1997 Green Bay Packers

1997 Green Bay Packers season
Head Coach	Mike Holmgren
Home Field	Lambeau Field
Results
Record	13–3
Place	1st NFC Central
Playoff Finish	Won NFC Divisional Playoff Won NFC Championship Lost Super Bowl XXXII (Denver Broncos)
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1996	1998

The 1997 Green Bay Packers 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. 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. The Packers became the first team to have six NFL MVP award winners.

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.

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	DB	Montana State
7	240	Ronnie McAda	QB	Army

Ronnie McAda was Mr. Irrelevant

Personnel

Staff

1997 Green Bay Packers staff
Front Office President/Chief Executive Officer – Bob Harlan Executive Vice President/General Manager – Ron Wolf 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

Roster

This is the roster that is printed in the Green Bay Packers 1997 Official Media Guide. This information was printed previous to the playing of the season and does not reflect the regular season cut down or any mid season transactions.

1997 Green Bay Packers roster
Quarterbacks 13 Steve Bono 4 Brett Favre 7 Ronnie McAda 18 Doug Pederson Running Backs 34 Edgar Bennett 44 Chris Darkins 24 Aaron Hayden 30 William Henderson FB 32 Travis Jervey 24 Randy Kinder 25 Dorsey Levens 22 Emory Smith FB 35 Jerald Sowell FB Wide Receivers 18 Ronnie Anderson 82 Don Beebe 87 Robert Brooks (IR) 86 Antonio Freeman 81 Qadry Ismail 2 Eric Matthews 80 Derrick Mayes 85 Terry Mickens 88 Chris Miller 84 Bill Schroeder 20 Ryan Yarborough Tight Ends 89 Mark Chmura 88 Reggie Johnson 40 Henry Lusk 46 Lovell Pickney 83 Jeff Thomason 47 Kyle Wachholtz		Offensive Linemen 70 Joe Andruzzi 68 Gary Brown 69 Eugene Chung 67 Jeff Dellenbach 72 Earl Dotson 58 Mike Flanagan (IR) 65 Lindsay Knapp 40 Henry Lusk 77 John Michels 46 Lovell Pinkney 62 Marco Rivera 76 Marcus Spears 73 Aaron Taylor 63 Adam Timmerman 78 Ross Verba 64 Bruce Wilkerson 52 Frank Winters Defensive Linemen 93 Gilbert Brown DT 91 Shannon Clavelle DE 92 Tony Daniels DE 71 Santana Dotson DT 97 Paul Frase DE/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 DE/DT		Linebackers 48 Reggie Clark ROLB 61 Joe Cummings MLB 55 Bernardo Harris MLB 50 Anthony Hicks MLB 56 Lamont Hollinquest LB 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 23 Matthew Dorsett LCB 27 Brad Edwards FS 33 Doug Evans RCB 26 Carl Greenwood LCB 45 Derrick Hoskins SS 38 Blaine McElmurry 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 10 Brett Conway K 60 Rob Davis LS 17 Craig Hentrich P 8 Ryan Longwell K 9 John Krueger P 54 Harper Le Bel LS Rookies and first-year players in italics

Schedule

Preseason

Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Attendance
August 1	Miami Dolphins	W 20-0	Lambeau Field	1-0	59,089
August 8	New England Patriots	W 7-3	Lambeau Field	2-0	60,778
August 16	at Oakland Raiders	W 37-24	Oakland Coliseum	3-0	42,956
August 24	at Buffalo Bills	W 35-3	SkyDome	4-0	53,896
August 28	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.

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

Standings

NFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Green Bay Packers	13	3	0	.813	422	282
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	10	6	0	.625	299	263
Detroit Lions	9	7	0	.563	379	306
Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	354	359
Chicago Bears	4	12	0	.250	263	421

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
Divisional	January 4	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 21-7	Lambeau Field	60,327
NFC Championship	January 11	at San Francisco 49ers	W 23-10	3Com Park	68,987
Super Bowl	January 25	Denver Broncos	L 24-31	Qualcomm Stadium	68,912

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