1987 Washington Redskins season
Head coachJoe Gibbs
Home fieldRFK Stadium
Local radioWMAL
Results
Record11–4
Division place1st NFC East
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs (at Bears) 21–17
Won NFC Championship (vs. Vikings) 17–10
Won Super Bowl XXII (vs. Broncos) 42–10
Redskins guard Raleigh McKenzie covering an opponent on the Broncos during Super Bowl XXII.
Redskins guard Raleigh McKenzie covering an opponent on the Broncos during Super Bowl XXII.

The 1987 season was the Washington Redskins' strike-shortened 56th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 52nd in Washington, D.C. and their seventh under head coach Joe Gibbs. The season was a shortened due to the 1987 NFL strike.

The team had finished second in the NFC East the previous season with a 12–4 record. Games to be played during the third week of the season were canceled, and replacement players were used to play games from weeks 4 through 6.

The Redskins won the NFC East with an 11–4 record. The Redskins defeated the Denver Broncos 42–10 to win Super Bowl XXII. It was the Redskins' second Super Bowl win in six seasons, and coincidentally, their second Super Bowl win in a strike-season.[1]

Redskins quarterback Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl and was the only one to have emerged victorious until Russell Wilson won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks.[2]

By virtue of the Redskins' 17-10 victory over Minnesota in the NFC title game, head coach Joe Gibbs earned his 10th playoff victory. He surpassed the legendary Vince Lombardi, who had retired after his 9th playoff victory and (coincidentally) later coached the Redskins for one season. Also ironic was the rumor that, following a disastrous 5-9-1 season, Green Bay would hire Gibbs to replace the dismissed Forrest Gregg. However, after the game, Gibbs would deny that he was interested.[3]

While the replacement Skins all received large playoff shares for their part in the 1987 season, the only replacement player to receive a Super Bowl ring was wide receiver Anthony Allen, because he was on the active roster during the postseason (and made one reception in the NFC title game vs. Minnesota). On March 8, 2018, the Redskins announced that they would honor the replacement players from the 1987 team with Super Bowl XXII rings.[4]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Personnel

Staff

NFL replacement players

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

1987 Washington Redskins replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Roster

Williams attempting a pass for the Washington Redskins in 1987
Williams attempting a pass for the Washington Redskins in 1987
1987 Washington Redskins roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Pre season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
1 August 14 Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–17 1–0 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
2 August 22 vs Green Bay Packers W 33–0 2–0 Camp Randall Stadium Recap
3 August 29 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–17 2–1 Tampa Stadium Recap
4 September 5 at Los Angeles Rams W 26–14 3–1 Anaheim Stadium Recap

Regular season

In 1987, Redskins starting QB Jay Schroeder got injured early in the opening game against the Eagles and was replaced by Williams, who led the team to victory.[5] In his NFL debut, replacement player Ed Rubbert passed for 334 yards.[5] Rubbert also threw three touchdown passes to Anthony Allen. Allen would have 255 receiving yards.[5]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
1 September 13 Philadelphia Eagles W 34–24 1–0 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
2 September 20 at Atlanta Falcons L 20–21 1–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Recap
3 — New England Patriots Cancelled due to the 1987 NFL strike †
4 October 4 St. Louis Cardinals W 28–21 2–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
5 October 11 at New York Giants W 38–12 3–1 Giants Stadium Recap
6 October 19 at Dallas Cowboys W 13–7 4–1 Texas Stadium Recap
7 October 25 New York Jets W 17–16 5–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
8 November 1 at Buffalo Bills W 27–7 6–1 Rich Stadium Recap
9 November 8 at Philadelphia Eagles L 27–31 6–2 Veterans Stadium Recap
10 November 15 Detroit Lions W 20–13 7–2 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
11 November 23 Los Angeles Rams L 26–30 7–3 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
12 November 29 New York Giants W 23–19 8–3 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
13 December 6 at St. Louis Cardinals W 34–17 9–3 Busch Memorial Stadium Recap
14 December 13 Dallas Cowboys W 24–20 10–3 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
15 December 20 at Miami Dolphins L 21–23 10–4 Joe Robbie Stadium Recap
16 December 26 at Minnesota Vikings W 27–24 (OT) 11–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap

Game summaries

Week 1

See also: 1987 Philadelphia Eagles season
Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 10 14024
Redskins 10 7 71034

at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.

