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1997 Green Bay Packers season
1997 Green Bay Packers season
Owner	Green Bay Packers, Inc.
President	Bob Harlan
General manager	Ron Wolf
Head coach	Mike Holmgren
Home field	Lambeau Field
Results
Record	13–3
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs; (vs. Buccaneers) 21–7; Won NFC Championship; (at 49ers) 23–10; Lost Super Bowl XXXII; (vs. Broncos) 24–31
Pro Bowlers	6 QB Brett Favre; RB Dorsey Levens; TE Mark Chmura; DE Reggie White; SS LeRoy Butler; ST Travis Jervey;
AP All-Pros	3 QB Brett Favre (1st team); S LeRoy Butler (1st team); DE Reggie White (2nd team);
	← 1996; Packers seasons; 1998 →;

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

Additions	Subtractions
QB Steve Bono (Chiefs)	WR Desmond Howard (Raiders)
LB Seth Joyner (Cardinals)

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]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1997 Green Bay Packers draft
1	30	Ross Verba	Offensive tackle	Iowa
2	60	Darren Sharper *	Safety	William & Mary
3	90	Brett Conway	Kicker	Penn State
4	126	Jermaine Smith	Defensive tackle	Georgia
5	160	Anthony Hicks	Linebacker	Arkansas
7	213	Chris Miller	Wide receiver	USC
7	231	Terrance Lucas	Cornerback	Montana State
7	240	Ronnie McAda	Quarterback	Army	Mr. Irrelevant
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

89 Mark Chmura
81 Tyrone Davis

83 Jeff Thomason

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

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
July 26, 1997	Miami Dolphins	W 20–0	Lambeau Field	1–0	59,089
July 31, 1997	New England Patriots	W 7–3	Lambeau Field	2–0	60,778
August 8, 1997	at Oakland Raiders	W 37–24	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	3–0	42,956
August 16, 1997	at Buffalo Bills	W 35–3	SkyDome (Toronto, ON)	4–0	53,896
August 22, 1997	New York Giants	W 22–17	Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, WI)	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

^[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

^[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

^[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 Divisional Game vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary

Quarter	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 °F (−3 °C), relative humidity 79%, wind 17 mph (27 km/h)

NFC Championship Game at. San Francisco 49ers

NFC Championship at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary

Quarter	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 °F (12 °C), relative humidity 90%, wind 10 mph (16 km/h)

Super Bowl XXXII vs. Denver Broncos

Super Bowl XXXII vs. Denver Broncos – Game summary

Quarter	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 °F (15 °C), relative humidity 79%, wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)

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.