1997 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
General managerJohn Butler
Head coachMarv Levy
Home fieldRich Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersG Ruben Brown
DE Bruce Smith
DT Ted Washington

The 1997 Buffalo Bills season was their 38th in the league. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 10–6, instead falling to 6–10.[1] They missed the playoffs for only the second time in ten seasons. 1997 was Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy's final year as the team's head coach.

This for first since 1985 Jim Kelly was not on the opening day roster.

Todd Collins started at quarterback for the Bills in their first season in the post-Jim Kelly era. The Bills also signed Oakland's Billy Joe Hobert to challenge Collins for the starting job. Third-string quarterback Alex Van Pelt also saw playing time with three starts in Collins' absence.

Hobert's contract was terminated after Week Seven, in which Hobert was backing up an injured Collins, and after the game revealed to the media that he had not studied the playbook. Hobert was released the next day.[2]

One of the most memorable games in Buffalo Bills history occurred in Week Four against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts roared to a 26–0 lead in the second quarter, before the Bills went on a 37–3 run, ultimately taking the lead 37–29 with 1:15 remaining in the game. The Colts closed to within two, but missed a two-point conversion, giving Buffalo a two-point victory.[3] The game was the third-greatest regular season comeback in NFL history (third only to a 33-point comeback by the 2022 Vikings and a 28-point comeback by the 1980 49ers), and the second greatest in team history (second to "The Comeback" in the 1992 playoffs.)[4]

Offseason

Prior to the 1997 season, long-time quarterback (and future Hall of Famer) Jim Kelly announced his retirement from professional football. This left the Bills forced to find a different opening day starting quarterback for the first time since 1985. Third-year quarterback Todd Collins started the season, and the Bills signed former Raiders quarterback Billy Joe Hobert, whose contract was terminated after a Week Seven loss to New England.

NFL Draft

Main article: 1997 NFL Draft
= Pro Bowler [5]

One notable player that was not drafted by the Bills, but debuted for the team in 1997, was future Pro Bowl defensive tackle Pat Williams, who played with the team for eight seasons.

1997 Buffalo Bills Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 23 Antowain Smith RB Houston
2 52 Marcellus Wiley[6] DE Columbia
4 120 Jamie Nails OL Florida A&M
5 153 Sean Woodson DB Jackson State
6 185 Marcus Spriggs G Houston
7 226 Pat Fitzgerald TE Texas

Roster

1997 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

53 active, 7 inactive, 1 practice squad


Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance Record
1 August 31, 1997 Minnesota Vikings L 34–13
79,139
 0-1
2 September 7, 1997 at New York Jets W 28–22
72,988
 1-1
3 September 14, 1997 at Kansas City Chiefs L 22–16
78,169
 1-2
4 September 21, 1997 Indianapolis Colts W 37–35
55,340
 2-2
5 Bye
6 October 5, 1997 Detroit Lions W 22–13
78,025
 3-2
7 October 12, 1997 at New England Patriots L 33–6
59,802
 3-3
8 October 20, 1997 at Indianapolis Colts W 9–6
61,139
 4-3
9 October 26, 1997 Denver Broncos L 23–20
78,458
 4-4
10 November 2, 1997 Miami Dolphins W 9–6
78,011
 5-4
11 November 9, 1997 New England Patriots L 31–10
65,783
 5-5
12 November 17, 1997 at Miami Dolphins L 30–13
74,155
 5-6
13 November 23, 1997 at Tennessee Oilers L 31–14
23,571
 5-7
14 November 30, 1997 New York Jets W 20–10
47,776
 6-7
15 December 7, 1997 at Chicago Bears L 20–3
39,784
 6-8
16 December 14, 1997 Jacksonville Jaguars L 20–14
41,231
 6-9
17 December 20, 1997 at Green Bay Packers L 31–21
60,108
 6-10

Game summaries

Week 2

1 234Total
• Bills 0 1477 28
Jets 3 1063 22
Scoring summary
1NYJJohn Hall 27 yard field goalJets 3–0
2NYJDedric Ward 19 yard pass from Neil O'Donnell (John Hall kick)Jets 10–0
2BUFThurman Thomas 2 yard run (Steve Christie kick)Jets 10–7
2BUFAndre Reed 10 yard pass from Todd Collins (Steve Christie kick)Bills 14–10
2NYJJohn Hall 19 yard field goalBills 14–13
3BUFQuinn Early 19 yard pass from Todd Collins (Steve Christie kick)Bills 21–13
3NYJAaron Glenn 96 yard kickoff return (run failed)Bills 21–19
4NYJJohn Hall 52 yard field goalJets 22–21
4BUFJay Riemersma 10 yard pass from Todd Collins (Steve Christie kick)Bills 28–22

[7]

Week 3

Starting QBs -> Buffalo Bills: Todd Collins (quarterback) / Kansas City Chiefs: Elvis Grbac

Vegas Line: Kansas City Chiefs -4.5

Over/Under: 40.0 (under)

Buffalo Bills (1-1) at Kansas City Chiefs (1-1)
1 234Total
Bills 0 376 16
• Chiefs 6 3013 22

[8]

[9]

Team Category Player Statistics
Bills Passing Todd Collins (quarterback) 22/43, 297 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Antowain Smith 11 carries, 30 yards
Receiving Andre Reed 4 receptions, 113 yards, 1 TD
Chiefs Passing Elvis Grbac 20/37, 179 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Greg Hill (running back) 17 carries, 59 yards
Receiving Andre Rison 5 receptions, 75 yards

[10]

Statistics Bills Chiefs
First downs 16 17
Plays–yards 66-325 62-267
Rushes–yards 23-50 25-107
Passing yards 275 160
Passing: comp–att–int 22-43-2 20-37-0
Time of possession 31:32 28:28

[11]

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) New England Patriots 10 6 0 .625 369 289 W1
(6) Miami Dolphins 9 7 0 .563 339 327 L2
New York Jets 9 7 0 .563 348 287 L1
Buffalo Bills 6 10 0 .375 255 367 L3
Indianapolis Colts 3 13 0 .188 313 401 L1

References

  1. ^ 1997 Buffalo Bills
  2. ^ David Fleming, Breaking down the Bills' QB situation ESPN.com, September 23, 2010, "the infamous Billy Joe Hobert who promptly threw a pick on his first pass leading to a 33–6 blowout loss, after which Billy Joe admitted (awesomely, I might add) that he hadn't actually, you know, opened his playbook that week" | retrieved January 9, 2012
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: Indianapolis Colts 35 at Buffalo Bills 37, Sunday, September 21, 1997
  4. ^ YouTube: Buffalo Bills NFL Primetime 8
  5. ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  6. ^ Made Pro Bowl with San Diego in 2001
  7. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  8. ^ [1]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-06.
  9. ^ [2]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-06.
  10. ^ [3]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-06.
  11. ^ [4]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-06.
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