1987 New York Giants season

1987 New York Giants season
1987 New York Giants season
Owner	Wellington Mara
General manager	George Young
Head coach	Bill Parcells
Offensive coordinator	Ron Erhardt
Defensive coordinator	Bill Belichick
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	6–9
Division place	5th NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	LB Lawrence Taylor
	← 1986; Giants seasons; 1988 →;

The 1987 season was the New York Giants' 63rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their fifth under head coach Bill Parcells. The Giants entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champion but failed to qualify for the playoffs. They were the sixth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs.^[1] The Giants started the season 0–5, becoming the first defending Super Bowl champion to lose their first 5 games. Ultimately, the Giants never recovered from their 0–5 start and failed to improve on their 14–2 record from 1986 and finished at 6–9. They were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 1983. They also placed last in their division for the first time since that same season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1987 New York Giants draft
1	28	Mark Ingram	WR	Michigan State
2	55	Adrian White	DB	Florida
3	83	Stephen Baker	WR	Fresno State
4	112	Odessa Turner	WR	Northwestern State
5	140	Paul O'Connor	G	Miami (FL)
6	160	Tim Richardson	RB	Pacific
6	168	Doug Riesenberg	OT	California
8	223	Rod Jones	TE	Washington
9	225	Stan Parker	G	Nebraska
9	251	Dana Wright	RB	Findlay
10	279	Chuck Faucette	LB	Maryland
11	307	Dave Walter	QB	Michigan Tech
12	321	Bill Berthusen	DT	Iowa State
12	329	Chad Stark	RB	North Dakota State
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

**1987 New York Giants staff**
	Front office President – Wellington Mara General manager – George Young Director of pro personnel – Tim Rooney Head coaches Head coach – Bill Parcells Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Ron Erhardt Offensive backfield – Ray Handley Receivers – Pat Hodgson Tight ends – Mike Pope Offensive line – Fred Hoaglin			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Bill Belichick Defensive line – Lamar Leachman Defensive backfield – Len Fontes Defensive assistant – Mike Sweatman Special teams coaches Special teams – Romeo Crennel Assistant special teams – Mike Sweatman Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Johnny Parker

NFL replacement players

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

1987 New York Giants replacement roster

Quarterbacks

8 Mike Busch
9 Jim Crocicchia
15 Paul Kelly

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

83 Charles Coleman
85 Jeff Smith

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

3 George Benyola K
6 Dana Moore P

Roster

**1987 New York Giants roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Jeff Hostetler 17 Jeff Rutledge 11 Phil Simms Running backs (RB) 33 George Adams 24 Ottis Anderson 44 Maurice Carthon 30 Tony Galbreath 20 Joe Morris 22 Lee Rouson Wide receivers (WR) 85 Stephen Baker 82 Mark Ingram Sr. 86 Lionel Manuel 80 Phil McConkey 83 Odessa Turner Tight ends (TE) 89 Mark Bavaro 84 Zeke Mowatt		Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Billy Ard G 60 Brad Benson T 61 Chris Godfrey G 68 Damian Johnson G 59 Brian Johnston C 65 Bart Oates C 72 Doug Riesenberg T 66 William Roberts T Defensive linemen (DL) 79 Bill Berthusen DT 77 Eric Dorsey DE 74 Erik Howard NT 70 Leonard Marshall DE 75 George Martin DE 73 John Washington DE		Linebackers (LB) 58 Carl Banks OLB 53 Harry Carson ILB 54 Andy Headen OLB 57 Byron Hunt OLB 52 Pepper Johnson ILB 51 Robbie Jones ILB 55 Gary Reasons ILB 56 Lawrence Taylor OLB Defensive backs (DB) 47 Donald Brown CB 25 Mark Collins CB 28 Tom Flynn FS 48 Kenny Hill SS 43 Terry Kinard FS 46 Greg Lasker SS 27 Herb Welch FS 36 Adrian White 23 Perry Williams CB Special teams 2 Raúl Allegre K 5 Sean Landeta P		Reserve 64 Jim Burt NT (IR) 21 Harvey Clayton CB (IR) 19 Mack Cummings WR (IR) 63 Karl Nelson T (IR) 81 Stacy Robinson WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
1	August 15	at New England Patriots	W 19–17	1–0	Foxboro Stadium
2	August 22	Cleveland Browns	W 24–10	2–0	Giants Stadium
3	August 29	New York Jets	L 23–30	3–0	Giants Stadium
4	September 5	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 26–20	3–1	Three Rivers Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 14	at Chicago Bears	L 19–34	0–1	Soldier Field	Recap
2	September 20	Dallas Cowboys	L 14–16	0–2	Giants Stadium	Recap
3	—	at Miami Dolphins	Cancelled due to the 1987 NFL strike
4	October 5	San Francisco 49ers	L 21–41	0–3	Giants Stadium	Recap
5	October 11	Washington Redskins	L 12–38	0–4	Giants Stadium	Recap
6	October 18	at Buffalo Bills	L 3–6 (OT)	0–5	Rich Stadium	Recap
7	October 25	St. Louis Cardinals	W 30–7	1–5	Giants Stadium	Recap
8	November 2	at Dallas Cowboys	L 24–33	1–6	Texas Stadium	Recap
9	November 8	New England Patriots	W 17–10	2–6	Giants Stadium	Recap
10	November 15	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–17	3–6	Veterans Stadium	Recap
11	November 22	at New Orleans Saints	L 14–23	3–7	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
12	November 29	at Washington Redskins	L 19–23	3–8	RFK Stadium	Recap
13	December 6	Philadelphia Eagles	W 23–20 (OT)	4–8	Giants Stadium	Recap
14	December 13	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 24–27	4–9	Busch Stadium	Recap
15	December 19	Green Bay Packers	W 20–10	5–9	Giants Stadium	Recap
16	December 27	New York Jets	W 20–7	6–9	Giants Stadium	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	7	0	6	6	19
• Bears	3	7	14	10	34

