This Week in 49ers History: Week 8, 1987

Editor's Note: My apologies to Paul for uploading this after Week 8 is in the books. It is a wonderfully well researched piece and very much worth your time.


The 1987 season was a very interesting one for the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL in general.

The players union called a strike two weeks into the campaign to protest against the league policy on free agents, which caused all Week 3 matchups to be cancelled.

During the three-week strike, club owners were controversially forced to employ replacement players for all games between Week 4 and Week 6, most of which came from the recently defunct USFL.

Once settled, the league returned to normal from week 7, but the impact of the strike had been felt league-wide.

The 1987 San Francisco team still retained many of the players that had been instrumental in the team's two previous Super Bowl wins in the 1980s, but a growing number of players were nearing the end of their effectiveness.

An offensive line that had been the bedrock of all of the Niners' success in the 80s was beginning to wear down. With that in mind, head coach Bill Walsh and the 49ers selected Harris Barton in the first round of the draft.

The North Carolina offensive tackle was the first lineman to be chosen in the opening round by the team since 1968. Alongside Barton, young linemen who had been understudies to the veterans for some time were thrown into starting roles.

Further to remodelling the offensive line, the 49ers also improved their depth at tight end with the addition of Brent Jones.

After being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1986 draft, Jones suffered a neck injury that sidelined the Santa Clara University alumnus for his entire rookie season. Pittsburgh, wary of Jones' neck injury, declined to sign him after the draft and released the rookie less than a month into the 1986 season.

Ever astute, Walsh signed Jones to a contract shortly before the 1987 pre-season and invited him to training camp. Jones would end up playing for the 49ers throughout the 80s and 90s and enjoyed a stellar career.

The most prominent move of the 1987 season came as a result of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' decision to select Miami Hurricanes quarterback Vinny Testaverde first overall in the draft.

Following that selection the Buccaneers deemed incumbent Steve Young surplus to requirements and looked to unload their starting signal-caller.

Walsh, all too aware that Joe Montana would not be around forever after the horrific back injury in 1986 that almost finished his career, moved to acquire Young, with the 49ers trading second and fourth-round picks to bring the southpaw passer to the Bay.

Young would backup Joe Montana for the first four seasons of his 49ers career, before eventually becoming the starter and winning Super Bowl XXIX.

In Week 8 of the 1987 season, the 49ers hosted the Houston Oilers. Coached by Jerry Glanville, the 5-2 Oilers came into Candlestick Park with a high powered offense led by their charismatic quarterback Warren Moon and a potent one-two wide receiver combination of Drew Hill and Ernest Givens, who both finished the season with just under 1000 yards receiving and six touchdowns each.

Accompanying the passing attack, Houston were fortunate to be able to call upon Pro Bowl running back Mike Rozier, who gave the offense a lot of attacking options with his running and pass-catching abilities.

With their only loss coming on opening day, the 49ers held a 6-1 record as they returned home to Candlestick Park for Week 8. Lining up against the in-form Oilers, this game was the highlight of the week's schedule and had been hotly anticipated for weeks.

The game

The Oilers' offense was quick to settle into their stride and moved the ball freely down the field, only to be held up just shy of the goalline. They settled for a 20-yard field goal and scored the first points of the game early in the first quarter.

Not to be outdone, Montana and the 49ers put an effective drive of their own together, capping it off with an eight-yard touchdown pass to fullback Tom Rathman.

Moon could not quite repeat his success of the first quarter and with their drive stalling in midfield, the Oilers had to settle for a 48-yard field goal that brought them to within 1 point of San Francisco.

In what was to become a theme throughout the game, the 49ers found themselves able to move the ball well but Houston were refusing to allow any big plays. Deep into the redzone, Montana somehow managed to find Jerry Rice for a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter and make it 14-6 to San Francisco at the half.

The 49ers continued to move the ball in small doses, with both Roger Craig and Tom Rathman carving out yardage against a Houston defense that found it tough going versus a 49er offensive line that included a rookie and a second-year player at right tackle and right guard respectively. The Oilers finished up with just one sack during the game and allowed 163 rushing yards and 289 pass yards.

Rathman collected his second touchdown catch of the day during the third quarter, propelling the 49ers into a 21-6 lead.

Following half-time adjustments, Moon was able to regain his form from the opening quarter and orchestrated a scoring drive that was completed when Curtis Duncan caught a three-yard pass in the endzone to cut the gap to 21-13 with a quarter still to play.

After the last Houston score and sensing a slight momentum shift towards the visitors, the 49ers defense took it upon themselves to make the difference in the game. Moon was picked off during the fourth quarter with that pick – one of three by the Houston quarterback – converted into a field goal.

Another Ray Wersching three-pointer soon after made the score 27-13 and Houston's aspirations were fading fast.

Moon refused to lie down, though, and regained his poise to guide the Oilers down the field and found wideout Ernest Givens for an eight-yard score, however, it was not enough for the visitors as

the 49ers held out for their 7th win of the season.

The 49ers would end the 1987 season with the top offense and third-ranked defense. Their 13-2 record during the strike-shortened season was the strongest in the entire league and they were clear favourites to go on to win the Super Bowl.

Montana set a career high of 31 touchdowns in the season, even though the campaign was one game shorter than usual.

Meanwhile, Jerry Rice broke the franchise record for the number of points scored by a player in a single season with 138. He also led the NFL by breaking the franchise record for touchdowns with an outstanding 23.

In an upset that still shocks to this day, the 49ers were beaten in the playoffs by the Minnesota Vikings who won by a score of 36-24. It was Joe Gibbs and the Washington Redskins however, who would go on to emerge victorious in Super Bowl XXII, hammering the Denver Broncos 42-10 in San Diego.

Thanks for reading,

Paul Kadwill