Game information

Week 2

See also: 1987 Atlanta Falcons season
Week 2: Washington Redskins at Atlanta Falcons
1 2 34Total
Redskins 7 0 6720
Falcons 7 0 7721

at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 3 (Canceled)

See also: 1987 New England Patriots season

Week 4

See also: 1987 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season
Week 4: St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Redskins
1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 7 7721
Redskins 7 7 14028

at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.

Game information

Week 5

See also: 1987 New York Giants season
Week 5: Washington Redskins at New York Giants
1 2 34Total
Redskins 3 21 7738
Giants 3 0 9012

at Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Week 6

See also: 1987 Dallas Cowboys season
Week 6: Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
1 2 34Total
Redskins 3 0 7313
Cowboys 0 0 707

at Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas

Game information

Week 7

See also: 1987 New York Jets season
Week 7: New York Jets at Washington Redskins
1 2 34Total
Jets 0 3 10316
Redskins 0 7 01017

at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.

Game information

Week 8

See also: 1987 Buffalo Bills season
Week 8: Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills
1 2 34Total
Redskins 3 14 10027
Bills 0 0 077

at Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 9

Week 9: Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles
1 2 34Total
Redskins 7 14 0627
Eagles 7 10 01431

at Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia

Game information

Week 10

See also: 1987 Detroit Lions season
Week 10: Detroit Lions at Washington Redskins
1 2 34Total
Lions 3 0 10013
Redskins 0 17 3020

at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.

Game information

Week 11

See also: 1987 Los Angeles Rams season

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

See also: 1987 Miami Dolphins season

Week 16

See also: 1987 Minnesota Vikings season

Standings

NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Washington Redskins(3) 11 4 0 .733 7–1 9–3 379 285 W1
Dallas Cowboys 7 8 0 .467 4–4 5–7 340 348 W2
St. Louis Cardinals 7 8 0 .467 3–5 7–7 362 368 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 7 8 0 .467 3–5 4–7 337 380 W2
New York Giants 6 9 0 .400 3–5 4–8 280 312 W2

Playoffs

Redskins cornerback Barry Wilburn, pictured in the NFC Championship game, was a key player in Washington's defensive unit who snagged two interceptions during Super Bowl XXII.
Redskins cornerback Barry Wilburn, pictured in the NFC Championship game, was a key player in Washington's defensive unit who snagged two interceptions during Super Bowl XXII.

Main article: 1987–88 NFL playoffs
Playoff Round Date Opponent (Seed) Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
NFC Divisional Playoffs January 10, 1988 at Chicago Bears (2) W 21-17 1-0 Soldier Field Recap
NFC Championship January 17, 1988 Minnesota Vikings (5) W 17-10 2-0 RFK Stadium Recap
Super Bowl XXII January 31, 1988 Denver Broncos (A1) W 42–10 3–0 Jack Murphy Stadium Recap

Notes:

a All times are EASTERN time.

Playoff game summaries

1987 NFC Divisional Playoffs

See also: 1987 Chicago Bears season

1987 NFC Championship Game

Super Bowl XXII

See also: 1987 Denver Broncos season and Super Bowl XXII

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ The 1982 season also had a players' strike
  2. ^ As of the 2014 season, he is one of only two African-American quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl, the other being Russell Wilson; Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb and Cam Newton have all started at quarterback in the Super Bowl, but each of the three lost their Super Bowl appearance.
  3. ^ "Historical Newspapers from 1700s-2000s".
  4. ^ "Redskins to Award 1987 Replacement Players with Super Bowl Rings". Bleacher Report.
  5. ^ a b c Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16
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