1987 Miami Dolphins season

The 1987 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 22nd as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 8–8, losing one fewer game.^[1] Despite the improvement the team failed to reach the playoffs. This was also the first season the Dolphins played their home games at Joe Robbie Stadium. Their first game at Joe Robbie Stadium was scheduled to open the stadium against the defending champion New York Giants but the 1987 strike resulted in all games from week 3 being permanently cancelled. So the first contest at the new venue involved replacement players, as 25,867 fans saw the Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.^[2] The Dolphins finally played a 1987 home game with the regular players in week 6, losing in overtime to the Buffalo Bills.

1987 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach	Don Shula
Home stadium	Joe Robbie Stadium
Results
Record	8–7
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	3 QB Dan Marino ILB John Offerdahl
← 1986 Dolphins seasons 1988 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1987 NFL draft

1987 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	16	John Bosa	Defensive end	Boston College
2	43	Rick Graf	Linebacker	Wisconsin
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1987 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office President – Joe Robbie Executive vice president/general manager – Mike Robbie Vice-president – Don Shula Director of player personnel – Chuck Connor Director of pro scouting – Charley Winner Head coaches Head coach – Don Shula Assistant head coach – David Shula Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Receivers – David Shula Offensive backs – Carl Taseff Tight ends – Mike Westhoff Offensive line – John Sandusky

Defensive coaches Defense – Tom Olivadotti Defensive line – Dan Sekanovich Linebackers – Chuck Studley Defensive backs – Mel Phillips Special teams coaches Special teams – Mike Westhoff Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Junior Wade

NFL replacement players

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

• Kyle Mackey, whose father, Dee Mackey, played for Don Shula with the Baltimore Colts, served as a replacement quarterback.^[3]

1987 Miami Dolphins replacement roster
Quarterbacks 14 Scott Stankavage 15 Kyle Mackey 16 Geoff Torretta Running backs 20 Rickey Isom FB 31 Kenny Rogers 32 Pete Roth 33 Ronald Scott 35 John Tagliaferri 38 Clarence Bailey 41 Mark Konecny FB Wide receivers 81 Mike Caterbone 82 Todd Feldman 82 Shea Walker 83 Dameon Reilly 85 Eddie Chavis 86 George Farmer 88 Greg Petty 89 Leland Douglas Tight ends 80 Lawrence Sampleton 84 Willie Smith 87 Rich Siler		Offensive linemen 61 Greg Cleveland 63 Greg Ours C 65 Bill Bealles RT 66 Jim Gilmore LG 67 Guy Goar 68 Louis Oubre RG 71 Scott Kehoe LT 72 Steve Jacobson 74 Jeff Wiska Defensive linemen 64 Michael Blake 69 Mike Lambrecht NT 70 Al Wring 77 Stanley Scott 78 Derek Wimberly LE 79 Ike Readon 93 Charles Bennett RE		Linebackers 50 Greg Storr 52 Dennis Fowlkes OLB 54 Steve Lubischer 60 Duke Schamel OLB 91 Victor Morris ILB 92 Laz Chavez 94 Tim Pidgeon ILB Defensive backs 21 Tate Randle SS 23 Demetrious Johnson 24 Floyd Raglin 40 John Swain RCB 42 Robert Sowell LCB 45 Trell Hooper FS 46 Mark Irvin 48 Daniel McFadden 49 Marvell Burgess Special teams 2 Willie Beecher K 14 Stacy Gore P

Roster

1987 Miami Dolphins roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Ron Jaworski 13 Dan Marino 10 Don Strock Running backs (RB) 34 Woody Bennett 30 Ron Davenport 27 Lorenzo Hampton 22 Tony Nathan 23 Troy Stradford Wide receivers (WR) 86 Fred Banks 83 Mark Clayton 85 Mark Duper 11 Jim Jensen 82 James Pruitt 81 Scott Schwedes Tight ends (TE) 84 Bruce Hardy 87 Dan Johnson

Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Jeff Dellenbach C 74 Mark Dennis T 61 Roy Foster G 79 Jon Giesler T 71 Bob Gruber T 60 Jim Huddleston G 72 Ronnie Lee T 78 Doug Marrone G/C 76 Tom Toth G Defensive linemen (DL) 75 Doug Betters DE 97 John Bosa DE 98 Jackie Cline NT 99 George Little DE 70 Brian Sochia NT 95 T. J. Turner DE

Linebackers (LB) 51 Mark Brown OLB 59 Bob Brudzinski OLB 53 David Frye OLB 58 Rick Graf OLB 55 Hugh Green OLB 54 Larry Kolic ILB 52 Scott Nicolas ILB 56 John Offerdahl ILB 50 Jackie Shipp ILB Defensive backs (DB) 43 Bud Brown FS 49 William Judson CB 44 Paul Lankford CB 29 Liffort Hobley SS 28 Don McNeal CB 26 Donovan Rose FS 25 Mike Smith CB 24 Reyna Thompson CB Special teams (ST) 4 Reggie Roby P 7 Fuad Reveiz K

Reserve 47 Glenn Blackwood S (IR) 36 Tom Brown RB (IR) 67 Chris Conlin G (IR) 66 Jim Gilmore G (IR) 90 Andy Hendel LB (IR) 38 DeShon Jenkins S (IR) 16 Jim Karsatos QB (IR) 69 Mike Lambrecht NT (IR) -- Robin Sendlein LB (IR) -- Rich Siler TE (IR) 57 Dwight Stephenson C (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 13	at New England Patriots	L 21–28	0–1	Sullivan Stadium	54,642
2	September 20	at Indianapolis Colts	W 23–10	1–1	Hoosier Dome	57,524
–	September 27	New York Giants	canceled	1–1	Joe Robbie Stadium
3	October 4	at Seattle Seahawks	L 20–24	1–2	Kingdome	19,448
4	October 11	Kansas City Chiefs	W 42–0	2–2	Joe Robbie Stadium	25,867
5	October 18	at New York Jets	L 31–37 (OT)	2–3	Giants Stadium	18,249
6	October 25	Buffalo Bills	L 31–34 (OT)	2–4	Joe Robbie Stadium	61,295
7	November 1	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 35–24	3–4	Joe Robbie Stadium	52,578
8	November 8	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–14	4–4	Riverfront Stadium	53,840
9	November 15	Indianapolis Colts	L 21–40	4–5	Joe Robbie Stadium	65,433
10	November 22	at Dallas Cowboys	W 20–14	5–5	Texas Stadium	56,519
11	November 29	at Buffalo Bills	L 0–27	5–6	Rich Stadium	68,055
12	December 7	New York Jets	W 37–28	6–6	Joe Robbie Stadium	62,592
13	December 13	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 28–10	7–6	Veterans Stadium	63,841
14	December 20	Washington Redskins	W 23–21	8–6	Joe Robbie Stadium	65,715
15	December 28	New England Patriots	L 10–24	8–7	Joe Robbie Stadium	61,192
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins	7	14	0	0	21
• Patriots	7	7	14	0	28

• Date: September 13, 1987
• Location: Schaefer Stadium
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 54,642
• Game weather: 61 °F (16.1 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn), rainy
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

Miami Dolphins punter Reggie Roby injured in the game, forcing Don Strock to punt in the emergency situation. Additionally, with 2:22 left in the game Dan Marino was injured forcing Strock to fill in at the quarterback position as well, nearly mounting a winning comeback drive.

^[4]

Week 6

Buffalo Bills (2-3) at Miami Dolphins (2-3)

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
• Bills	0	3	14	14	3	34
Dolphins	14	7	0	10	0	31

• Date: October 25, 1987
• Location: Joe Robbie Stadium
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 61,295
• Game weather: 78 °F (25.6 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers (NBC): Jim Donovan and Paul Maguire

^[5]

Week 14

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	7	7	7	21
• Dolphins	0	9	0	14	23

• Date: December 20
• Location: Joe Robbie Stadium
• Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 65,715
• Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C); wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
• Referee: Fred Wyant
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Roy Firestone, Larry Csonka

Scoring summary

Q2		MIA	Reviez 48 yard field goal	MIA 3–0
Q2		WSH	Bryant 6 yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick)	WSH 7–3
Q2		MIA	Duper 26 yard pass from Marino	MIA 9–7
Q3		WSH	Schroeder 6 yard run (Hajji-Sheikh kick)	WSH 14–9
Q4		MIA	Duper 59 yard pass from Marino (Reveiz kick)	MIA 16–14
Q4		WSH	Rogers 2yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick)	WSH 21–16
Q4		MIA	Duper 6 yard pass from Marino (Reveiz kick)	MIA 23–21

• Dan Marino 22/50, 393 Yds
• Mark Duper 6 Rec, 170 Yds

^[6]

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Indianapolis Colts(3)	9	6	0	.600	5–3	8–6	300	238	W2
New England Patriots	8	7	0	.533	6–2	8–4	320	293	W3
Miami Dolphins	8	7	0	.533	2–6	5–7	362	335	L1
Buffalo Bills	7	8	0	.467	4–4	6–6	270	305	L2
New York Jets	6	9	0	.400	3–5	6–5	334	360	L4