1997 Green Bay Packers season
OwnerGreen Bay Packers, Inc.
PresidentBob Harlan
General managerRon Wolf
Head coachMike Holmgren
Home fieldLambeau Field
Results
Record13–3
Division place1st NFC Central
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Buccaneers) 21–7
Won NFC Championship
(at 49ers) 23–10
Lost Super Bowl XXXII
(vs. Broncos) 24–31
Pro BowlersQB Brett Favre
ST Dorsey Levens
TE Mark Chmura
SS LeRoy Butler

The 1997 Green Bay Packers season was their 79th season overall and their 77th in the National Football League (NFL). The season concluded with the team winning its second consecutive NFC championship, but losing 31–24 to John Elway's Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII.[1] The heavily favored team narrowly missed its opportunity to post back-to-back Super Bowl wins.

After a dominating 1996 campaign which ended with a victory in Super Bowl XXXI, many expected the Packers to repeat as champions in 1997. During training camp, star safety LeRoy Butler, among others, said that the Packers had the chance to run the table and go 19–0. This opinion drew increased coverage from the media as the Packers notched impressive victories in all five preseason games. The undefeated hype ended quickly, however, when Green Bay lost week 2 in Philadelphia.

Following a relatively slow 3–2 start, the Packers caught fire in the second half of the season, finishing with a 13–3 regular season record and 8–0 home record for the second consecutive year. In the playoffs, Green Bay defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lambeau Field in the divisional round, and San Francisco 49ers at 3Com Park in the NFC Championship. Some in the media dubbed the NFC title game as "the real Super Bowl" because of the 49ers' and Packers' league dominance, and the relative inferiority of the AFC in recent Super Bowls. Green Bay's win marked the third consecutive year the team had defeated San Francisco in the playoffs.

The Packers entered Super Bowl XXXII as 111⁄2-point favorites. The point spread was likely determined by Green Bay's victory in the previous Super Bowl, the AFC's string of 13 consecutive Super Bowl losses, and Denver's blowout losses in their four previous Super Bowls appearances. The game itself was a seesaw battle, and one of the most exciting Super Bowls in history. The Broncos won the thriller 31–24, earning John Elway his first Super Bowl victory at the age of 37, and the first championship in franchise history. Years later, Brett Favre said the Broncos were far underrated, and credited Denver's innovative blitz packages and strategies, foreign to the league at that time, for confusing the Packers.

Packers' quarterback Brett Favre was named the league's MVP for the third year in a row in 1997. Favre is the first and only player in the history of the award to win three MVPs consecutively.[2] The Packers became the first team to have six NFL MVP award winners.[3]

The 1997 Packers are one of only two teams in NFL history[4] to win seven games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs.[5]

Offseason

1997 NFL draft

Main article: 1997 NFL draft

Despite picking last in the 1997 NFL draft, the Packers did well, picking up future all-pro tackle Ross Verba and free safety Darren Sharper.[6]

1997 NFL draft selections
Round Sel# Player Pos. College
1 30 Ross Verba T Iowa
2 60 Darren Sharper FS William & Mary
3 90 Brett Conway K Penn State
4 126 Jermaine Smith DT Georgia
5 160 Anthony Hicks LB Arkansas
7 213 Chris Miller WR Southern California
7 231 Terrance Lucas CB Montana State
7 240 Ronnie McAda QB Army

Ronnie McAda was Mr. Irrelevant.

Undrafted free agents

1997 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Randy Kinder Running back Notre Dame

Staff

1997 Green Bay Packers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

[7] [8]

Roster

1997 Green Bay Packers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Injured Reserve

Practice squad

53 active, 6 inactive, 4 practice squad

Rookies in italics

Schedule

Preseason

Date Opponent Result Game site Record Attendance
August 1, 1997 Miami Dolphins W 20–0 Lambeau Field 1–0 59,089
August 8, 1997 New England Patriots W 7–3 Lambeau Field 2–0 60,778
August 16, 1997 at Oakland Raiders W 37–24 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 3–0 42,956
August 24, 1997 at Buffalo Bills W 35–3 SkyDome 4–0 53,896
August 28, 1997 New York Giants W 22–17 Camp Randall Stadium 5–0 76,704

Regular season

The Packers finished the 1997 regular season with a 13–3 record, clinching first place in the NFC Central division, as well as a first-round playoff bye.[9]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 1 Chicago Bears W 38–24 1–0 Lambeau Field 60,766
2 September 7 at Philadelphia Eagles L 9–10 1–1 Veterans Stadium 66,803
3 September 14 Miami Dolphins W 23–18 2–1 Lambeau Field 60,075
4 September 21 Minnesota Vikings W 38–32 3–1 Lambeau Field 60,115
5 September 28 at Detroit Lions L 15–26 3–2 Pontiac Silverdome 78,110
6 October 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 21–16 4–2 Lambeau Field 60,100
7 October 12 at Chicago Bears W 24–23 5–2 Soldier Field 62,212
8 Bye
9 October 27 at New England Patriots W 28–10 6–2 Foxboro Stadium 59,972
10 November 2 Detroit Lions W 20–10 7–2 Lambeau Field 60,126
11 November 6 St. Louis Rams W 17–7 8–2 Lambeau Field 60,093
12 November 16 at Indianapolis Colts L 38–41 8–3 RCA Dome 60,928
13 November 23 Dallas Cowboys W 45–17 9–3 Lambeau Field 60,111
14 December 1 at Minnesota Vikings W 27–11 10–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 64,001
15 December 7 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–6 11–3 Houlihan's Stadium 73,523
16 December 14 at Carolina Panthers W 31–10 12–3 Ericsson Stadium 70,887
17 December 20 Buffalo Bills W 31–21 13–3 Lambeau Field 60,108

