# 1987 Miami Dolphins season

The 1987 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 22nd as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 8–8, losing one fewer game. Despite the improvement the team failed to reach the playoffs. This was also the first season the Dolphins played their home games at Joe Robbie Stadium. Their first game at Joe Robbie Stadium was scheduled to open the stadium against the defending champion New York Giants but the 1987 strike resulted in all games from week 3 being permanently cancelled. So the first contest at the new venue involved replacement players, as 25,867 fans saw the Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs. The Dolphins finally played a 1987 home game with the regular players in week 6, losing in overtime to the Buffalo Bills.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1987 Miami Dolphins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 16 | John Bosa | Defensive end | Boston College |
| 2 | 43 | Rick Graf | Linebacker | Wisconsin |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Personnel
### NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
* Kyle Mackey, whose father, Dee Mackey, played for Don Shula with the Baltimore Colts, served as a replacement quarterback.

### Roster
## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 13 | at New England Patriots | L 21–28 | 0–1 | Sullivan Stadium | 54,642 |
| 2 | September 20 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 23–10 | 1–1 | Hoosier Dome | 57,524 |
| – | September 27 | New York Giants | canceled | 1–1 | Joe Robbie Stadium | |
| 3 | October 4 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 20–24 | 1–2 | Kingdome | 19,448 |
| 4 | October 11 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 42–0 | 2–2 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 25,867 |
| 5 | October 18 | at New York Jets | L 31–37 (OT) | 2–3 | Giants Stadium | 18,249 |
| 6 | October 25 | Buffalo Bills | L 31–34 (OT) | 2–4 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 61,295 |
| 7 | November 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 35–24 | 3–4 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 52,578 |
| 8 | November 8 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 20–14 | 4–4 | Riverfront Stadium | 53,840 |
| 9 | November 15 | Indianapolis Colts | L 21–40 | 4–5 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 65,433 |
| 10 | November 22 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 20–14 | 5–5 | Texas Stadium | 56,519 |
| 11 | November 29 | at Buffalo Bills | L 0–27 | 5–6 | Rich Stadium | 68,055 |
| 12 | December 7 | New York Jets | W 37–28 | 6–6 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 62,592 |
| 13 | December 13 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–10 | 7–6 | Veterans Stadium | 63,841 |
| 14 | December 20 | Washington Redskins | W 23–21 | 8–6 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 65,715 |
| 15 | December 28 | New England Patriots | L 10–24 | 8–7 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 61,192 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Season summary
### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dolphins | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| • Patriots | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
Miami Dolphins punter Reggie Roby injured in the game, forcing Don Strock to punt in the emergency situation. Additionally, with 2:22 left in the game Dan Marino was injured forcing Strock to fill in at the quarterback position as well, nearly mounting a winning comeback drive.

### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| • Bills | 0 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 34 |
| Dolphins | 14 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 31 |

### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • Dolphins | 0 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 23 |
* Dan Marino 22/50, 393 Yds
* Mark Duper 6 Rec, 170 Yds

## Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |