Davis
General managerAl Davis
Head coachTom Flores
Home fieldL.A. Memorial Coliseum
Local radioKIIS–AM 1150
Results
Record5–10
Division place4th AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Offseason

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NFL draft

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Since he did not sign with a team by the 1987 draft, Bo Jackson's rights were forfeited by Tampa Bay and his name was thrown back into the draft. The Raiders selected Jackson in the seventh round with the 183rd overall pick.[1] Raiders owner Al Davis supported Jackson and his baseball career and got Jackson to sign a contract by offering him a salary that was comparable to a full-time starting running back but allowing Jackson to only play part-time until the baseball season was done.

1987 Los Angeles Raiders draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 15 John Clay  Offensive tackle Missouri
2 52 Bruce Wilkerson  Offensive tackle Tennessee
3 81 Steve Smith  Running back Penn State
4 110 Steve Beuerlein *  Quarterback Notre Dame
7 183 Bo Jackson *  Running back Auburn
9 238 Scott Eccles  Tight end Eastern New Mexico
10 254 Rob Harrison  Defensive back Sacramento State
10 265 John Gesek  Guard Sacramento State
10 273 Jim Ellis  Linebacker Boise State
11 288 Chris McLemore  Running back Arizona
11 294 Mario Perry  Tight end Mississippi
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

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Staff

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1987 Los Angeles Raiders staff

Front office

  • President of the general partner – Al Davis
  • Executive assistant – Al LoCasale
  • Personnel operations – Ron Wolf
  • Senior executive – John Herrera

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches



NFL replacement players

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

1987 Los Angeles Raiders replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Roster

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1987 Los Angeles Raiders roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

[3]

Regular season

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Joining the Raiders midway through the 1987 season, Bo Jackson rushed for 554 yards on 81 carries in just seven games. Over the next three seasons, Bo Jackson would rush for 2,228 more yards and 12 touchdowns: a remarkable achievement, in light of the fact that he was a "second string" player behind Raiders legend Marcus Allen.

Jackson turned in a 221-yard rushing performance on Monday Night Football in 1987 against the Seattle Seahawks. During this game, he ran over Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth, who had insulted Jackson and promised in a media event before the game to contain Jackson. He also made a 91-yard run to the outside, untouched down the sideline. He continued sprinting until finally slowing down as he passed through the entrance to the field tunnel to the dressing rooms with teammates soon following. Jackson scored two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown in the game.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 13 at Green Bay Packers W 20–0 1–0 Lambeau Field 54,983 Recap
2 September 20 Detroit Lions W 27–7 2–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 50,300 Recap
September 27 at Houston Oilers Canceled 2–0 Houston Astrodome
3 October 4 Kansas City Chiefs W 35–17 3–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 10,708 Recap
4 October 12 at Denver Broncos L 14–30 3–1 Mile High Stadium 61,230 Recap
5 October 18 San Diego Chargers L 17–23 3–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 23,541 Recap
6 October 25 Seattle Seahawks L 13–35 3–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 52,735 Recap
7 November 1 at New England Patriots L 23–26 3–4 Sullivan Stadium 60,664 Recap
8 November 8 at Minnesota Vikings L 20–31 3–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,150 Recap
9 November 15 at San Diego Chargers L 14–16 3–6 Jack Murphy Stadium 60,639 Recap
10 November 22 Denver Broncos L 17–23 3–7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 61,318 Recap
11 November 30 at Seattle Seahawks W 37–14 4–7 Kingdome 62,802 Recap
12 December 6 Buffalo Bills W 34–21 5–7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 43,143 Recap
13 December 13 at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–16 5–8 Arrowhead Stadium 63,834 Recap
14 December 20 Cleveland Browns L 17–24 5–9 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 40,275 Recap
15 December 27 Chicago Bears L 3–6 5–10 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 78,019 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1

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1 234Total
• Raiders 0 776 20
Packers 0 000 0
  • Date: September 13
  • Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 56 °F (13.3 °C); wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)

[4]

Week 11

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1 234Total
• Raiders 7 20100 37
Seahawks 7 070 14

[5]

Standings

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AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Denver Broncos(1) 10 4 1 .700 7–1 8–3 379 288 W2
Seattle Seahawks(5) 9 6 0 .600 4–3 5–6 371 314 L1
San Diego Chargers 8 7 0 .533 3–4 6–7 253 317 L6
Los Angeles Raiders 5 10 0 .333 2–6 3–8 301 289 L3
Kansas City Chiefs 4 11 0 .267 3–5 3–9 273 388 W1

Awards and records

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  • Howie Long, AFC Pro Bowl selection

References

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  1. ^ Flatter, Ron. "Bo knows stardom and disappointment". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
  2. ^ "1987 Los Angeles Raiders draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  3. ^ "1987 Los Angeles Raiders starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-03.
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com