1997 Buffalo Bills season
| 1997 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| General manager | John Butler |
| Head coach | Marv Levy |
| Home stadium | Rich Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–10 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | G 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, and the first season since 1985 when Jim Kelly was not on the opening day roster. Todd Collins started at quarterback for the Bills in their first season in the post-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 remains the third-greatest regular season comeback in NFL history,[note 1] and the second greatest in team history[note 2] [4]
Offseason
[edit ]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
[edit ]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.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Antowain Smith | RB | Houston | |
| 2 | 52 | Marcellus Wiley [note 4] | 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
[edit ]- 13 Jim Ballard
- 15 Todd Collins
- 10 Alex Van Pelt
Running backs (RB)
- 44 Darick Holmes KR
- 25 Rene Ingoglia
- 23 Antowain Smith
- 34 Thurman Thomas
Wide receivers (WR)
- 88 Quinn Early
- 82 Mitchell Galloway
- 80 Eric Moulds KR
- 81 Jerry Reese
- 89 Steve Tasker PR
Tight ends (TE)
- 86 Tony Cline
- 87 Rob Coons
- 84 Lonnie Johnson
- 85 Jay Riemersma
- 79 Ruben Brown G
- 63 Bill Conaty C
- 70 John Fina T
- 68 Corbin Lacina G
- 72 Corey Louchiey T
- 74 Jamie Nails G
- 60 Jerry Ostroski T
- 73 Mike Rockwood T
- 69 Marcus Spriggs T
- 61 Dusty Zeigler C
Defensive linemen (DL)
- 90 Phil Hansen DE
- 94 Mark Pike DE
- 91 Shawn Price DE
- 78 Bruce Smith DE
- 92 Ted Washington NT
- 75 Marcellus Wiley DE
- 93 Pat Williams NT
- 96 Dan Brandenburg OLB
- 52 John Holecek ILB
- 55 Mark Maddox ILB
- 98 Sean Moran ILB
- 99 Gabe Northern OLB
- 95 Bryce Paup OLB
- 58 Marlo Perry OLB
- 59 Sam Rogers OLB
Defensive backs (DB)
- 22 Jeff Burris
- 27 Ken Irvin CB
- 31 Raymond Jackson FS
- 20 Henry Jones SS
- 21 Manny Martin CB
- 24 Kurt Schulz FS
- 40 Eric Smedley SS
- 28 Thomas Smith CB
- 37 Sean Woodson SS
- 76 Ethan Albright LS
- 2 Steve Christie K
- 9 Chris Mohr P
- 97 Doug Brown NT
53 active, 7 inactive, 1 practice squad Reserve
- 57 Damien Covington LB (IR)
- 48 Pat Fitzgerald TE (IR)
- 77 Jim Jeffcoat NT (IR)
- 46 Marlon Kerner CB (IR)
- 83 Andre Reed WR (IR)
- 54 Chris Spielman LB (IR)
- 33 Tim Tindale FB (IR)
Rookies in italics
Schedule
[edit ]| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 31 | Minnesota Vikings | L 34–13 | 79,139 | 0–1 |
| 2 | September 7 | at New York Jets | W 28–22 | 72,988 | 1–1 |
| 3 | September 14 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 22–16 | 78,169 | 1–2 |
| 4 | September 21 | Indianapolis Colts | W 37–35 | 55,340 | 2–2 |
| 5 | Bye | ||||
| 6 | October 5 | Detroit Lions | W 22–13 | 78,025 | 3–2 |
| 7 | October 12 | at New England Patriots | L 33–6 | 59,802 | 3–3 |
| 8 | October 20 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 9–6 | 61,139 | 4–3 |
| 9 | October 26 | Denver Broncos | L 23–20 | 78,458 | 4–4 |
| 10 | November 2 | Miami Dolphins | W 9–6 | 78,011 | 5–4 |
| 11 | November 9 | New England Patriots | L 31–10 | 65,783 | 5–5 |
| 12 | November 17 | at Miami Dolphins | L 30–13 | 74,155 | 5–6 |
| 13 | November 23 | at Tennessee Oilers | L 31–14 | 23,571 | 5–7 |
| 14 | November 30 | New York Jets | W 20–10 | 47,776 | 6–7 |
| 15 | December 7 | at Chicago Bears | L 20–3 | 39,784 | 6–8 |
| 16 | December 14 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 20–14 | 41,231 | 6–9 |
| 17 | December 20 | at Green Bay Packers | L 31–21 | 60,108 | 6–10 |
| Note: Intra-divisional games are in bold text. | |||||
Game summaries
[edit ]Week 2
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Week 3
[edit ]Starting QBs - Buffalo Bills: Todd Collins / Kansas City Chiefs: Elvis Grbac
Vegas Line: Kansas City Chiefs -4.5
Over/Under: 40.0 (under)
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| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | Passing | Todd Collins | 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 | 17 carries, 59 yards | |
| Receiving | Andre Rison | 5 receptions, 75 yards |
| 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 |
Standings
[edit ]| 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 |
Notes
[edit ]- ^ It has been surpassed only by a 33-point comeback by the 2022 Vikings and a 28-point comeback by the 1980 49ers
- ^ Surpassed only by "The Comeback" in the 1992 playoffs
- ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
- ^ Made Pro Bowl with San Diego in 2001
References
[edit ]- ^ "1997 Buffalo Bills Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ 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
- ^ "Indianapolis Colts 35 at Buffalo Bills 37, Sunday, September 21, 1997". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Buffalo Bills NFL Primetime 8". YouTube.
- ^ "Buffalo Bills at New York Jets — September 7th, 1997". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ a b "Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs — September 14th, 1997". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2020.