# 1987 Los Angeles Raiders season

The 1987 Los Angeles Raiders season was the franchise's strike-shortened 28th season overall, and the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League. They finished with a disappointing record of 5–10 (the team's worst finish since Al Davis arrived in 1963). It was only the sixth losing season in franchise history.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

Since he did not sign with a team by the 1987 draft, Bo Jackson's rights were forfeited by Tampa Bay and his name was thrown back into the draft. The Raiders selected Jackson in the seventh round with the 183rd overall pick. Raiders owner Al Davis supported Jackson and his baseball career and got Jackson to sign a contract by offering him a salary that was comparable to a full-time starting running back but allowing Jackson to only play part-time until the baseball season was done.
1987 Los Angeles Raiders draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 15 | John Clay | Offensive tackle | Missouri |
| 2 | 52 | Bruce Wilkerson | Offensive tackle | Tennessee |
| 3 | 81 | Steve Smith | Running back | Penn State |
| 4 | 110 | Steve Beuerlein | Quarterback | Notre Dame |
| 9 | 238 | Scott Eccles | Tight end | Eastern New Mexico |
| 10 | 254 | Rob Harrison | Defensive back | Sacramento State |
| 10 | 265 | John Gesek | Guard | Sacramento State |
| 10 | 273 | Jim Ellis | Linebacker | Boise State |
| 11 | 288 | Chris McLemore | Running back | Arizona |
| 11 | 294 | Mario Perry | Tight end | Mississippi |
| 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:

### Roster
## Regular season

Joining the Raiders midway through the 1987 season, Bo Jackson rushed for 554 yards on 81 carries in just seven games. Over the next three seasons, Bo Jackson would rush for 2,228 more yards and 12 touchdowns: a remarkable achievement, in light of the fact that he was a "second string" player behind Raiders legend Marcus Allen.
Jackson turned in a 221-yard rushing performance on Monday Night Football in 1987 against the Seattle Seahawks. During this game, he ran over Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth, who had insulted Jackson and promised in a media event before the game to contain Jackson. He also made a 91-yard run to the outside, untouched down the sideline. He continued sprinting until finally slowing down as he passed through the entrance to the field tunnel to the dressing rooms with teammates soon following. Jackson scored two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown in the game.

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 13 | at Green Bay Packers | W 20–0 | 1–0 | Lambeau Field | 54,983 | Recap |
| 2 | September 20 | Detroit Lions | W 27–7 | 2–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 50,300 | Recap |
| – | September 27 | at Houston Oilers | Canceled | 2–0 | Houston Astrodome | Houston Astrodome | Houston Astrodome |
| 3 | October 4 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 35–17 | 3–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 10,708 | Recap |
| 4 | October 12 | at Denver Broncos | L 14–30 | 3–1 | Mile High Stadium | 61,230 | Recap |
| 5 | October 18 | San Diego Chargers | L 17–23 | 3–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 23,541 | Recap |
| 6 | October 25 | Seattle Seahawks | L 13–35 | 3–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 52,735 | Recap |
| 7 | November 1 | at New England Patriots | L 23–26 | 3–4 | Sullivan Stadium | 60,664 | Recap |
| 8 | November 8 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 20–31 | 3–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 57,150 | Recap |
| 9 | November 15 | at San Diego Chargers | L 14–16 | 3–6 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 60,639 | Recap |
| 10 | November 22 | Denver Broncos | L 17–23 | 3–7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 61,318 | Recap |
| 11 | November 30 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 37–14 | 4–7 | Kingdome | 62,802 | Recap |
| 12 | December 6 | Buffalo Bills | W 34–21 | 5–7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 43,143 | Recap |
| 13 | December 13 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 10–16 | 5–8 | Arrowhead Stadium | 63,834 | Recap |
| 14 | December 20 | Cleveland Browns | L 17–24 | 5–9 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 40,275 | Recap |
| 15 | December 27 | Chicago Bears | L 3–6 | 5–10 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 78,019 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Raiders | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Packers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Marcus Allen 33 Rush, 136 Yds

#### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Raiders | 7 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 37 |
| Seahawks | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### Standings

AFC West :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |

## Awards and records

* Howie Long, AFC Pro Bowl selection