1997 Detroit Lions season

Last updated

1997 Detroit Lions season
Owner William Clay Ford Sr.
General manager Chuck Schmidt
Head coach Bobby Ross
Home field Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record9–7
Division place3rd NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Buccaneers) 10–20
Pro Bowlers
5
AP All-Pros
4
  • WR Herman Moore (1st team)
  • RB Barry Sanders (1st team)
  • DE Robert Porcher (1st team)
  • K Jason Hanson (2nd team)
Uniform
NFC-Throwback2-Uniform-DET.PNG

The 1997 Detroit Lions season was their 68th in the National Football League (NFL).

Contents

The Lions rebounded from a disastrous 1996 season, finishing 9–7 and qualifying for the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons – the best stretch in franchise history.

Bobby Ross replaced Wayne Fontes as head coach. The highlight of the season was Barry Sanders becoming the third player in NFL history to rush for at least 2,000 yards in a season. Sanders shared the 1997 Associated Press MVP Award with Packers quarterback Brett Favre.

As a team, the Lions set an NFL rushing record, gaining 5.51 yards per rushing attempt. [1] The Lions scored 379 points in 1997, the fourth-most of any team in the league. [2]

Offseason

NFL Draft

1997 Detroit Lions draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
15 Bryant Westbrook   Cornerback Texas
235 Juan Roque   Tackle Arizona State
254 Kevin Abrams   Cornerback Syracuse
4130 Matt Russell   Linebacker Colorado
5135 Pete Chryplewicz   Tight end Notre Dame
5161Duane Ashman  Defensive end Virginia
6168 Tony Ramirez   Guard Northern Colorado
7206Terry Battle  Running back Arizona State
7232 Marcus Harris   Wide receiver Wyoming
7239 Richard Jordan   Linebacker Missouri Southern
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted Free Agents

1997 Undrafted Free Agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
Chris DittoeQuarterback Indiana

Personnel

Staff

1997 Detroit Lions staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Larry Peccatiello
  • Defensive line – Brian Baker
  • Linebackers – Gary Moeller
  • Secondary – Richard Selcer
  • Defensive assistant/assistant strength – Don Clemons
  • Quality Control–Defense – Dennis Murphy

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Chuck Priefer
  • Offensive/special teams assistant – Stan Kwan

Strength and conditioning

Roster

1997 Detroit Lions final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

53 active, 6 inactive, 3 practice squad
Rookies in italics

Regular season

The final game of the regular season, on December 21, was marked by emotional highs and lows. Entering the game at 8–7 and needing a win to secure a playoff berth, the Lions played host to the 9–6 New York Jets, who like the Lions would be eliminated from the playoffs with a loss (although the Jets still had a chance to win the AFC East and get a home playoff game). In addition, Barry Sanders entered the game with a chance to potentially break the NFL’s single season rushing record – Sanders entered the game with 1,869 rushing yards, leaving him 131 from 2,000 and 237 away from what would have been a record setting 2,106 yards, topping Eric Dickerson’s 2,105 set in 1984. The Lions won the game 13–10, clinching the playoff spot and eliminating the Jets from the playoffs. A fourth-quarter touchdown run by Sanders proved decisive, and he finished with 184 yards to top out at 2,053 for the year – with Sanders rushing for an even 2,000 yards over the final 14 games. Sanders became only the third man to rush for 2,000 yards in a season after O. J. Simpson and Dickerson and had rushed for the second most yards in a season (since then Terrell Davis, Jamal Lewis, Chris Johnson, and Adrian Peterson have accomplished the feat; through the 2021 season, Sanders’ total is the fourth highest total behind Dickerson's 2,105, Peterson’s 2,096 in 2012, and Lewis’ 2,066 in 2003).

The mood, however, was somewhat tempered due to a career-ending injury suffered by Lions’ linebacker Reggie Brown. Brown was assisting on a tackle made on Jets running back Adrian Murrell when his head was struck by another player's leg. Brown suffered a spinal cord injury on the play and lost consciousness. At one point Brown actually stopped breathing and nearly died on the field, but was resuscitated. Brown did not move for seventeen minutes, and was eventually carried by ambulance out of the Silverdome. Brown was diagnosed with a spinal cord contusion and never played in the NFL again, although surgery did enable him to continue to be mobile. Brown's injury evoked memories of former Lion Mike Utley's paralyzing injury in 1991 and former Jet Dennis Byrd’s broken neck in 1992. Brown was also not the only Lion to suffer a career ending neck injury in 1997, as defensive back Harry Colon suffered damage to his neck during an earlier game against the New York Giants. [3]

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordAttendance
1August 31 Atlanta Falcons W 28–171–061,244
2September 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 24–171–158,234
3September 14at Chicago Bears W 32–72–159,147
4September 21at New Orleans Saints L 35–172–250,116
5September 28 Green Bay Packers W 26–153–278,110
6October 5at Buffalo Bills L 22–133–378,025
7October 12at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–94–372,095
8October 19 New York Giants L 26–20 (OT)4–470,069
9 Bye
10November 2at Green Bay Packers L 20–104–560,126
11November 9at Washington Redskins L 30–74–675,261
12November 16 Minnesota Vikings W 38–155–668,910
13November 23 Indianapolis Colts W 32–106–662,803
14 November 27 Chicago Bears W 55–207–677,904
15December 7at Miami Dolphins L 33–307–772,266
16December 14at Minnesota Vikings W 14–138–760,982
17December 21 New York Jets W 13–109–777,624
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 17

1234Total
Jets1000010
•Lions033713
  • Date: December 21
  • Location: Pontiac Silverdome • Detroit, Michigan
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: indoors (dome)
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Phil Simms and Paul Maguire
Scoring summary
1NYJ John Hall 32-yard field goalJets 3–0
1NYJ Adrian Murrell 14-yard run (John Hall kick)Jets 10–0
2DET Jason Hanson 44-yard field goalJets 10–3
3DETJason Hanson 25-yard field goalJets 10–6
4DET Barry Sanders 15-yard run (Jason Hanson kick)Lions 13–10

[4]

Standings

NFC Central
WLTPCTPFPASTK
(2) Green Bay Packers 1330.813422282W5
(4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1060.625299263W1
(5) Detroit Lions 970.563379306W2
(6) Minnesota Vikings 970.563354359W1
Chicago Bears 4120.250263421L1

Playoffs

NFC Wild Card Game: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC Wild Card Game: Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Lions003710
Buccaneers3107020

at Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Tampa Bay won their first playoff game since 1979 with quarterback Trent Dilfer's 9-yard touchdown pass to receiver Horace Copeland, running back Mike Alstott's 31-yard touchdown run, and two field goals. Their defense limited Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell to just 10 of 25 completions for 78 yards.

Awards and honors

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References

  1. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending Yds/Rushing Att.
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference: 1997 Detroit Lions
  3. ↑ "Lions' Harry Colon Injured".
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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