1987 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1987 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Football League and their 42nd overall. The 49ers won the division for the second consecutive season, and ended the season as the top seed in the NFC playoffs. The season ended with an upset loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round of the playoffs.

1987 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerEdward J. DeBartolo Jr.
Head coachBill Walsh
Home fieldCandlestick Park
Results
Record13–2
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Vikings) 24–36
Pro BowlersQB Joe Montana
WR Jerry Rice
RB Roger Craig
NT Michael Carter
FS Ronnie Lott

The season

The 49ers lost the first game of the season to Pittsburgh. In their second game, against Cincinnati, it appeared that they were going to start the season 0–2, down by 6 points with just 2 seconds to play. However, quarterback Joe Montana threw a 25-yard pass to wide receiver Jerry Rice as time expired. The 49ers used the victory as a springboard to a 13–1 run to end the season with the best record in the NFL.

The 49ers scored 459 points, the most in the NFL in 1987; they also scored 206 more points than they allowed, best in the league as well. The 49ers gained the most total yards (5,987), the most rushing yards (2,237) and second most passing yards (3,750) in the NFL in 1987.[1]

Wide receiver Jerry Rice was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year and the Bert Bell Award (for Player of the Year). Rice caught 22 touchdown passes in a strike-shortened 12 games (1 game was canceled because of the strike, and Rice didn't play in the next 3 games while the strike was on). This record stood for twenty years.[lower-alpha 1] Rice led the league in receiving yards per game (89.8), total touchdowns (23: 22 receiving, 1 rushing), and points scored (138). Quarterback Joe Montana (who crossed the picket line during the strike) led the league with 31 touchdown passes. He also led the league in passer rating (102.1) and completion percentage (66.8%).

The San Francisco defense was also very strong, surrendering the fewest total yards (4,095), fewest passing yards (2,484) and fifth-fewest rushing yards (1,611) in the NFL in 1987. The 1987 49ers have the best passer rating differential (offensive passer rating minus opponents' combined passer rating) of the Live Ball Era (1978–present), with +52.4.[2]

Offseason

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected quarterback Vinny Testaverde first overall in the 1987 NFL Draft, Tampa Bay quarterback Steve Young was traded to the 49ers on April 24, 1987. The Buccaneers received 2nd and 4th round draft picks in the trade, which they used to draft Miami linebacker Winston Moss, and Arizona State wide receiver Bruce Hill.

NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

1987 San Francisco 49ers staff
Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Bill Walsh

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway

NFL replacement players

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

1987 San Francisco 49ers replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Roster

1987 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 83 Derrick Crawford WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 62 Guy McIntyre G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 88 Calvin Nicholas WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

In 1987, Jerry Rice led the NFL with 22 touchdown receptions. The runner-up was Philadelphia Eagles receiver Mike Quick with 11. This marked the first time in NFL history that a category leader doubled the total of his nearest competitor.[4]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 13 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–30 0–1 Three Rivers Stadium 55,735
2 September 20 at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–26 1–1 Riverfront Stadium 53,498
September 27 Philadelphia Eagles Canceled
3 October 5 at New York Giants W 41–21 2–1 Giants Stadium 16,471
4 October 11 at Atlanta Falcons W 25–17 3–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 8,684
5 October 18 St. Louis Cardinals W 34–28 4–1 Candlestick Park 38,094
6 October 25 at New Orleans Saints W 24–22 5–1 Louisiana Superdome 60,497
7 November 1 at Los Angeles Rams W 31–10 6–1 Anaheim Stadium 55,328
8 November 8 Houston Oilers W 27–20 7–1 Candlestick Park 59,740
9 November 15 New Orleans Saints L 24–26 7–2 Candlestick Park 60,436
10 November 22 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–10 8–2 Tampa Stadium 63,211
11 November 29 Cleveland Browns W 38–24 9–2 Candlestick Park 60,248
12 December 6 at Green Bay Packers W 23–12 10–2 Lambeau Field 51,118
13 December 14 Chicago Bears W 41–0 11–2 Candlestick Park 63,509
14 December 20 Atlanta Falcons W 35–7 12–2 Candlestick Park 54,698
15 December 27 Los Angeles Rams W 48–0 13–2 Candlestick Park 57,950
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 2

1 234Total
49ers 0 7137 27
Bengals 10 1006 26

[5]

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Francisco 49ers(1) 13 2 0 .867 5–1 10–1 459 253 W6
New Orleans Saints(4) 12 3 0 .800 4–1 8–3 426 283 W9
Los Angeles Rams 6 9 0 .400 1–5 5–7 317 361 L2
Atlanta Falcons 3 12 0 .200 1–4 3–8 205 436 L3

Postseason

NFC Divisional Playoff vs Minnesota Vikings

NFC Divisional Round: Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 3 17 10636
49ers 3 0 14724

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA

The 13–2 49ers suffered one of the biggest upsets in playoff history as the 8–7 Vikings came into Candlestick and beat the 49ers 36–24. Vikings QB Wade Wilson threw for 298 yards, and Anthony Carter caught 10 passes for 227 yards. Joe Montana struggled so much that Steve Young came in to relieve him. Though he played better, it wasn't enough. The Vikings took a 20–3 halftime lead, and held on for the major upset.

Awards and records

Notes

  1. This record was broken by Randy Moss in 2007, with his 22nd and 23rd TD receptions occurring in the 16th and final game of the season.

References

  1. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1987 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
  2. Byrne, Kerry (June 11, 2012). "40 and Fabulous: in praise of passer rating". Cold Hard Football Facts. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  3. 1990 NFL Pro Set Harris Barton trading card, Card No. 284, Pro Set Properties
  4. Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
  5. "San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati Bengals - September 20th, 1987". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  6. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 142
  7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 447
  8. "Bert Bell Award – Professional Player of the Year: Past Recipients". Maxwell Football Club. Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
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