The

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

season was their 55th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Despite the interruption of the schedule by the second strike in six seasons, the team improved upon its previous output of 5–10–1, going 7–8. However, three of those losses came during the three-game stretch during the strike when teams were staffed primarily with replacement players, or "scabs," who crossed the picket lines to suit up. Despite the improvement, the team once again failed to qualify for the playoffs. Defensive lineman

Reggie White Reginald Howard White (December 19, 1961 – December 26, 2004) was an American professional football player who played defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. He played college football for ...

nonetheless had a breakout season, establishing a new NFL record by exploding for 21 sacks in only 12 games. On October 25 at

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for footb ...

, in the first game back after the strike was settled, Eagles head coach

Buddy Ryan James David "Buddy" Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the ...

called for the infamous "fake kneel" in the final seconds with the hosts leading the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

by 10 points. The fake eventually led to another late touchdown, payback for Cowboys head coach

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Dur ...

running up the score with starters who crossed the picket line to play two weeks earlier at

Texas Stadium Texas Stadium was an American football stadium located in Irving, Texas, a suburb west of Dallas. Opened on October 24, 1971, it was known for its distinctive hole in the roof, the result of abandoned plans to construct a retractable roof (Cowboy ...

. One week later, Philadelphia won its final road game against the Cardinals at the old Busch Stadium, before the franchise moved to Phoenix for the 1988 season.

Offseason

NFL draft

The

1987 NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Marq ...

was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, in New York City. This again would be a 12-round draft of 28 teams. The Philadelphia Eagles would get the 9th in the 12 rounds. They would make 10 selections in the draft. The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.

NFL supplemental draft

The Eagles would also use a pick in the 1987 NFL Supplemental Draft to take

Cris Carter Graduel Christopher Darin Carter (born November 25, 1965) is an American former American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1987–1989), the Minnesota Vikings (1990� ...

a wide receiver out of

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. Prior to Carter's senior season in 1987, he secretly signed with notorious sports agent Norby Walters. When the contract was discovered, Carter was ruled ineligible to play for Ohio State.

Personnel

Staff

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the

NFLPA The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...

strike, the following team was assembled:

Roster

Regular season

In 1987, Mike Quick was part of NFL history. He finished second in the NFL in touchdown receptions with 11. The leader was

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championshi ...

with 23. This marked the first time in NFL history that a category leader doubled the total of his nearest competitor.

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Games summaries

Week 1

Sunday, September 13, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the ...

on grass playing surface in 74F degrees with wind at 11 MPH.

Week 2

Sunday, September 20, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface in 62F degrees with wind at 12 MPH.

Week Canceled

Because of the

union's players strike against the NFL, all the games this week were cancelled. Replacement players were used when the season resumed the following week. The Eagles would have traveled to Candlestick Park to face the host 49ers in what would have been Buddy Ryan's only trip to the Bay Area as the Eagles' head coach. The Eagles sought their second win in San Francisco since 1983 (and also since the AFL-NFL merger). Ryan's Eagles did meet the 49ers once, losing at Veterans Stadium in 1989. The Eagles did not travel to San Francisco until 1992, nor did they win in San Francisco until the final night of the 1993 season.

Week 3

Sunday, October 4, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 PM Eastern Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface; 48 degrees with wind at 19 MPH. This was the first game of the season with replacement players. The announced attendance was 4,074, the smallest crowd at an NFL contest in almost 40 years (since October 30, 1949, when 3,678 people attended a

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

New York Bulldogs The New York Yanks were an American football team that played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. Season by season overview 1949 The team began in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, owned by Kate Smith's manage ...

game at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

Week 4

Sunday, October 11, 1987 Kickoff 12:00 pm Central Played at

on a grass playing surface in 58F degrees with wind at 16 MPH. Played with replacement players.

Week 5

Sunday, October 18, 1987 Kickoff 12:00 pm Central Played at

Lambeau Field Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing ...

on a grass playing surface in 46F degrees with wind at 11 MPH. Played with replacement players.

Week 6

Sunday October 25, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface in 56F degrees with wind at 15 MPH. This was the first week the Eagles played after the NFLPA strike ended. This was the revenge game for Week 4, where the Cowboys ran up the score against an Eagles replacement squad. Despite the game being effectively over, with the Eagles leading and having possession of the ball, the Eagles performed a fake kneel into a pass. Pass interference was called, and the Eagles successfully scored from the 1-yard line on the next play as time expired.

Week 7

Sunday, November 1, 1987 Kickoff 12:00 pm Central Played at

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...

on an AstroTurf playing surface in 68F degrees with wind at 10 MPH.

Week 8

Sunday, November 8, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface in 52F degrees with wind at 10 MPH.

Week 9

Sunday, November 15, 1987 Kickoff 4:00 pm Eastern Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface in 50F degrees with wind at 8 MPH.

Week 10

Sunday, November 22, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface in with wind at 19 MPH with a wind chill of .

Week 11

November 29, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at

Sullivan Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 New England Patriots season, 1971 and served ...

on an AstroTurf playing surface in 38F degrees with wind at 11 MPH.

Week 12

December 6, 1987 Stadium Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at The Meadowlands on an AstroTurf playing surface in 38F degrees with wind at 22 MPH and a wind chill of 27F.

Week 13

Sunday, December 13, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface in 43F degrees with wind at 15 MPH.

Week 14

Sunday, December 20, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at The Meadowlands on an Astroturf playing surface in 42F degrees with wind at 11 MPH.

Week 15

Sunday, December 27, 1987 Kickoff 1:00 pm Eastern Played at Veterans Stadium on an Astroturf playing surface in 35F degrees with wind at 10 MPH with a wind chill of 28.

Standings

Awards and honors

* Mike Quick,

Pro Bowl selection

References

External links

1987 Philadelphia Eagles
at

Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro-Football-Reference.com is a website providing a variety of statistics for American football. It is one of the few sites that provides information on both active and retired players. The site provides statistics for teams dating back to 1920. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:1987 Philadelphia Eagles season Philadelphia Eagles seasons