1987 NFL season: Difference between revisions

A 24-day [[National Football League Players Association#Gene Upshaw era (1983–2008)|players' strike]] was called after Week 2. The games that were scheduled for the [[Cancelled NFL games|third week of the season were cancelled]], reducing the 16-game season to 15, but the games for Weeks 4, 5 and 6 were played with [[replacement playerplayers]]. The NFLPA actually ended the strike before the Week 6 slate of games, but the NFL owners' unanimously nixed their return that week because the union had missed an owner-mandated deadline that week to be eligible to return, and would have to wait until Week 7 to resume playing. Approximately 15% of the NFLPA’s players chose to cross picket lines to play during the strike; prominent players who did so included New York Jets defensive end [[Mark Gastineau]], Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle [[Randy White (American football)|Randy White]], San Francisco 49ers quarterback [[Joe Montana]], 49ers running back [[Roger Craig (American football)|Roger Craig]], New England Patriots quarterback [[Doug Flutie]] and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver [[Steve Largent]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Merrill|first1=Elizabeth|title=NFL replacements part of history|url=http://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=6642330|publisher=ESPN|access-date=September 16, 2017|date=June 9, 2011}}</ref> The replacement players were mostly those left out of work by the recent folding of the [[Canadian Football League]]’s [[Montreal Alouettes]] and the 1986 dissolution of the [[United States Football League]], as well as others who had been preseason cuts, had long left professional football or were other assorted oddities (such as cinematographer [[Todd Schlopy]], who, despite never playing professional football before or after the strike, served as placekicker for his hometown Buffalo Bills for three games). The replacement players, called to play on short notice and having little chance to jell as teammates, were widely treated with scorn by the press and general public, including name-calling, [[public humiliation|public shaming]] and accusations of being [[strikebreaker|scabs]]. The games played by these replacement players were regarded with even less legitimacy – attendance plummeted to under 10,000 fans at many of the games in smaller markets and cities with strong union presence, including a low of 4,074 for the lone replacement game played [[Veterans Stadium|in Philadelphia]]) — but nonetheless were counted as regular NFL games.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Farnsworth|first1=Clare|title=NFL crossed the line on Replacement Sunday|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/NFL-crossed-the-line-on-Replacement-Sunday-1097669.php|access-date=September 16, 2017|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|date=October 3, 2001}}</ref> Final television revenues were down by about 20%, a smaller drop than the networks had expected.<ref>{{cite news|title=N.F.L. TV Ratings Drop|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/09/sports/nfl-tv-ratings-drop.html|access-date=September 16, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 9, 1987}}</ref> The defending [[Super Bowl]] champion New York Giants went 0–3 in replacement games, ultimately costing them a chance to make the playoffs and to repeat their championship. The final replacement game was a [[Monday Night Football]] matchup on October 19, 1987, with [[1987 Washington Redskins season|the Washington Redskins]] at [[1987 Dallas Cowboys season|the Dallas Cowboys]]. Along with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Redskins were the only other NFL team not to have any players cross the picket line and were surprising 13–7 victors over the Cowboys who had plenty of big name players cross the picket line.