| 1987 New York Jets season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Leon Hess |
| General manager | Jim Kensil |
| Head coach | Joe Walton |
| Offensive coordinator | Rich Kotite |
| Defensive coordinator | Bud Carson |
| Home stadium | Giants Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–9 |
| Division place | 5thAFC East |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | WRAl Toon |
The1987 New York Jets season was the 28th season for theteam and the club's 18th season in theNational Football League (NFL). It began with the team trying to improve upon its 10–6 record from 1986 under head coachJoe Walton. The season was marred by aplayers' strike that resulted in the cancellation of all week-3 games, as well as Weeks 4 through 6 being played mostly withreplacement players. The Jets finished the season with a record of 6–9. For the second time in his career, Ken O'Brien had the lowest rate of interceptions among quarterbacks. He had 8 interceptions in 393 passing attempts.
| 1987 New York Jets draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Roger Vick | Fillback | Texas A&M | |
| 2 | 42 | Alex Gordon | Linebacker | Cincinnati | |
| 3 | 75 | Onzy Elam | Linebacker | Tennessee State | |
| 5 | 129 | Kirby Jackson | Cornerback | Mississippi State | |
| 6 | 161 | Tracy Martin | Wide receiver | North Dakota | |
| 7 | 187 | Gerald Nichols | Defensive tackle | Florida State | |
| 8 | 196 | Eddie Hunter | Running back | Virginia Tech | |
| 8 | 214 | Mike Rice | Punter | Montana | |
| 9 | 241 | Ron McLean | Defensive tackle | Cal State Fullerton | |
| 10 | 268 | Sid Lewis | Cornerback | Penn State | |
| 11 | 300 | Kirk Timmer | Linebacker | Montana State | |
| 12 | 327 | Bill Ransdell | Quarterback | Kentucky | |
| Made roster | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Walter Briggs | Quarterback | Montclair State |
| Kirk Bumett | Wide receiver | Furman |
| John Chirico | Running back | Columbia |
| Bobby Curtis | Linebacker | Savannah State |
| Ted Gaffney | Linebacker | Boston College |
| Eddie Garrett | Running back | Michigan |
| Joseph Giaquinto | Wide receiver | Boston College |
| Dennis Hochman | Kicker | Sonoma State |
| Mark Johnson | Safety | Western Kentucky |
| Chris Jones | Tackle | Delaware State |
| Bill Sanders | Tight end | Sacramento State |
| Scott Saylor | Tackle | West Vriginia |
| John Thomas | Tackle | Toledo |
| Craig Vittum | Tackle | Norwich |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
After the league decided to use replacement players during theNFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
| 1987 New York Jets replacement roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends | Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| ||||
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | atBuffalo Bills | W 31–28 | 1–0 | Rich Stadium | 76,718 | |
| 2 | September 21 | New England Patriots | W 43–24 | 2–0 | Giants Stadium | 70,847 | |
| 3 | September 27 | atPittsburgh Steelers | Cancelled due to players' strike | ||||
| 4 | October 4 | Dallas Cowboys | L 24–38 | 2–1 | Giants Stadium | 12,370 | |
| 5 | October 11 | atIndianapolis Colts | L 0–6 | 2–2 | Hoosier Dome | 34,927 | |
| 6 | October 18 | Miami Dolphins | W 37–31 (OT) | 3–2 | Giants Stadium | 18,249 | |
| 7 | October 25 | atWashington Redskins | L 16–17 | 3–3 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | 53,497 | |
| 8 | November 1 | Indianapolis Colts | L 14–19 | 3–4 | Giants Stadium | 60,863 | |
| 9 | November 9 | Seattle Seahawks | W 30–14 | 4–4 | Giants Stadium | 60,452 | |
| 10 | November 15 | atKansas City Chiefs | W 16–9 | 5–4 | Arrowhead Stadium | 40,718 | |
| 11 | November 22 | Buffalo Bills | L 14–17 | 5–5 | Giants Stadium | 58,407 | |
| 12 | November 29 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–20 | 6–5 | Giants Stadium | 41,135 | |
| 13 | December 7 | atMiami Dolphins | L 28–37 | 6–6 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 62,592 | |
| 14 | December 13 | atNew England Patriots | L 20–42 | 6–7 | Sullivan Stadium | 60,617 | |
| 15 | December 20 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 27–38 | 6–8 | Giants Stadium | 30,572 | |
| 16 | December 27 | atNew York Giants | L 7–20 | 6–9 | Giants Stadium | 68,318 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Jets | 0 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 31 |
| Bills | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Q2 | BUF | Johnson 26-yard pass fromKelly (Norwood kick) | BUF 7–0 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | Walker 55-yard pass fromO'Brien (Leahy kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | Shuler 4-yard pass from O'Brien (Leahy kick) | NYJ 14–7 | |
| Q3 | NYJ | Leahy 29-yard field goal | NYJ 17–7 | |
| Q3 | BUF | Burkett 6-yard pass from Kelly (Norwood kick) | NYJ 17–14 | |
| Q3 | NYJ | Hector 2-yard run (Leahy kick) | NYJ 24–14 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Riddick 2-yard run (Norwood kick) | NYJ 24–21 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Hector 1-yard run (Leahy kick) | NYJ 31–21 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Riddick 1-yard pass from Kelly (Norwood kick) | NYJ 31–28 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