Date: September 14
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Game start: 8:00 p.m.
Game weather: 62 °F (16.7 °C), wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
Referee: Jim Tunney
Television network: ABC

^[3]

Week 2

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Cowboys	3	7	3	3	16
Giants	7	0	7	0	14

Date: September 20
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: 60 °F (15.6 °C), wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
Referee: Jerry Markbreit

^[4]

Week 3

	1	2	3	4	Total
• 49ers	3	14	10	14	41
Giants	0	7	0	14	21

Date: October 5
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 9:00 p.m.
Game weather: 56 °F (13.3 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
Referee: Gene Barth
Television network: ABC

^[5]

Week 4

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Redskins	3	21	7	7	38
Giants	3	0	9	0	12

Date: October 11
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: 52 °F (11.1 °C), wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)
Referee: Tom Dooley

^[6]

Week 5

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Giants	0	0	3	0	0	3
• Bills	0	0	0	3	3	6

Date: October 18
Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game start: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: 53 °F (11.7 °C), wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
Referee: Bob McElwee

^[7]

Week 6

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	0	0	7	7
• Giants	14	3	3	10	30

Date: October 25
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: 56 °F (13.3 °C), wind 19 miles per hour (31 km/h; 17 kn)
Referee: Red Cashion

^[8]

Week 7

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	10	7	7	24
• Cowboys	7	7	0	19	33

Date: November 2
Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
Game start: 8:00 p.m.
Game weather: 69 °F (20.6 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
Referee: Fred Wyant
Television network: ABC

^[9]

Week 8

	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots	0	0	7	3	10
• Giants	0	14	3	0	17

Date: November 8
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 8:00 p.m.
Game weather: 55 °F (12.8 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
Referee: Jerry Seeman

^[10]

Week 9

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Giants	7	3	7	3	20
Eagles	10	0	7	0	17

Date: November 15
Location: Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
Referee: Gordon McCarter

^[11]

Week 10

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	7	7	0	14
• Saints	3	10	0	10	23

Date: November 22
Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Game start: 3:00 p.m.
Game weather: indoors (dome)
Referee: Tom Dooley

^[12]

Week 11

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	10	6	3	0	19
• Redskins	0	0	9	14	23

Date: November 29
Location: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Game start: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: 52 °F (11.1 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
Referee: Pat Haggerty

^[13]

Week 12

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Eagles	0	6	0	14	0	20
• Giants	7	0	6	7	3	23

Date: December 6
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 38 °F (3.3 °C), wind 22 miles per hour (35 km/h; 19 kn)
Referee: Gene Barth

^[14]

Week 13

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	7	3	7	7	24
• Cardinals	14	13	0	0	27

Date: December 13
Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Game start: 3:00 p.m.
Game weather: 34 °F (1.1 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
Referee: Jerry Markbreit
TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton & Terry Bradshaw

^[15]

Week 14

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	0	3	7	10
• Giants	0	13	7	0	20

Date: December 19
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 12:30 p.m.
Game weather: 37 °F (2.8 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
Referee: Jerry Seeman

^[16]

Week 15

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	7	0	0	0	7
• Giants	0	17	3	0	20

Date: December 27
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 35 °F (1.7 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
Referee: Tom Dooley

^[17]

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	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

Awards and honors

Lawrence Taylor, NFC Pro Bowl selection^[18]
Lawrence Taylor, Pro Football Weekly: 1st team all-conf.^[18]
Lawrence Taylor, UPI: 2nd team all-conf.^[18]
Lawrence Taylor, Associated Press: 2nd team all-NFL^[18]
Lawrence Taylor, Pro Football Weekly: 1st team all-NFL^[18]

References

^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 256
^ "1987 New York Giants Draftees".
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "1987 NFL Pro Bowlers".

External links

1987 New York Giants at Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 256

[2] "1987 New York Giants Draftees".

[3] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[4] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[5] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[6] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[7] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[8] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[9] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[10] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[11] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[12] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[13] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[14] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[15] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[16] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[17] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[pro-football-reference.com-18] "1987 NFL Pro Bowlers".

[1]