1997 Green Bay Packers season

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. Denver was also aided by a salary-cap cheating scandal.^[2][3]

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.^[4] The Packers became the first team to have six NFL MVP award winners.^[5]

The 1997 Packers are one of only two teams in NFL history^[6] to win seven games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs.^[7]

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.^[8]

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 President and chief executive officer – Bob Harlan Executive vice president and general manager – Ron Wolf Vice president of administration and chief financial officer – Mike Reinfeldt Director of player personnel – Ted Thompson Director of pro personnel – Reggie McKenzie Director of college scouting – John Dorsey Head coaches Head coach – Mike Holmgren Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Sherman Lewis Quarterbacks – Andy Reid Running backs – Harry Sydney Wide receivers – Gil Haskell Offensive line – Tom Lovat Assistant offensive line/tight ends – Mike Sherman

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Fritz Shurmur Defensive line – Larry Brooks Linebackers – Jim Lind Defensive backs/secondary – Bob Valesente Defensive assistant/quality control – Johnny Holland Special teams coaches Special teams – Nolan Cromwell Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Kent Johnston Assistant strength and conditioning – Barry Rubin

^{[9] [10]}

Roster

1997 Green Bay Packers roster
Quarterbacks 13 Steve Bono  4 Brett Favre 18 Doug Pederson Running backs 44 Chris Darkins 24 Aaron Hayden 30 William Henderson FB 32 Travis Jervey 25 Dorsey Levens Wide receivers 82 Don Beebe 87 Robert Brooks 86 Antonio Freeman 80 Derrick Mayes 85 Terry Mickens 84 Bill Schroeder Tight ends 89 Mark Chmura 81 Tyrone Davis 83 Jeff Thomason		Offensive linemen 70 Joe Andruzzi G 67 Jeff Dellenbach C 72 Earl Dotson T 77 John Michels T 62 Marco Rivera G 73 Aaron Taylor G 63 Adam Timmerman G 78 Ross Verba T 64 Bruce Wilkerson T 52 Frank Winters C Defensive linemen 93 Gilbert Brown DT 71 Santana Dotson DT 97 Paul Frase DE 90 Darius Holland DT 94 Bob Kuberski DT 95 Keith McKenzie DE 99 Jermaine Smith DT 92 Reggie White DE 98 Gabe Wilkins DE	Linebackers 55 Bernardo Harris MLB 56 Lamont Hollinquest OLB 54 Seth Joyner OLB 53 George Koonce OLB 51 Brian Williams OLB Defensive backs 36 LeRoy Butler SS 26 Mark Collins FS 33 Doug Evans CB 38 Blaine McElmurry CB 28 Roderick Mullen CB 39 Mike Prior FS 41 Eugene Robinson FS 42 Darren Sharper SS 37 Tyrone Williams CB Special teams 60 Rob Davis LS 17 Craig Hentrich P  8 Ryan Longwell K		Injured Reserve 34 Edgar Bennett RB (IR) 10 Brett Conway K (IR) 58 Mike Flanagan C (PUP) 50 Anthony Hicks LB (IR)  7 Ronnie McAda QB (Military Reserve) 21 Craig Newsome CB (IR) Practice squad 12 Ronnie Anderson WR 29 Anthony Fogle CB 96 Billy Lyon DT 47 Kyle Wachholtz TE 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.^[11]

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 2 3 4 Total Bears 0 11 0 13 24 • Packers 3 15 6 14 38 Date: September 1 Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 60,766 Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h) Television network: ABC

Scoring summary 1 GB Ryan Longwell 38 yard field goal Packers 3–0 2 CHI Raymont Harris 1 yard run (Jim Flanigan pass from Todd Sauerbrun) Bears 8–3 2 GB Jeff Thomason 1 yard pass from Brett Favre (Dorsey Levens pass from Brett Favre) Packers 11–8 2 CHI Jeff Jaeger 42 yard field goal Tie 11–11 2 GB Robert Brooks 18 yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick) Packers 18–11 3 GB Ryan Longwell 36 yard field goal Packers 21–11 3 GB Ryan Longwell 29 yard field goal Packers 24–11 4 GB Dorsey Levens 1 yard run (Ryan Longwell kick) Packers 31–11 4 CHI Ricky Proehl 22 yard pass from Erik Kramer (pass failed) Packers 31–17 4 GB Gabe Wilkins 1 yard fumble return (Ryan Longwell kick) Packers 38–17 4 CHI Raymont Harris 68 yard run (Jeff Jaeger kick) Packers 38–24

^[12]

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 6 3 0 9 • Eagles 0 0 3 7 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 2 GB Ryan Longwell 22 yard field goal Packers 3–0 2 GB Ryan Longwell 18 yard Field Goal Packers 6–0 3 PHI Chris Boniol 32 yard Field Goal Packers 6–3 3 GB Ryan Longwell 27 yard Field Goal Packers 9–3 4 PHI Freddie Solomon 2 yard pass from Ty Detmer (Chris Boniol Kick) Eagles 10–9

^[13]

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total • Packers 0 14 7 3 24 Bears 10 0 7 6 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 Q1 CHI Raymont Harris 1 yard run (Jeff Jaeger kick) CHI 7–0 Q1 CHI Jeff Jaeger 41 yard field goal CHI 10–0 Q2 GB Mark Chmura 2 yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick) CHI 10–7 Q2 GB Dorsey Levens 1 yard run (Ryan Longwell kick) GB 14–10 Q3 CHI Erik Kramer 3 yard run (Jeff Jaeger kick) CHI 17–14 Q3 GB Mark Chmura 12 yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick) GB 21–17 Q4 GB Ryan Longwell 37 yard field goal GB 24–17 Q4 CHI Chris Penn 22 yard pass from Erik Kramer (pass failed) GB 24–23

^[14]

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
view talk edit	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 Championship Game at. San Francisco 49ers

Super Bowl XXXII vs. Denver Broncos

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

• Brett Favre, NFC leader, completions (304)
• Brett Favre, NFC leader, passing yards (3,867)
• Brett Favre, NFC leader, touchdown passes (35)
• Brett Favre, NFL most valuable player
• Brett Favre, NFC Pro Bowl selection
• Brett Favre, All-Pro selection
• Brett Favre, Best NFL Player ESPY Award
• Brett Favre, First Player to win Three Consecutive MVP Awards
• Robert Brooks, National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award

References