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
Bears 0 11013 24
• Packers 3 15614 38
Scoring summary
1GBRyan Longwell 38 yard field goalPackers 3–0
2CHIRaymont Harris 1 yard run (Jim Flanigan pass from Todd Sauerbrun)Bears 8–3
2GBJeff Thomason 1 yard pass from Brett Favre (Dorsey Levens pass from Brett Favre)Packers 11–8
2CHIJeff Jaeger 42 yard field goalTie 11–11
2GBRobert Brooks 18 yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick)Packers 18–11
3GBRyan Longwell 36 yard field goalPackers 21–11
3GBRyan Longwell 29 yard field goalPackers 24–11
4GBDorsey Levens 1 yard run (Ryan Longwell kick)Packers 31–11
4CHIRicky Proehl 22 yard pass from Erik Kramer (pass failed)Packers 31–17
4GBGabe Wilkins 1 yard fumble return (Ryan Longwell kick)Packers 38–17
4CHIRaymont Harris 68 yard run (Jeff Jaeger kick)Packers 38–24

[10]

Week 2

1 234Total
Packers 0 630 9
• Eagles 0 037 10
  • Date: September 7
  • Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 66,803
  • Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Television network: FOX
Scoring summary
2GBRyan Longwell 22 yard field goalPackers 3–0
2GBRyan Longwell 18 yard Field GoalPackers 6–0
3PHIChris Boniol 32 yard Field GoalPackers 6–3
3GBRyan Longwell 27 yard Field GoalPackers 9–3
4PHIFreddie Solomon 2 yard pass from Ty Detmer (Chris Boniol Kick)Eagles 10–9

[11]

Week 7

1 234Total
• Packers 0 1473 24
Bears 10 076 23
  • Date: October 12
  • Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 62,212
  • Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C); wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
  • Television network: Fox
Scoring summary
Q1CHIRaymont Harris 1 yard run (Jeff Jaeger kick)CHI 7–0
Q1CHIJeff Jaeger 41 yard field goalCHI 10–0
Q2GBMark Chmura 2 yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick)CHI 10–7
Q2GBDorsey Levens 1 yard run (Ryan Longwell kick)GB 14–10
Q3CHIErik Kramer 3 yard run (Jeff Jaeger kick)CHI 17–14
Q3GBMark Chmura 12 yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick)GB 21–17
Q4GBRyan Longwell 37 yard field goalGB 24–17
Q4CHIChris Penn 22 yard pass from Erik Kramer (pass failed)GB 24–23

[12]

Week 12

The Packers suffered a shocking loss to the 0–10 Indianapolis Colts, but did not lose another game until the Super Bowl.

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) Green Bay Packers 13 3 0 .813 422 282 W5
(4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 6 0 .625 299 263 W1
(5) Detroit Lions 9 7 0 .563 379 306 W2
(6) Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 .563 354 359 W1
Chicago Bears 4 12 0 .250 263 421 L1

Playoffs

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Stadium Attendance
Wild Card First-round bye
NFC Divisional Playoff January 4, 1998 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4) W 21–7 1–0 Lambeau Field 60,327
NFC Championship Game January 11, 1998 San Francisco 49ers (1) W 23–10 2–0 Candlestick Park 68,987
Super Bowl XXXII January 25, 1998 Denver Broncos (A4) L 31–24 2–1 Qualcomm Stadium 68,912

NFC Divisional Game vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC Divisional Game vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 0 707
Packers 7 6 0821

at Lambeau Field

  • Date: January 4, 1998
  • Game time: 11:30 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 27 °F (−3 °C), relative humidity 79%, wind 17 mph (27 km/h)

NFC Championship Game at. San Francisco 49ers

NFC Championship at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 3 10 01023
49ers 0 3 0710

at 3Com Park

  • Date: January 11, 1998
  • Game time: 1 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), relative humidity 90%, wind 10 mph (16 km/h)

Super Bowl XXXII vs. Denver Broncos

Super Bowl XXXII vs. Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 7 7 3724
Broncos 7 10 7731

at Qualcomm Stadium

  • Date: January 25, 1998
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), relative humidity 79%, wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)

The Packers advanced to their fourth Super Bowl appearance, which was also their second consecutive appearance. Despite being favored by double digits, they were denied their fourth ring, as well as their second consecutive championship, by John Elway and the Denver Broncos, who defeated them 31–24. To date, the loss is the only Packers' Super Bowl loss in team history.

Awards and records

References

  1. ^ "Super Bowl XXXII – Denver 31, Green Bay 24". Archived from the original on February 9, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  2. ^ "List of APMVP winners". sportsline.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  3. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 400
  4. ^ 1998 Jets
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, team won game, in games against playoff teams only, only in games against teams with winning record for season, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.
  6. ^ "NFL Draft History – Green Bay Packers". NFL.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  7. ^ "Administration and Coaching Staff". Green Bay Packers 1997 Official Media Guide. pp. 6–37.
  8. ^ "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  9. ^ "1997 NFL Standings". NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  10. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  11. ^ "Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles – September 7th, 1997". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-14.
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