| 1987 New Orleans Saints season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Tom Benson |
| General manager | Jim Finks |
| Head coach | Jim Mora |
| Home field | Louisiana Superdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–3 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC West |
| Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Vikings) 10–44 |
| Pro Bowlers | G Brad Edelman T Hoby Brenner RB Reuben Mayes LB Sam Mills CB Dave Waymer K Morten Andersen |
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.
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Main article: 1987 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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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
| 1987 New Orleans Saints replacement roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | Cleveland Browns | W 28–21 | 1–0 | Louisiana Superdome | 59,900 |
| 2 | September 20 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–27 | 1–1 | Veterans Stadium | 57,485 |
| – | September 27 | Atlanta Falcons | canceled | 1–1 | Louisiana Superdome | |
| 3 | October 4 | Los Angeles Rams | W 37–10 | 2–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 29,745 |
| 4 | October 11 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 19–24 | 2–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 11,795 |
| 5 | October 18 | at Chicago Bears | W 19–17 | 3–2 | Soldier Field | 46,813 |
| 6 | October 25 | San Francisco 49ers | L 22–24 | 3–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 60,497 |
| 7 | November 1 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 38–0 | 4–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 42,196 |
| 8 | November 8 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 31–14 | 5–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 43,379 |
| 9 | November 15 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 26–24 | 6–3 | Candlestick Park | 60,436 |
| 10 | November 22 | New York Giants | W 23–14 | 7–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 67,639 |
| 11 | November 29 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 20–16 | 8–3 | Three Rivers Stadium | 47,896 |
| 12 | December 6 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 44–34 | 9–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 66,471 |
| 13 | December 13 | Houston Oilers | W 24–10 | 10–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,257 |
| 14 | December 20 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 41–24 | 11–3 | Riverfront Stadium | 43,424 |
| 15 | December 27 | Green Bay Packers | W 33–24 | 12–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,364 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||
| 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 | 426 | 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 |
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 10 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 44 |
| Saints | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
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).
