The 1997 Green Bay Packers season was their 79th season overall and their 77th in the National Football League (NFL). The season concluded with the team winning its second consecutive NFC championship, but losing 31–24 to John Elway's Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII. The heavily favored 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-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 blowout losses in their four previous Super Bowls appearances. 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. Denver was also aided by a salary cap scandal, which allowed them to build a better team by covering parts of Elway and Terrell Davis' contracts with money outside of the team's designated salary.
Favre was named the league's MVP for the third year in a row in 1997. Favre is the first and only player in the history of the award to win three MVPs consecutively. The Packers became the first team to have six NFL MVP award winners.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 400
The 1997 Packers are one of only four teams in NFL history The 1998 Jets, the 2024 Ravens, and 2024 Chiefs are the other teams to win seven games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs.
Offseason Additions Subtractions QB Steve Bono (Chiefs) WR Desmond Howard (Raiders) LB Seth Joyner (Cardinals)
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.
Undrafted free agents
+ 1997 Undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeRandy KinderRunning backNotre Dame
Staff
Roster
1997 Green Bay Packers roster Quarterbacks Steve Bono Brett Favre Doug Pederson
Running backs Chris Darkins Aaron Hayden William Henderson FB Travis Jervey Dorsey Levens
Wide receivers Don Beebe Robert Brooks Antonio Freeman Derrick Mayes Terry Mickens Bill Schroeder
Tight ends Mark Chmura
Jeff Thomason Offensive linemen Joe Andruzzi G Jeff Dellenbach C Earl Dotson OT John Michels OT Marco Rivera G Aaron Taylor G Adam Timmerman G Ross Verba OT Bruce Wilkerson OT Frank Winters C
Defensive linemen Gilbert Brown DT Santana Dotson DT Paul Frase DE Darius Holland DT Bob Kuberski DT Keith McKenzie DE Jermaine Smith DT Reggie White DE Gabe Wilkins DE Linebackers Bernardo Harris MLB Lamont Hollinquest OLB Seth Joyner OLB George Koonce OLB Brian Williams OLB
Defensive backs LeRoy Butler SS Mark Collins FS Doug Evans CB Blaine McElmurry CB Roderick Mullen CB Mike Prior FS Eugene Robinson FS Darren Sharper SS Tyrone Williams CB
Special teams Rob Davis LS Craig Hentrich P Ryan Longwell K Injured Reserve Edgar Bennett RB (IR) Brett Conway K (IR) Mike Flanagan C (PUP) Anthony Hicks LB (IR) Ronnie McAda QB (Military Reserve) Craig Newsome CB (IR)
Practice squad Ronnie Anderson WR Anthony Fogle CB Billy Lyon DT Kyle Wachholtz TE 53 active, 6 inactive, 4 practice squad
Rookies in italics
Schedule
Preseason Date Opponent Result Game site Record Attendance July 26, 1997 Miami Dolphins W 20–0 Lambeau Field 1–0 59,089 July 31, 1997 New England Patriots W 7–3 Lambeau Field 2–0 60,778 August 8, 1997 at Oakland Raiders W 37–24 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 3–0 42,956 August 16, 1997 at Buffalo Bills W 35–3 SkyDome 4–0 53,896 August 22, 1997 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 Record Venue Attendance 1 Chicago Bears W 38–24 1–0 Lambeau Field 60,766 2 September 7 at Philadelphia Eagles L 9–10 1–1 Veterans Stadium 66,803 3 September 14 Miami Dolphins W 23–18 2–1 Lambeau Field 60,075 4 September 21 Minnesota Vikings W 38–32 3–1 Lambeau Field 60,115 5 September 28 at Detroit Lions L 15–26 3–2 Pontiac Silverdome 78,110 6 October 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 21–16 4–2 Lambeau Field 60,100 7 October 12 at Chicago Bears W 24–23 5–2 Soldier Field 62,212 8 Bye 9 at New England Patriots W 28–10 6–2 Foxboro Stadium 59,972 10 November 2 Detroit Lions W 20–10 7–2 Lambeau Field 60,126 11 November 6 St. Louis Rams W 17–7 8–2 Lambeau Field 60,093 12 November 16 at Indianapolis Colts L 38–41 8–3 RCA Dome 60,928 13 November 23 Dallas Cowboys W 45–17 9–3 Lambeau Field 60,111 14 at Minnesota Vikings W 27–11 10–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 64,001 15 December 7 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–6 11–3 Houlihan's Stadium 73,523 16 December 14 at Carolina Panthers W 31–10 12–3 Ericsson Stadium 70,887 17 Buffalo Bills W 31–21 13–3 Lambeau Field 60,108 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 2
Week 7
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-14.
Week 12 The Packers suffered a shocking loss to the 0–10 Indianapolis Colts, but did not lose another game until the Super Bowl.
Standings
Playoffs RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordStadiumAttendance Wild Card First-round bye NFC Divisional Playoff January 4, 1998 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4) W 21–7 1–0 Lambeau Field 60,327 NFC Championship Game January 11, 1998 San Francisco 49ers (1) W 23–10 2–0Candlestick Park 68,987 Super Bowl XXXII January 25, 1998 Denver Broncos (A4) L 31–24 2–1 Qualcomm Stadium 68,912
NFC Divisional Game vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC Championship Game at. San Francisco 49ers
Super Bowl XXXII vs. Denver Broncos
The Packers advanced to their fourth Super Bowl appearance, which was also their second consecutive appearance. Despite being favored by double digits, they were denied their fourth ring, as well as their second consecutive championship, by John Elway and the Denver Broncos, who defeated them 31–24. To date, the loss is the only Packers' Super Bowl loss in team history.
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
References