1997 Detroit Lions season
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1997 Detroit Lions season
| 1997 Detroit Lions season | |||||||
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| Head coach | Bobby Ross | ||||||
| Home field | Pontiac Silverdome | ||||||
| Results | |||||||
| Record | 9–7 | ||||||
| Division Place | 3rd NFC Central | ||||||
| Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card | ||||||
| Uniform | |||||||
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| Timeline | |||||||
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The 1997 season marked the Lions qualifying for the playoffs. Bobby Ross replaced Wayne Fontes as head coach. The highlight of the season was Barry Sanders becoming 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.[1] The Lions scored 379 points in 1997, the fourth-most of any team in the league. [2]
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Contents
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Personnel
Staff
| 1997 Detroit Lions staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front Office
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
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Defensive Coaches
Special Teams Coaches
Strength and Conditioning
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Regular season
The final game of the regular season, on December 21, was marked by emotional highs and lows. Sanders' 184-yard performance, including a 4th quarter touchdown, gave the Lions a 13-10 win over the New York Jets. However, the crowd was stunned when Lions LB Reggie Brown was injured while tacking Jets RB Adrian Murrell. Brown lay motionless on the Silverdome turf for 17 minutes, briefly losing consciousness. The incident brought back memories of the career-ending injuries of former Lions center Mike Utley in 1991 and Jets safety Dennis Byrd in 1992. CPR saved Brown's life on the field, and emergency surgery allowed him to recover, although he would never play in the NFL again.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 31, 1997 | Atlanta Falcons | W 28-17 |
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| 2 | September 7, 1997 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 24-17 |
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| 3 | September 14, 1997 | at Chicago Bears | W 32-7 |
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| 4 | September 21, 1997 | at New Orleans Saints | L 35-17 |
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| 5 | September 28, 1997 | Green Bay Packers | W 26-15 |
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| 6 | October 5, 1997 | at Buffalo Bills | L 22-13 |
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| 7 | October 12, 1997 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 27-9 |
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| 8 | October 19, 1997 | New York Giants | L 26-20 OT |
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| 9 | Bye | |||
| 10 | November 2, 1997 | at Green Bay Packers | L 20-10 |
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| 11 | November 9, 1997 | at Washington Redskins | L 30-7 |
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| 12 | November 16, 1997 | Minnesota Vikings | W 38-15 |
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| 13 | November 23, 1997 | Indianapolis Colts | W 32-10 |
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| 14 | November 27, 1997 | Chicago Bears | W 55-20 |
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| 15 | December 7, 1997 | at Miami Dolphins | L 33-30 |
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| 16 | December 14, 1997 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 14-13 |
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| 17 | December 21, 1997 | New York Jets | W 13-10 |
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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
NFC Wild Card game
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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
References
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending Yds/Rushing Att.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference: 1997 Detroit Lions
- ^ "All-Time Coaches". DetroitLions.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. http://www.detroitlions.com/team/history/all-time-coaches.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
External links
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