1997 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Detroit Lions 1997 9–7 3rd NFC Central Bobby Ross Sylvester Croom Larry Peccatiello Chuck Schmidt William Clay Ford Sr. Pontiac Silverdome Lost Wild Card Playoffs(at Buccaneers) 10–20 5 WR Herman Moore RB Barry Sanders DT Luther Elliss DE Robert Porcher K Jason Hanson 4 WR Herman Moore (1st team) RB Barry Sanders (1st team) DE Robert Porcher (1st team) K Jason Hanson (2nd team) File:NFC-Throwback2-Uniform-DET.PNG Lions seasons The 1997 Detroit Lions season was their 68th in the National Football League (NFL). 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 having one of the greatest seasons for a running back in NFL history. He became 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.Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending Yds/Rushing Att. The Lions scored 379 points in 1997, the fourth-most of any team in the league.Pro-Football-Reference: 1997 Detroit Lions Offseason NFL draft 1997 NFL draft 1997 Detroit Lions 1 5 Bryant Westbrook Cornerback Texas yes no 2 35 Juan Roque Tackle Arizona State yes no 2 54 Kevin Abrams Cornerback Syracuse yes no 4 130 Matt Russell Linebacker Colorado yes no 5 135 Pete Chryplewicz Tight end Notre Dame yes no 5 161 Duane Ashman Defensive end Virginia no no 6 168 Tony Ramirez Guard Northern Colorado yes no 7 206 Terry Battle Running back Arizona State no no 7 232 Marcus Harris Wide receiver Wyoming no no 7 239 Richard Jordan Linebacker Missouri Southern yes no no Undrafted free agents + 1997 Undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeChris DittoeQuarterbackIndiana Personnel Staff 1997 Detroit Lions Chairman and president – William Clay Ford Sr. Vice chairman – William Clay Ford Jr. Executive vice president and chief operating officer – Chuck Schmidt Vice president of player personnel – Ron Hughes Vice president of football administration – Larry Lee Director of pro scouting – Kevin Colbert Head coach – Bobby Ross Offensive coordinator – Sylvester Croom Quarterbacks – Marc Trestman Running backs – Frank Falks Wide receivers – Jerry Sullivan Tight ends – Bob Palcic Offensive line – Jack Henry Quality Control–Offense/Administrative Assistant – John Misciagna 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 – Chuck Priefer Offensive/special teams assistant – Stan Kwan Strength and conditioning – Bert Hill Roster 1997 Detroit Lions 12 Matt Blundin 19 Scott Mitchell quarterback 14 Frank Reich 23 Terry Battle y 34 Ron Rivers 20 Barry Sanders 30 Cory Schlesinger FB 44 Tommy Vardell FB 80 Tommie Boyd 83 Kez McCorvey 33 Glyn Milburn KR/PR 84 Herman Moore 87 Johnnie Morton 81 Pete Chryplewicz y 89 Pete Metzelaars 86 David Sloan American football 82 Eric Stocz 79 Eric Beverly y C/G/LS 77 Mike Compton American football G/T 53 Kevin Glover C 64 Jeff Hartings G 66 Hessley Hempstead G 70 Andre Johnson offensive lineman T 75 Tony Ramirez y T 72 Ray Roberts American football T 62 Tony Semple G/LS 71 Larry Tharpe T 96 Shane Bonham DT 94 Luther Elliss DT 67 Travis Kirschke y DT 91 Robert Porcher DE 97 Tracy Scroggins DE 92 Marc Spindler DT 98 Marvin Thomas y DE 95 Mike Wells defensive lineman DT 57 Stephen Boyd American football MLB 59 Reggie Brown linebacker OLB 58 George Jamison OLB 99 Richard Jordan American football y MLB 52 Scott Kowalkowski OLB 51 Antonio London OLB 54 Matt Russell y MLB 24 Kevin Abrams cornerback y CB 35 Robert Bailey American football CB 27 Mark Carrier safety FS/SS 25 Greg Jeffries CB 38 Daryl Porter safety y CB 31 Corey Raymond CB 28 Ron Rice American football SS 42 Ryan Stewart American football FS/SS 32 Bryant Westbrook y CB  4 Jason Hanson K 18 John Jett P 51 Tom Beer LB (IR) 7px 29 Harry Colon S IR 74 Chris Harrison American football G IR 39 Van Malone S IR 73 Juan Roque y T IR 93 Kerwin Waldroup DE IR 69 Jerome Davis offensive tackle T y  8 Deon Maddox y WR -- Shawn Swayda y DE 45 Cyrill Weems y CB 53 active, 6 inactive, 4 practice squad 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.https://apnews.com/953a785f7bb17bbeabd7248ad6a8288a Lions' Harry Colon Injured Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 August 31 Atlanta Falcons W 28–17 1–0 61,244 2 September 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 24–17 1–1 58,234 3 September 14 at Chicago Bears W 32–7 2–1 59,147 4 September 21 at New Orleans Saints L 35–17 2–2 50,116 5 September 28 Green Bay Packers W 26–15 3–2 78,110 6 October 5 at Buffalo Bills L 22–13 3–3 78,025 7 October 12 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–9 4–3 72,095 8 October 19 New York Giants L 26–20 (OT) 4–4 70,069 9 Bye 10 November 2 at Green Bay Packers L 20–10 4–5 60,126 11 November 9 at Washington Redskins L 30–7 4–6 75,261 12 November 16 Minnesota Vikings W 38–15 5–6 68,910 13 November 23 Indianapolis Colts W 32–10 6–6 62,803 14 November 27 Chicago Bears W 55–20 7–6 77,904 15 December 7 at Miami Dolphins L 33–30 7–7 72,266 16 December 14 at Minnesota Vikings W 14–13 8–7 60,982 17 December 21 New York Jets W 13–10 9–7 77,624 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 17 Jets 10 0 0 0 Lions 0 3 3 7 December 21 Pontiac Silverdome • Detroit, Michigan 4:00 p.m. indoors (dome) Dick Enberg, Phil Simms and Paul Maguire NBC yes 1 NYJ John Hall 32-yard field goal Jets 3–0 1 NYJ Adrian Murrell 14-yard run (John Hall kick) Jets 10–0 2 DET Jason Hanson 44-yard field goal Jets 10–3 3 DET Jason Hanson 25-yard field goal Jets 10–6 4 DET Barry Sanders 15-yard run (Jason Hanson kick) Lions 13–10 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Standings Playoffs NFC Wild Card Game: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Detroit Lions 2;text-align:center; autocollapse NFC Wild Card Game: Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary Lions 0 0 3 7 Buccaneers 3 10 7 0 Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida 4:00 p.m. EST 57 °F °C 1 or, partly cloudy Fox Pat Summerall and John Madden Mike Carey 73,361 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 Barry Sanders, NFL MVP Barry Sanders, NFL Offensive Player of the Year References External links Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com Detroit Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions Category:1997 in Detroit