1987 Detroit Lions season

1987 Detroit Lions season
OwnerWilliam Clay Ford Sr.
General managerRuss Thomas
Head coachDarryl Rogers
Home fieldPontiac Silverdome
Results
Record4–11
Division place5th NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1987 Detroit Lions season was the 58th season in franchise history. In a strike-affected season, the Lions fell one game further from their 1986 record of 5–11, winning only four games and missing the postseason for the fourth consecutive season. Their week 3 game against long-time rival Chicago was the game affected by the strike, and as a result the Bears and Lions only met once during the season, the only season during the rivalry that the teams haven't met twice in a season. Highlights of their second matchup with Chicago were later shown during the Max Headroom signal hijacking that occurred across the city of Chicago that night.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1987 NFL draft
1987 Detroit Lions draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 7 Reggie Rogers  Defensive end Washington
3 63 Jerry Ball *  Nose tackle SMU
4 92 Garland Rivers  Defensive back Michigan
6 148 Danny Lockett  Linebacker Arizona
7 175 Dan Saleaumua *  Defensive tackle Arizona State
8 203 Dennis Gibson  Linebacker Iowa State
9 230 Rick Calhoun  Running back Fullerton
10 259 Raynard Brown  Wide receiver South Carolina
11 286 Brian Siverling  Tight end Penn State
12 315 Gary Lee  Wide receiver Georgia Tech
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Undrafted free agents

1987 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Karl Bernard Running back Southwestern Louisiana
Lee Saltz Quarterback Temple

Personnel

Staff

1987 Detroit Lions staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Carl Battershell

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning coordinator – Don Clemons


NFL replacement players

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

1987 Detroit Lions replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Roster

1987 Detroit Lions 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

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 13 at Minnesota Vikings L 34–19 0—1 57,061
2 September 20 at Los Angeles Raiders L 27–7 0—2 50,300
– September 27 Chicago Bears canceled due to strike
3 October 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 31–27 0—3 4,919
4 October 11 at Green Bay Packers W 19–16 OT 1—3 35,779
5 October 18 Seattle Seahawks L 37–14 1—4 8,310
6 October 25 Green Bay Packers L 34–33 1—5 27,278
7 November 1 at Denver Broncos L 34–0 1—6 75,172
8 November 8 Dallas Cowboys W 27–17 2—6 45,325
9 November 15 at Washington Redskins L 20–13 2—7 53,593
10 November 22 at Chicago Bears L 30–10 2—8 63,357
11 November 26 Kansas City Chiefs L 27–20 2—9 43,820
12 December 6 Los Angeles Rams L 37–16 2—10 33,413
13 December 13 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–10 3—10 41,699
14 December 20 Minnesota Vikings L 17–14 4—10 27,693
15 December 27 at Atlanta Falcons W 30–13 4—11 13,906
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears(2) 11 4 0 .733 7–0 9–2 356 282 W1
Minnesota Vikings(5) 8 7 0 .533 3–5 6–6 336 335 L1
Green Bay Packers 5 9 1 .367 3–4 4–7 255 300 L2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 11 0 .267 3–4 4–9 286 360 L8
Detroit Lions 4 11 0 .267 2–5 4–7 269 384 W1

References

  1. ^ "1987 Detroit Lions Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2019.