| Team: | Detroit Lions |
| Year: | 1987 |
| Record: | 4–11 |
| Division Place: | 5th NFC Central |
| Coach: | Darryl Rogers |
| General Manager: | Russ Thomas |
| Owner: | William Clay Ford Sr. |
| Stadium: | Pontiac Silverdome |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Shortnavlink: | Lions seasons |
The 1987 Detroit Lions season was the 58th season in franchise history. In a strike-affected season, the Lions fell one game further from their 1986 record of 5–11, winning only four games and missing the postseason for the fourth consecutive season. Their week 3 game against long-time rival Chicago was the game affected by the strike, and as a result the Bears and Lions only met once during the season, the only season during the rivalry that the teams haven't met twice in a season. Highlights of their second matchup with Chicago were later shown during the Max Headroom signal hijacking that occurred across the city of Chicago that night.
See main article: 1987 NFL draft. [1]
| Karl Bernard | Running back | Southwestern Louisiana | |
| Lee Saltz | Quarterback | Temple |
After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 34–19 | 0—1 | 57,061 | |
| 2 | September 20 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 27–7 | 0—2 | 50,300 | |
| – | September 27 | Chicago Bears | canceled due to strike | |||
| 3 | October 4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 31–27 | 0—3 | 4,919 | |
| 4 | October 11 | at Green Bay Packers | W 19–16 OT | 1—3 | 35,779 | |
| 5 | October 18 | Seattle Seahawks | L 37–14 | 1—4 | 8,310 | |
| 6 | October 25 | Green Bay Packers | L 34–33 | 1—5 | 27,278 | |
| 7 | November 1 | at Denver Broncos | L 34–0 | 1—6 | 75,172 | |
| 8 | November 8 | Dallas Cowboys | W 27–17 | 2—6 | 45,325 | |
| 9 | November 15 | at Washington Redskins | L 20–13 | 2—7 | 53,593 | |
| 10 | November 22 | at Chicago Bears | L 30–10 | 2—8 | 63,357 | |
| 11 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 27–20 | 2—9 | 43,820 | ||
| 12 | December 6 | Los Angeles Rams | L 37–16 | 2—10 | 33,413 | |
| 13 | December 13 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 20–10 | 3—10 | 41,699 | |
| 14 | December 20 | Minnesota Vikings | L 17–14 | 4—10 | 27,693 | |
| 15 | December 27 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 30–13 | 4—11 | 13,906 | |
| Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. | ||||||