The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee. The newly-renamed Tennessee Oilers played their home games during this season at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee while a new stadium in Nashville began construction.
This was the last season that both NBC and the TNT network held rights to broadcast NFL games. When the TV contracts were renewed near the end of the season, CBS took over the American Football Conference package and ESPN won the right to televise all of the Sunday night games.
Due to Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, the Chicago Bears - Miami Dolphins game at Pro Player Stadium was moved back one day to Monday, October 27.
The Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both changed their uniforms, and the new uniforms for both teams were introduced during this season.
The season ended with Super Bowl XXXII when the Denver Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers.
1997 NFL Season Changes
Washington Redskins - New Stadium called Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.
Pittsburgh Steelers - New font style numbers. Steelers logo patch on uniform.
Tennessee Oilers - Move out Houston to Tennessee. Played in the Liberty Bowl.
Baltimore Ravens - new style numbers with shadow in the back. Wore white pants with road uniforms.
Cincinnati Bengals - Brighter orange to uniform. New Logo, and Bengal logo on sleeve ends.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - New Logo. New Uniforms.
Jacksonville Jaguars - new font style numbers. Black side panels on uniforms.
Atlanta Falcons - New Logo. new stripping on pants. On road uniforms red numbers with black trim.
San Diego Chargers - White pants with road uniforms.
Denver Broncos - New Logo and uniforms.
Miami Dolphins - New Logo with darker aqua. new shadow in the numbers.
1997 Coaching Changes
St. Louis Rams - Dick Vermeil new coach. Replace Rich Brooks who was fired after the 1996 season.
New Orleans Saints - Mike Ditka new coach. Replace the interim head coach who was fired along with Jim Mora that same year.
New York Giants - Jim Fassel new coach. Replace Dan Reeves who was fired after the 96 season.
Atlanta Falcons - Dan Reeves new coach. Replace June Jones who was fired early in the 96 season after dispute with quarterback Jeff George.
New York Jets - Bill Parcells new coach. Replace Rich Kotite who was fired after the 96 season.
Detroit Lions - Bobby Ross new coach. Replace Wayne Fontes who was fired after the 96 season.
San Francisco 49ers - Steve Mariucci new coach. Replace George Seifert who retire after the 96 season.
New England Patriots - Pete Carroll new coach. Replace Bill Parcells who accept the job to coach the Jets.
Major rule changes
- When a team fakes a punt and throws the ball downfield, pass interference will not be called on the two outside defenders who are actually trying to block a coverage man from getting downfield and might not even know the ball has been thrown.
- In order to reduce taunting and excessive celebrations, no player may remove his helmet while on the playing field except during timeouts and between quarters. This is known as the "Emmitt Smith rule" after the Dallas Cowboys' Running Back's habit of taking his helmet off every time he scored a touchdown.
Final regular season standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green
Tiebreakers
- Miami finished ahead of N.Y. Jets in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).
- Pittsburgh finished ahead of Jacksonville in the AFC Central based on better net division points (78 to Jaguars' 23).
- Oakland finished ahead of San Diego in the AFC West based on better division record (2-6 to Chargers' 1-7).
- San Francisco was the top NFC playoff seed based on better conference record than Green Bay (11-1 to Packers' 10-2).
- Detroit finished ahead of Minnesota in the NFC Central based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).
- Carolina finished ahead of Atlanta in the NFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).
Playoffs
-
- Home team in capitals
AFC
NFC
- Wild-Card playoffs: Minnesota 23, N.Y. GIANTS 22; TAMPA BAY 20, Detroit 10
- Divisional playoffs: SAN FRANCISCO 38, Minnesota 22; GREEN BAY 21, Tampa Bay 7
- NFC Championship: Green Bay 23, SAN FRANCISCO 10 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, January 11,1998
Super Bowl
Statistical leaders
Team
| Points scored |
Denver Broncos (472) |
| Total yards gained |
Denver Broncos (5,872) |
| Yards rushing |
Pittsburgh Steelers (2,479) |
| Yards passing |
Seattle Seahawks (3,959) |
| Fewest points allowed |
Kansas City Chiefs (232) |
| Fewest total yards allowed |
San Francisco 49ers (4,013) |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed |
Pittsburgh Steelers (1,318) |
| Fewest passing yards allowed |
Dallas Cowboys (2,522) |
Individual
| Scoring |
Mike Hollis, Jacksonville (134 points) |
| Touchdowns |
Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar, Miami (16 TDs) |
| Most field goals made |
Richie Cunningham, Dallas (34 FGs) |
| Rushing |
Barry Sanders, Detroit, (2,053 yards) |
| Passing |
Steve Young, San Francisco (104.7 rating) |
| Passing touchdowns |
Brett Favre, Green Bay (35 TDs) |
| Pass receiving |
Tim Brown, Oakland and Herman Moore, Detroit (104 catches) |
| Pass receiving yards |
Rob Moore, Arizona (1,584) |
| Punt returns |
Jermaine Lewis, Baltimore (15.6 average yards) |
| Kickoff returns |
Michael Bates, Carolina (27.3 average yards) |
| Interceptions |
Ryan McNeil, St. Louis (9) |
| Punting |
Mark Royals, New Orleans (45.9 average yards) |
| Sacks |
John Randle, Minnesota (15.5) |
Awards
| Most Valuable Players |
Brett Favre, Quarterback, Green Bay and Barry Sanders, Running Back, Detroit |
| Coach of the Year |
Jim Fassel, New York Giants |
| Offensive Player of the Year |
Barry Sanders, Running Back, Detroit |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
Dana Stubblefield, Defensive Tackle, San Francisco |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year |
Warrick Dunn, Running Back, Tampa Bay |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year |
Peter Boulware, Linebacker, Baltimore |
References
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