1997 Green Bay Packers season

1997 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Mike Holmgren
General manager	Ron Wolf
Home field	Lambeau Field
Results
Record	13–3
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (Buccaneers) 21–7 Won Conference Championship (49ers) 23–10 Lost Super Bowl XXXII (Broncos) 31–24

The 1997 Green Bay Packers season was the team's 78th season in the National Football League. The season concluded with the team winning its second consecutive NFC championship, but losing in a 31–24 upset to John Elway's Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII.^[1] The 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 11 1/2 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 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 was the first player in the history of the award to win three MVPs, and remains the only player to have won 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

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.

Personnel

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
Tight Ends/Assistant Offensive Line – Mike Sherman
Offensive Line – Tom Lovat
Offensive Assistant/Quality Control – Gary Reynolds

Defensive coaches

Defensive Coordinator – Fritz Shurmur
Defensive Line – Larry Brooks
Linebackers – Jim Lind
Defensive Backs – Bob Valesente
Defensive Assistant/Quality Control – Johnny Holland

Special teams coaches

Special Teams – Nolan Cromwell

Strength and conditioning

Strength and Conditioning – Kent Johnston
Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Barry Rubin

^[7] ^[8]

Roster

1997 Green Bay Packers roster

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

89 Mark Chmura
88 Reggie Johnson
40 Henry Lusk
46 Lovell Pickney
83 Jeff Thomason
47 Kyle Wachholtz

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

93 Gilbert Brown DT
91 Shannon Clavelle DE
92 Tony Daniels DE
71 Santana Dotson DT
97 Paul Frase DT
90 Darius Holland DT
79 Eric Johnson DE
94 Bob Kuberski DT
95 Keith McKenzie DE
74 Walter Scott DE
99 Jermaine Smith DT
97 Mike Thompson DT
92 Reggie White DE
98 Gabe Wilkins DE
96 Gerald Williams DT

Linebackers

48 Reggie Clark ROLB
61 Joe Cummings MLB
55 Bernardo Harris MLB
50 Anthony Hicks MLB
56 Lamont Hollinquest OLB
57 Kevin Jefferson ROLB
54 Seth Joyner LOLB
53 George Koonce MLB (IR)
95 Keith McKenzie LOLB
59 Wayne Simmons LOLB
51 Brian Williams ROLB

Defensive Backs

36 LeRoy Butler SS
26 Mark Collins S
23 Matthew Dorsett LCB
27 Brad Edwards FS
33 Doug Evans RCB
26 Carl Greenwood LCB
45 Derrick Hoskins SS
38 Blaine McElmurry CB
28 Roderick Mullen RCB
21 Craig Newsome LCB
39 Mike Prior SS
41 Eugene Robinson FS
42 Darren Sharper FS
37 Tyrone Williams RCB

Special Teams

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.^[9]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 1, 1997	Chicago Bears	W 38–24	Lambeau Field	1–0	ABC 8:00pm	60,766
2	September 7, 1997	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 9–10	Veterans Stadium	1–1	FOX 3:15pm	66,803
3	September 14, 1997	Miami Dolphins	W 23–18	Lambeau Field	2–1	NBC 12:00pm	60,075
4	September 21, 1997	Minnesota Vikings	W 38–32	Lambeau Field	3–1	FOX 12:00pm	60,115
5	September 28, 1997	at Detroit Lions	L 15–26	Pontiac Silverdome	3–2	FOX 3:15pm	78,110
6	October 5, 1997	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 21–16	Lambeau Field	4–2	FOX 12:00pm	60,100
7	October 12, 1997	at Chicago Bears	W 24–23	Soldier Field	5–2	FOX 12:00pm	62,212
8	Bye
9	October 27, 1997	at New England Patriots	W 28–10	Foxboro Stadium	6–2	ABC 8:00pm	59,972
10	November 2, 1997	Detroit Lions	W 20–10	Lambeau Field	7–2	ESPN 7:00pm	60,126
11	November 9, 1997	St. Louis Rams	W 17–7	Lambeau Field	8–2	FOX 12:00pm	60,093
12	November 16, 1997	at Indianapolis Colts	L 38–41	RCA Dome	8–3	FOX 12:00pm	60,928
13	November 23, 1997	Dallas Cowboys	W 45–17	Lambeau Field	9–3	FOX 12:00pm	60,111
14	December 1, 1997	at Minnesota Vikings	W 27–11	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	10–3	ABC 8:00pm	64,001
15	December 7, 1997	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–6	Houlihan's Stadium	11–3	FOX 12:00pm	73,523
16	December 14, 1997	at Carolina Panthers	W 31–10	Ericsson Stadium	12–3	FOX 3:15pm	70,887
17	December 20, 1997	Buffalo Bills	W 31–21	Lambeau Field	13–3	NBC 11:30am	60,108

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, wind 8
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

^[10]

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; wind 15
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

^[11]

Week 12

The Packers suffered a shocking loss to the 0-10 Indianapolis Colts, but didn't 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

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	TV Time	Attendance
Divisional	January 4, 1998	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 21–7	Lambeau Field	FOX 12:00pm	60,327
NFC Championship	January 11, 1998	at San Francisco 49ers	W 23–10	3Com Park	FOX 3:15pm	68,987
Super Bowl	January 25, 1998	Denver Broncos	L 24–31	Qualcomm Stadium	NBC 5:15pm	68,912

NFC Divisional Game vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC Divisional Game vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneerss – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	0	0	7	0	7
Packers	7	6	0	8	21

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	3	4	Total
Packers	3	10	0	10	23
49ers	0	3	0	7	10

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	3	4	Total
Packers	7	7	3	7	24
Broncos	7	10	7	7	31

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

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

↑ "Super Bowl XXXII – Denver 31, Green Bay 24". Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
↑ "List of APMVP winners". sportsline.com. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 400
↑ 1998 Jets
↑ 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.
↑ "NFL Draft History – Green Bay Packers". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-29. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
↑ "Administration and Coaching Staff". Green Bay Packers 1997 Official Media Guide. pp. 6–37.
↑ "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
↑ "1997 NFL Standings". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-14.

Green Bay Packers
Founded in 1919 Based and headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Franchise	Franchise Team history Green Bay Packers, Inc. Board of Directors
Records	Seasons Coaches Players A–D E–K L–R S–Z Starting quarterbacks Pro Football Hall of Famers Retired numbers First-round draft picks Records Pro Bowlers Stadiums
Stadiums	Hagemeister Park Bellevue Park City Stadium Borchert Field Wisconsin State Fair Park Marquette Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium Lambeau Field
Training facilities	Don Hutson Center Clarke Hinkle Field Ray Nitschke Field St. Norbert College (training camp) Rockwood Lodge (former)
Culture	Cheesehead Lambeau Leap Hall of Fame Packers Fan Hall of Fame "Bang the Drum All Day" Cheerleaders Fight song Lumberjack Band Pigskin Champions Vernon Biever Hungry Five George Whitney Calhoun The Dope Sheet Curly Lambeau Vince Lombardi Ron Wolf Receiver Statue Lombardi Pitch Perfect 2 Packers Heritage Trail Packers Pro Shop
Lore	Dolly Gray impostor The Ice Bowl The Snow Bowl 4th and 26 Fail Mary Miracle in Motown
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Minnesota Vikings Dallas Cowboys
Division championships (23)	1936 1938 1939 1944 1960 1961 1962 1965 1966 1967 1972 1995 1996 1997 2002 2003 2004 2007 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016
Conference championships (9)	1960 1961 1962 1965 1966 1967 1996 1997 2010
League championships (13^†)	1929 1930 1931 1936 1939 1944 1961 1962 1965 1966 (I) 1967 (II) 1996 (XXXI) 2010 (XLV) ^† does not include 1966 or 1967 NFL championships
Retired numbers	3 4 14 15 66 92
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Packers Radio Network WTMJ WKTI-HD2 WIXX WTAQ Television (pre-season & official in-season team programming): WGBA-TV WTMJ-TV Personnel: Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) Larry McCarren (color/analysis)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1921–present) Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division
Seasons (97)	1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Championship seasons in bold

Green Bay Packers seasons

Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1997 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Baltimore	Denver	Arizona	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cincinnati	Kansas City	Dallas	Detroit	Carolina
Miami	Jacksonville	Oakland	NY Giants	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Philadelphia	Minnesota	St. Louis
NY Jets	Tennessee	Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay	San Francisco

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