| The 1987 season was tumultus for both the Patriots and the NFL. The Patriots ownership situation was in disarray as financial losses mounted. The financial problems would eventually lead the Sullivan family to sell the team in July 1988. The NFL was in an equally sticky situation. The league and players union were at an impasse over the CBA and heading for a strike as the 1987 season kicked off. The main questions surrounding the 1987 Patriots centered around the run game. Could they stop the run or find a running game. The Patriots hosted Dan Marino and the Dophins in week 1. The Dolphins jumped out to a 21-7 first half lead on the strength of three Marino TD passes. Tied at 21 in the third, Ronnie Lippett broke the tie by returning a Dan Marino pass 20 yards for the game winning TD. With the strike on the horizon, the Patriots traveled to Giants Stadium to face the Jets in a Monday Night game. With a chance to take sole possession of first place on the line, the Jets leading 6-3 at half exploded for three 3rd quarter TDs enroute to an easy 43-24 win. After completion of the game, the players went on strike. The owners in an attempt to break the union hired replacement players to play the NFL schedule. After the third week was cancelled, the 'new' Patriots restarted the 1987 season by hosting the Cleveland Browns. The replacement Patriots would fashion a 2-1 record. They followed a 20-10 loss to the Browns with victories over the Bills (14-7) and Oilers (21-7). When the real NFL players returned to the gridiron, the Patriots found themselves tied with the Jets for first place. The Patriots traveled to Indianapolis upon their return and fell into a four way tie for first. The Patriots beat the Raiders 26-23 after Tony Franklin kicked a game winning field goal after the Patriots squandered a 23-6 lead in the 4th. Over the next few weeks, the AFC East saw all five teams falling in and out of the division lead. A 17-10 loss to the Giants dropped the Patriots into a five way tie for the division lead in the AFC East. An 23-17 overtime loss to the Cowboys deceided on a 60 yard run by Herschel Walker saw the Patriots fall out of first. A 24-0 victory over the Colts vaulted the Patriots back into a five way tie for first. The Eagles would visit Foxboro next. Trailing 31-10 in the fourth, the Patriots rallied on two Tom Ramsey TD passes and a one yard plung to tie the game late. The Eagles would laugh last as a they won in OT on a FG that dropped the Patriots out of first for good. With the AFC East still in chaosis, the Patriots traveled to Denver for an important game. A solid effort saw the Patriots with a 20-17 lead entering the 4th. After an Elway pass gave the Broncos a 24-20 lead, Mark Haynes returned a Tom Ramsey pass 14 yards for a game breaking interception TD return. The loss dropped the Patriots two games behind the Colts. Victories over the Jets (42-20), Bills (13-7) and Dolphins (24-10) left the Patriots in second one game behind the Colts and out of the playoffs. |
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| Passing Cmp Att Pct. Yards TDs INTs QBRtg Steve Grogan 93 161 57.8 1183 10 9 69.8 Tom Ramsey 71 134 53.0 898 6 6 63.8 Tony Eason 42 79 53.2 453 3 2 69.9 Bob Bleier 14 39 35.8 181 1 3 27.8 Doug Flutie 15 25 60.0 199 1 0 87.9 Cedric Jones 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 39.6 Mosi Tatupu 1 1 100 15 0 0 118.8 Replacement player only. |
| Rushing Att. Yards AVG TDs Tony Collins 147 474 3.2 3 Reggie Dupard 94 318 3.4 3 Mosi Tatupu 79 248 3.1 0 Bob Perryman 41 187 4.6 0 Michael LeBlanc 49 170 3.5 1 Tom Ramsey 13 75 5.8 1 Irving Fryar 9 52 5.8 0 Bruce Hansen 16 44 2.8 0 Elgin Davis 9 43 4.8 0 Doug Flutie 6 43 7.2 0 Steve Grogan 20 37 1.9 2 Tony Eason 3 25 8.3 0 Chuck McSwain 9 23 2.6 0 Carl Woods 4 20 5.0 1 Stephen Starring 2 13 6.5 0 Craig James 4 10 2.5 0 Rich Camarillo 1 0 0.0 0 Bob Bleier 5 -5 -5.0 1 Todd Whitten 2 -6 -3.0 0 Receiving Rec Yards AVG TDs Tony Collins 44 347 7.9 3 Stanley Morgan 40 672 16.8 3 Irving Fryar 31 467 15.1 5 Cedric Jones 25 388 15.5 3 Stephen Starring 17 289 17.0 3 Mosi Tatupu 15 136 9.1 0 Greg Baty 15 138 9.7 0 Lin Dawson 12 81 6.8 0 Larry Linne 11 158 14.4 2 Willie Scott 5 35 7.0 1 Wayne Coffey 3 66 22.0 0 Dennis Gadbois 3 51 17.0 0 Derwin Williams 3 30 10.0 0 Bob Perryman 3 13 4.3 0 Reggie Dupard 3 1 0.3 0 Todd Frain 2 22 11.0 0 Michael LeBlanc 2 3 1.5 0 Bruce Hansen 1 22 22.0 0 Clay Pickering 1 10 10.0 0 Interceptions Fred Marion 4; Ronnie Lippett 3-2 TDs; Raymond Clayborn 2; Ernest Gibson 2; Jim Bowman 2; Ed Williams 1; Roland James 1; Rod McSwain 1; Ron Shegog 1; Darryl Holmes 1; Johnny Rembert 1; Joe Peterson 1; Perry Williams 1 Sacks Andre Tippett 12.5; Garin Veris 7; Brent Williams 5; Toby Williams 4.5; Ed Reynolds 2; Johnny Rembert 2; Kenneth Sims 1.5; Don Blackmon 1; Ronnie Lippett 1; Jerry McCabe 1; Larry McGrew 1; Murray Wichard 1; Milford Hodge 1; Steve Wilburn 1; Dino Mangiero 1; Jim Bowman 0.5 Kicking XP XPA FG FGA PTS Tony Franklin 40 41 24 30 112 Eric Schubert 1 1 1 2 5 Replacement player only. Miami 28-21 1-0 @N.Y. Jets 24-43 1-1 Cleveland 10-20 1-2 Buffalo 14-7 2-2 @Houston 21-7 3-2 @Indianapolis 16-30 3-3 L.A. Raiders 26-23 4-3 @N.Y. Giants 10-17 4-4 Dallas 17-23 4-5 Indianpolis 24-0 5-5 Philadelphia 31-34 5-6 @Denver 20-31 5-7 N.Y. Jets 42-20 6-7 @Buffalo 13-7 7-7 @Miami 24-10 8-7 Replacement Games Offense Ranking Points: 320 (15 of 28) Run: 513-1771 (20 of 28) Pass: 2929 (26 of 28) Defense Ranking Points: 293 (9 of 28) Run: 490-1778 (14 of 28) Pass: 3438 (20 of 28) |
| AFC East W L T .Pct PF PA Colts 9 6 0 .600 300 238 Dolphins 8 7 0 .533 362 335 Patriots 8 7 0 .533 320 293 Bills 7 8 0 .467 270 305 Jets 6 9 0 .400 334 360 Wildcard Houston 23 Seattle 20 OT Division Playoffs Denver 34 Houston 10 Cleveland 38 Indianapolis 21 AFC Championship Denver 38 Cleveland 33 Superbowl XXI Washington 42 Denver 10 |
| 1987 |
| Roster QB - Bob Bleier QB- Tony Eason QB - Doug Flutie QB - Steve Grogan QB - Tom Ramsey QB - Todd Whitten HB - Frank Bianchini HB - Tony Collins HB - Elgin Davis HB - Reggie Dupard HB - Michael LeBlanc HB - Chuck McSwain HB - Carol Woods FB - Bruce Hansen FB - Craig James FB - Mosi Tatupu FB - Bob Perryman WR - Brian Carey WR - Wayne Coffey WR - Irving Fryar WR - Dennis Gadbois WR - Cedric Jones WR - Larry Linne WR - Stanley Morgan WR - Stephen Starring WR - Darwin Williams TE - Greg Baty TE - Lin Dawson TE - Todd Frain TE - Arnold Franklin TE - Willie Scott T - Bruce Armstron T - George Colton T - Steve Moore T - Art Plunkett T - Greg Robinson T - Danny Villa G - Sean Farrell G - Todd Sandham G - Ron Wooten C - Pete Brock C/G - Paul Fairchild C - Trevro Matich G/C - Guy Morriss C/G - Eric Stokes DE - Julius Adams DE - Milford Hodge DE - Ben Reed DE - Kenneth Sims DE - Bill Turner DE - Garin Veris DE - Steve Wilburn DE - Brent Williams NT/DE - John Guzik NT - Dino Mangiero NT - Tom Porrell NT - Mike Ruth NT - Murray Wichard NT - Toby Williams LB - Rigers Alexander LB - Mel Black LB - Don Blackmon LB - Rico Corsetti LB - Steve Doig LB - Tim Jordan LB - Jerry McCabe LB - Joe McHale LB - Larry McGrew LB - Steve Nelson LB - Johnny Rembert LB - Ed Reynolds LB - Frank Sacco LB - Randy Sealby LB - Andre Tippett LB - Ed Williams DB - Jim Bowman DB - Raymond Clayborn DB - Duffy Cobbs DB - Ermest Gibson DB - David Hendley DB - Roland James DB - Ronnie Lippett DB - Fred Marion DB - Rod McSwain DB - Joe Peterson DB - Eugene Profit DB - Jon Sawyer DB - Ron Shegog DB - Perry Williams P - Rich Camarillo P - Alan Herline K - Tony Franklin K - Eric Schubert Injury FB - Robert Weathers (Ankle) Replacement player only. |
| Pro Bowlers: LB - Andre Tippett WR - Stanley Morgan |
| 1988 |
| Coach: Raymond Berry |
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