| • Jets | 6 | 0 | 21 | 16 | 43 |
| Q1 | NYJ | Leahy 37-yard field goal | NYJ 3–0 | |
| Q1 | NYJ | Leahy 34-yard field goal | NYJ 6–0 | |
| Q2 | NE | Franklin 32-yard field goal | NYJ 6–3 | |
| Q3 | NYJ | Toon 58-yard pass fromO'Brien (Leahy kick) | NYJ 13–3 | |
| Q3 | NYJ | Hector 5-yard run (Leahy kick) | NYJ 20–3 | |
| Q3 | NE | Tippett 29-yard fumble return (Franklin kick) | NYJ 20–10 | |
| Q3 | NYJ | Hector 9-yard run (Leahy kick) | NYJ 27–10 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Safety,Lyons tackledTatupu in end zone | NYJ 29–10 | |
| Q4 | NE | Baty 1-yard pass fromEason (Franklin kick) | NYJ 29–17 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Fa'aola 1-yard run (Leahy kick) | NYJ 36–17 | |
| Q4 | NE | Starring 12-yard pass from Eason (Franklin kick) | NYJ 36–24 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Fa'aola 1-yard run (Leahy kick) | NYJ 43–24 | |
This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(March 2015) |
This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(March 2015) |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | 10 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
| • Jets | 0 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 37 |
| Q1 | MIA | Beecher 19-yard field goal | MIA 3–0 | |
| Q1 | MIA | Smith 5-yard pass fromMackey (Beecher kick) | MIA 10–0 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | Harper 35-yard pass fromRyan (Ragusa kick) | MIA 10–7 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | E. Hunter 7-yard pass from Ryan (Ragusa kick) | NYJ 14–10 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | Ragusa 34-yard field goal | NYJ 17–10 | |
| Q3 | MIA | Mackey 1-yard run (Beecher kick) | Tie 17–17 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Bligen 7-yard run (Ragusa kick) | NYJ 24–17 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | S. Hunter 5-yard pass from Ryan (Ragusa kick) | NYJ 31–17 | |
| Q4 | MIA | Mackey 5-yard run (Beecher kick) | NYJ 31–24 | |
| Q4 | MIA | Lewis 1-yard pass from Mackey (Beecher kick) | Tie 31–31 | |
| OT | NYJ | E. Hunter 8-yard pass from Ryan | NYJ 37–31 | |
This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(March 2015) |
This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(March 2015) |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| • Jets | 0 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Q2 | NYJ | Townsell 91-yard punt return (Leahy kick) | NYJ 7–0 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | Leahy 35-yard field goal | NYJ 10–0 | |
| Q3 | NYJ | Leahy 36-yard field goal | NYJ 13–0 | |
| Q3 | SEA | Warner 3-yard run (Johnson kick) | NYJ 13–7 | |
| Q3 | SEA | Largent 29-yard pass fromKrieg (Johnson kick) | SEA 14–13 | |
| Q3 | NYJ | Griggs 4-yard pass fromO'Brien (Leahy kick) | NYJ 20–14 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Hector 1-yard run (Leahy kick) | NYJ 27–14 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Leahy 26-yard field goal | NYJ 30–14 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Jets | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 16 |
| Chiefs | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Q1 | NYJ | Leahy 39-yard field goal | NYJ 3–0 | |
| Q2 | KC | Lowery 42-yard field goal | Tie 3–3 | |
| Q3 | KC | Lowery 43-yard field goal | KC 6–3 | |
| Q3 | NYJ | Leahy 24-yard field goal | Tie 6–6 | |
| Q3 | KC | Lowery 18-yard field goal | KC 9–6 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Toon 18-yard pass fromO'Brien (Leahy kick) | NYJ 13–9 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Leahy 21-yard field goal | NYJ 16–9 | |
This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(March 2015) |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| • Jets | 7 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
| Q1 | NYJ | McNeil 18-yard pass fromO'Brien (Leahy kick) | NYJ 7–0 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | Leahy 24-yard field goal | NYJ 10–0 | |
| Q2 | CIN | Brown 17-yard pass fromEsiason (Breech kick) | NYJ 10–7 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | Hector 1-yard run (Leahy kick) | NYJ 17–7 | |
| Q2 | CIN | Breech 31-yard field goal | NYJ 17–10 | |
| Q3 | CIN | Kattus 3-yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick) | Tie 17–17 | |
| Q4 | CIN | Breech 35-yard field goal | CIN 20–17 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Leahy 23-yard field goal | Tie 20–20 | |
| Q4 | NYJ | Miano 67-yard blocked field goal return (Leahy kick) | NYJ 27–20 | |
This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(March 2015) |
This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(March 2015) |
This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(March 2015) |
This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(March 2015) |
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |