1987 San Diego Chargers season

1987 San Diego Chargers season
Owner	Alex Spanos
General manager	Steve Ortmayer
Head coach	Al Saunders
Home field	Jack Murphy Stadium
Results
Record	8–7
Division place	3rd AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1987 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 4–12 record in 1986. The strike of 1987 reduced the regular season schedule from sixteen to fifteen games. Their stadium, Jack Murphy Stadium, hosted Super Bowl XXII at the end of the season.

The Chargers started the season 8–1, with victories over playoff teams Indianapolis and Cleveland, before notoriously losing their final six games of the season, narrowly missing the playoffs. All but one of their final six losses came to teams that made the postseason in 1987.

1987 was the final season for Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts, who had been with the team since 1973, had led the league in passing four times, and who retired only the third quarterback in history to pass for more than 40,000 yards. Also retiring after the season was tight end Kellen Winslow; ending his career after having played since 1979.

Personnel

Staff

1987 San Diego Chargers staff

Front office Chairman of the Board and President – Alex Spanos Director of Football Operations – Steve Ortmayer Assistant Director of Football Operations – Johnny Sanders Director of Player Personnel – Chet Franklin Director of Pro Personnel – Rudy Feldman Head coaches Head Coach – Al Saunders Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Dave Levy Quarterbacks – Roger Theder Running Backs – Bobby Jackson Receivers – Charlie Joiner

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ron Lynn Defensive Line – Gunther Cunningham Linebackers – Mike Haluchak Special teams coaches Special Teams – Wayne Sevier

Roster

1987 San Diego Chargers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Dan Fouts 7 Rick Neuheisel 13 Mark Vlasic Running backs (RB) 20 Barry Redden 43 Tim Spencer FB Wide receivers (WR) 89 Wes Chandler 86 Jamie Holland 81 Timmie Ware Tight ends (TE) 88 Pete Holohan 80 Kellen Winslow

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Ken Dallafior G 70 James Fitzpatrick G 68 Gary Kowalski G 74 Jim Lindsey T 60 Dennis McKnight G Defensive linemen (DL) 78 Chuck Ehin DT 91 Leslie O'Neal DE 75 Joe Phillips NT 99 Lee Williams DE

Linebackers (LB) 56 Chip Banks 50 Gary Plummer ILB 54 Billy Ray Smith, Jr. OLB Defensive backs (DB) 44 Martin Bayless SS 22 Gill Byrd CB 25 Vencie Glenn FS 34 Elvis Patterson CB Special teams 2 Ralf Mojsiejenko P

Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 13, 1987	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 20–13	56,940
2	September 20, 1987	St. Louis Cardinals	W 28–24	47,988
–	September 27, 1987	Seattle Seahawks	canceled
3	October 4, 1987	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 10–9	26,209
4	October 11, 1987	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–13	23,873
5	October 18, 1987	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 23–17	23,541
6	October 25, 1987	Kansas City Chiefs	W 42–21	47,972
7	November 1, 1987	Cleveland Browns	W 27–24	55,381
8	November 8, 1987	at Indianapolis Colts	W 16–13	60,459
9	November 15, 1987	Los Angeles Raiders	W 16–14	60,639
10	November 22, 1987	at Seattle Seahawks	L 34–3	62,444
11	November 29, 1987	Denver Broncos	L 31–17	61,880
12	December 6, 1987	at Houston Oilers	L 33–18	31,714
13	December 13, 1987	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–16	51,605
14	December 20, 1987	Indianapolis Colts	L 20–7	46,211
15	December 27, 1987	at Denver Broncos	L 24–0	21,189

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Denver Broncos(1)	10	4	1	.700	7–1	8–3	379	288	W2
Seattle Seahawks(5)	9	6	0	.600	4–3	5–6	371	314	L1
San Diego Chargers	8	7	0	.533	3–4	6–7	253	317	L6
Los Angeles Raiders	5	10	0	.333	2–6	3–8	301	289	L3
Kansas City Chiefs	4	11	0	.267	3–5	3–9	273	388	W1