1997 Buffalo Bills season
Encyclopedia
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 finishing 6–10. The team missed the playoffs for only the second time in ten seasons.
1997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
season was their 38th in the league
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output
1996 Buffalo Bills season
The 1996 Buffalo Bills season was their 37th in the league. The team matched their previous season's output of 10–6. They qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive season.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Playoffs:-References:...
of 10–6, instead finishing 6–10. The team missed the playoffs for only the second time in ten seasons.
NFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Antowain Smith Antowain Smith Antowain Drurell Smith is a former American Football running back in the National Football League who played nine NFL seasons, most notably with the New England Patriots. At 6'2", , Smith's powerful running style made him an effective runner between the tackles... |
Running back | Houston |
| 2 | 52 | Marcellus Wiley Marcellus Wiley Marcellus Vernon Wiley, is a retired American football defensive end who played 10 seasons in the National Football League for four different teams. He was selected with the 22nd pick of the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft out of Columbia University by the Buffalo Bills... |
Defensive end | Columbia |
| 4 | 120 | Jamie Nails Jamie Nails Jamie Marcellus Nails is a former American football guard of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida A&M.... |
Offensive lineman | Florida A&M |
| 5 | 153 | Sean Woodson | Defensive back | Jackson State |
| 6 | 185 | Marcus Spriggs Marcus Spriggs Marcus Spriggs is a former offensive lineman in the NFL. He played from 1997 to 2003 for the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and Green Bay Packers.... |
Guard | Houston |
| 7 | 226 | Pat Fitzgerald Pat Fitzgerald -External links:*... |
Tight end | Texas |
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 31, 1997 | Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960... |
L 34–13 | |
| 2 | September 7, 1997 | at New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 28–22 | |
| 3 | September 14, 1997 | at Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a... |
L 22–16 | |
| 4 | September 21, 1997 | Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League .... |
W 37–35 | |
| 5 | Bye | |||
| 6 | October 5, 1997 | Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
W 22–13 | |
| 7 | October 12, 1997 | at New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
L 33–6 | |
| 8 | October 20, 1997 | at Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League .... |
W 9–6 | |
| 9 | October 26, 1997 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 23–20 | |
| 10 | November 2, 1997 | Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 9–6 | |
| 11 | November 9, 1997 | New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
L 31–10 | |
| 12 | November 17, 1997 | at Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 30–13 | |
| 13 | November 23, 1997 | at Tennessee Oilers Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter... |
L 31–14 | |
| 14 | November 30, 1997 | New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 20–10 | |
| 15 | December 7, 1997 | at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 20–3 | |
| 16 | December 14, 1997 | Jacksonville Jaguars Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 20–14 | |
| 17 | December 20, 1997 | at Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... |
L 31–21 | |
Standings
| AFC East AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. There are four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots , and New York Jets... |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| New England Patriots 1997 New England Patriots season The 1997 New England Patriots season was the 28th season for the team in the National Football League and 38th season overall. They finished the season with a 10–6 record and a division title but lost in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers.... |
10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 369 | 289 | W-1 |
| Miami Dolphins 1997 Miami Dolphins season The 1997 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 32nd as a member of the National Football League. The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 8–8, winning nine games. Seven of the team's sixteen games were decided by a field goal or less.... |
9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 339 | 327 | L-2 |
| New York Jets 1997 New York Jets season The 1997 New York Jets season began with the team trying to improve upon its league-worst and franchise-worst 1–15 record from 1996. Sparked by the arrival of head coach Bill Parcells, who replaced Rich Kotite, and was coming off a Super Bowl berth the previous season, the Jets improved to 9–7, but... |
9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 348 | 287 | L-1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 255 | 367 | L-3 |
| Indianapolis Colts 1997 Indianapolis Colts season The 1997 Indianapolis Colts season was the 45th season for the team in the National Football League and 14th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1997 season with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses, and finished fifth in the AFC East division.- Schedule... |
3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 313 | 401 | L-1 |