1997 Green Bay Packers season

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. 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. 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 1112-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 losses in four previous Super Bowls. 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. The Packers became the first team to have six NFL MVP award winners.

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

Offseason

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.

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

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

Rookies and first-year players 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.

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 9 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

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, wind 8
  • Television network: FOX

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; wind 15
  • Television network: Fox

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
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 degrees, relative humidity 79%, wind 17 mph

NFC Championship Game at. San Francisco 49ers

NFC Championship at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
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 degrees, relative humidity 90%, wind 10 mph

Super Bowl XXXII vs. Denver Broncos

Super Bowl XXXII vs. Denver Broncos – Game summary
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 degrees, relative humidity 79%, wind 6 mph

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


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