1997 Miami Dolphins season

32nd season in franchise history December 2013 March 2026 Miami Dolphins 1997 9–7 2nd AFC East Jimmy Johnson Kippy Brown George Hill Wayne Huizenga Eddie Jones Pro Player Stadium Lost Wild Card Playoffs(at Patriots) 3–17 DT Tim Bowens Dolphins seasons thumb | right | Miami Dolphins first wordmark from 1997. The 1997 season was the Miami Dolphins' 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 28th overall, their eighth under general manager Eddie Jones and their second under head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 8–8, winning nine games.1997 Miami Dolphins Seven of the team's sixteen games were decided by a field goal or less. This was also the season where the Dolphins released a new logo and new uniforms with a darker aqua and dark navy drop shadow in numbers. The uniforms and logo lasted until the 2012 season. During Week 3, the Dolphins were defeated by the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers for the first time in franchise history. This could be argued as the most cursed of all Dolphins seasons because it offered a turnaround where the New England Patriots defeated the Dolphins 3 times in the 1997 season, sweeping them. This was the first of five consecutive playoff appearances for the Dolphins. This season saw the Patriots return three Marino interceptions for touchdowns in New England (two of them in the 2nd quarter of the week 13 matchup, and one in the Wild Card matchup where the Patriots defeated Miami 17–3). The Wild Card loss came less than a week after the Dolphins lost to the Patriots 14–12 on Monday Night Football in Miami for the AFC East division title. Until 2021, this was the last time the Dolphins swept the New York Jets in back-to-back seasons. Offseason NFL draft 1997 NFL draft 1997 Miami Dolphins 1 15 Yatil Green Wide receiver Miami yes no 2 44 Sam Madison Cornerback Louisville yes yes 3 73 Jason Taylor Defensive end Akron yes yes yes 3 92 Derrick Rodgers Linebacker Arizona State yes no 3 93 Ronnie Ward Linebacker Kansas no no 3 96 Brent Smith Tackle Mississippi State yes no 4 121 Jerome Daniels Tackle Northeastern yes no 5 149 Barron Tanner Defensive tackle Oklahoma yes no 5 157 Nick Lopez Defensive end Texas Southern no no 6 166 John Fiala Linebacker Washington no no 6 170 Brian Manning Wide receiver Stanford yes no 6 173 Mike Crawford Linebacker Nevada yes no 6 177 Ed Perry Long snapper James Madison yes no 7 203 Hudhaifa Ismaeli Safety Northwestern no no Staff 1997 Miami Dolphins Chairman/managing general partner – Wayne Huizenga Vice chairman – Don Shula Vice chairman, president and CEO – Jimmy Johnson General manager – Jimmy Johnson Head coach – Jimmy Johnson Offensive coordinator – Gary Stevens Quarterbacks – Gary Stevens Running backs/run game coordinator – Kippy Brown Wide receivers – Larry Seiple Tight ends – Pat Jones Offensive line – Larry Beightol Assistant offensive line – Rich McGeorge Defensive coordinator – George Hill Defensive line – Gary Godette Assistant defensive line – Andre Carter Defensive backs – Mel Phillips Assistant special teams – Mike Westhoff Head strength and conditioning – John Gamble Assistant strength and conditioning – Junior Wade Roster 1997 Miami Dolphins 53 7 5  7 Craig Erickson 11 Damon Huard 13 Dan Marino 33 Karim Abdul-Jabbar 48 Jim Kitts FB 32 Jerris McPhail KR 20 Ray Nealy y FB 30 Bernie Parmalee 21 Lawrence Phillips 42 Roosevelt Potts FB 36 Stanley Pritchett FB 35 Irving Spikes KR 86 Qadry Ismail KR 88 Charles Jordan American football PR 82 Brian Manning American football y 81 O. J. McDuffie 80 Brett Perriman 85 Lamar Thomas 84 Troy Drayton 89 Ed Perry y LS 60 John Bock American football C/G 76 James Brown offensive tackle T 77 Jeff Buckey G 66 Everett McIver G 61 Tim Ruddy C 68 Mike Sheldon T/G 74 Brent Smith American football y G/T 78 Richmond Webb T 93 Trace Armstrong DE 95 Tim Bowens DT 75 Shane Burton DE 70 Mike Chalenski DE 92 Daryl Gardener DT 72 Barron Tanner y DT 99 Jason Taylor American football y DE 57 O. J. Brigance MLB 56 Mike Crawford y OLB 51 Anthony Harris linebacker OLB 50 Dwight Hollier OLB/MLB 59 Derrick Rodgers y OLB 54 Zach Thomas MLB 27 Terrell Buckley CB 25 Corey Harris American football, born 1969 FS/KR 38 Calvin Jackson American football CB/FS 34 Tim Jacobs American football CB 29 Sam Madison y CB 28 Denorse Mosley y CB 23 George Teague FS 45 Brian Walker American football SS 24 Jerry Wilson defensive back CB 22 Shawn Wooden American football SS 17 John Kidd American football P 10 Olindo Mare K -- Kirby Dar Dar WR IR 87 Yatil Green y WR IR 53 Larry Izzo LB IR 96 Danny Stubbs DE IR 82 Frank Wainright LS IR 26 Bracy Walker S IR 55 Ronnie Ward y LB IR -- Isaac Curtis tight end y TE -- Phillip Riley WR 67 Barry Stokes American football T -- Jasper Strong y WR 64 Randy Wheeler y G Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 31 Indianapolis Colts W 16–10 1–0 Pro Player Stadium 70,813 2 September 7 Tennessee Oilers W 16–13 (OT) 2–0 Pro Player Stadium 64,439 3 September 14 at Green Bay Packers L 18–23 2–1 Lambeau Field 60,075 4 September 21 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 21–31 2–2 Houlihan's Stadium 73,314 5 Bye 6 October 5 Kansas City Chiefs W 17–14 3–2 Pro Player Stadium 71,794 7 October 12 at New York Jets W 31–20 4–2 Giants Stadium 75,601 8 October 19 at Baltimore Ravens W 24–13 5–2 Memorial Stadium 64,354 9 October 27, 1997 Chicago Bears L 33–36 (OT) 5–3 Pro Player Stadium 73,156 10 November 2 at Buffalo Bills L 6–9 5–4 Rich Stadium 78,011 11 November 9 New York Jets W 24–17 6–4 Pro Player Stadium 73,809 12 November 17, 1997 Buffalo Bills W 30–13 7–4 Pro Player Stadium 74,155 13 November 23 at New England Patriots L 24–27 7–5 Foxboro Stadium 59,002 14 November 30 at Oakland Raiders W 34–16 8–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 50,569 15 December 7 Detroit Lions W 33–30 9–5 Pro Player Stadium 72,266 16 December 14 at Indianapolis Colts L 0–41 9–6 RCA Dome 61,282 17 December 22, 1997 New England Patriots L 12–14 9–7 Pro Player Stadium 74,379 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Wild Card December 28 at New England Patriots (3) L 3–17 0–1 Foxboro Stadium 60,041 Game summaries Week 1: vs Indianapolis Colts Miami Dolphins 1997 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 1: Indianapolis Colts at Miami Dolphins – Game summary August 31 1:00pm EDT Colts 0 7 0 3 Dolphins 3 7 3 3 Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida 70,813 Partly cloudy, 81 F C Recap Charlie Jones and Bob Trumpy NBC Standings References Category:Miami Dolphins seasons Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins