1987 New York Jets season

1987 New York Jets season
Head coach	Joe Walton
General manager	Jim Kensil
Owner	Leon Hess
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	6–9
Division place	5th AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1987 New York Jets season was the 28th season for the team and the 18th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 10–6 record from 1986 under head coach Joe Walton. The season was marred by a players' strike that resulted in the cancellation of all Week 3 games, as well as Weeks 4 through 6 being played mostly with replacement 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.

Personnel

1987 New York Jets staff
	Front office Owner – Leon Hess President/General Manager – Jim Kensil Head coaches Head Coach – Joe Walton Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Rich Kotite			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bud Carson

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	September 13, 1987	at Buffalo Bills	W 31–28	Rich Stadium	76,718
2	September 21, 1987	New England Patriots	W 43–24	The Meadowlands	70,847
3	September 27, 1987	at Pittsburgh Steelers	Cancelled due to players' strike
4	October 4, 1987	Dallas Cowboys	L 38–24	The Meadowlands	12,370
5	October 11, 1987	at Indianapolis Colts	L 6–0	Hoosier Dome	34,927
6	October 18, 1987	Miami Dolphins	W 37–31 (OT)	The Meadowlands	18,249
7	October 25, 1987	at Washington Redskins	L 17–16	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	53,497
8	November 1, 1987	Indianapolis Colts	L 19–14	The Meadowlands	60,863
9	November 9, 1987	Seattle Seahawks	W 30–14	The Meadowlands	60,452
10	November 15, 1987	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 16–9	Arrowhead Stadium	40,718
11	November 22, 1987	Buffalo Bills	L 17–14	The Meadowlands	58,407
12	November 29, 1987	Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–20	The Meadowlands	41,135
13	December 7, 1987	at Miami Dolphins	L 37–28	Joe Robbie Stadium	62,592
14	December 13, 1987	at New England Patriots	L 42–20	Sullivan Stadium	60,617
15	December 20, 1987	Philadelphia Eagles	L 38–27	The Meadowlands	30,572
16	December 27, 1987	at New York Giants	L 20–7	Giants Stadium	68,318

Season summary

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 0 14 10 7 31 Bills 0 7 7 14 28 Date: September 13 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 70°F; wind 9

Scoring summary Q2 BUF Johnson 26 yard pass from Kelly (Norwood kick) BUF 7–0 Q2 NYJ Walker 55 yard pass from O'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

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 0 3 7 14 24 • Jets 6 0 21 16 43 Date: September 21 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 62°F; wind 10 Television network: ABC

Scoring summary 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 from O'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 tackled Tatupu in end zone NYJ 29–10 Q4 NE Baty 1 yard pass from Eason (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

Week 5

1 2 3 4 OT Total Dolphins 10 0 7 14 0 31 • Jets 0 17 0 14 6 37 Date: October 18 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 61°F; wind 10

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Beecher 19 yard field goal MIA 3–0 Q1 MIA Smith 5 yard pass from Mackey (Beecher kick) MIA 10–0 Q2 NYJ Harper 35 yard pass from Ryan (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

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 0 0 14 0 14 • Jets 0 10 10 10 30 Date: November 9 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 62°F; wind 17 Television network: ABC

Scoring summary 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 from Krieg (Johnson kick) SEA 14–13 Q3 NYJ Griggs 4 yard pass from O'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

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 3 0 3 10 16 Chiefs 0 3 6 0 9 Date: November 15 Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 57°F; wind 16

Scoring summary 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 from O'Brien (Leahy kick) NYJ 13–9 Q4 NYJ Leahy 21 yard field goal NYJ 16–9

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 0 10 7 3 20 • Jets 7 10 0 10 27 Date: November 29 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 45°F; wind 18

Scoring summary Q1 NYJ McNeil 18 yard pass from O'Brien (Leahy kick) NYJ 7–0 Q2 NYJ Leahy 24 yard field goal NYJ 10–0 Q2 CIN Brown 17 yard pass from Esiason (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

Standings

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

Awards and records

• Johnny Hector, Led AFC, Touchdowns, 11 TD’s

External links

• 1987 statistics