The 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 65th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
This season was considered a transitional year due to many key free agent losses in the offseason, as well as the first season of Kordell Stewart starting at quarterback.
The Steelers finished with an 11–5 record, their fourth consecutive AFC Central top seed, and their sixth straight playoff appearance. In doing so, Steelers head coach Bill Cowher tied Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown with most consecutive playoff appearances to start a head coaching career in the NFL—a record Cowher still co-owns with Brown, as the Steelers missed the playoffs the following season.
The Steelers made 572 rushing attempts in 1997, the most in the 1990s. Their 2,479 total rushing yards were the third-most of the decade by any team.
The Steelers went into the season introducing a new font style numbers on jerseys matching the ones they wear on the helmets and the Steelers logo patch on uniform. This was the only season where the white away jerseys featured the players last names in black letters. It would switch back to gold lettering with black trim the next season.
The Steelers would host the AFC Championship Game for the third time in four years; however, they would ultimately lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. That game was the last playoff appearance for the Steelers during the 1990s and they did not return to the postseason until 2001.
Offseason The Steelers saw many key free-agents leave the team, the biggest being cornerback Rod Woodson, whose ten-year tenure with the team ended due to a dispute over money with the Rooney family. Woodson would sign with the San Francisco 49ers as a result, though the Steelers would see him again in the following four seasons afterward as a member of the rival Baltimore Ravens. Other free-agent losses included Chad Brown, Ernie Mills, Andre Hastings, Deon Figures, and Brentson Buckner, among others. The team did manage to keep its other prized free-agent besides Woodson, locking up Jerome Bettis (who they had acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Rams the year before) with a four-year deal.
The team also had a transition at quarterback. After pushing Bill Cowher play exclusively at quarterback, Kordell Stewart was handed the starting job and dropping his "Slash" role on the team. Stewart would have success with the team this season, but would be inconsistent afterwards.
The team also made some minor changes to the uniforms this season, the first changes since gold pants were adopted as part of the white jerseys in 1972. The jersey numbers, previously having the old-style block numbering, were switched to the rounder style (Futura Condensed) as seen on the helmets. In addition, the Steelers logo was added to the left shoulder and the names became single color (black) fonts on the white away jersey. The names returned to gold on black the following year. The uniforms have remained the same since these changes as of 2007.
NFL draft
Personnel
Coaches / Staff
Notable additions include Paul Wiggins and Mike Vrabel.
Roster
Preseason
Preseason
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 July 27 vs. Chicago Bears W 30–17 1–0 Croke Park (Dublin, Ireland) 2 August 2 at Kansas City Chiefs W 28–14 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium 3 August 11 Philadelphia Eagles W 42–26 3–0 Three Rivers Stadium 4 August 17 Detroit Lions W 28–20 4–0 Three Rivers Stadium 5 August 22 at Carolina Panthers W 27–19 5–0 Ericsson Stadium
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 August 31 Dallas Cowboys L 7–37 0–1 Three Rivers Stadium 2 September 7 Washington Redskins W 14–13 1–1 Three Rivers Stadium 3 Bye 4 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 21–30 1–2 Alltel Stadium 5 September 28 Tennessee Oilers W 37–24 2–2 Three Rivers Stadium 6 October 5 at Baltimore Ravens W 42–34 3–2 Memorial Stadium 7 October 12 Indianapolis Colts W 24–22 4–2 Three Rivers Stadium 8 October 19 at Cincinnati Bengals W 26–10 5–2 Cinergy Field 9 October 26 Jacksonville Jaguars W 23–17 (OT) 6–2 Three Rivers Stadium 10 at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–13 6–3 Arrowhead Stadium 11 November 9 Baltimore Ravens W 37-0 7-3 Three Rivers Stadium 12 November 16 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–3 8–3 Three Rivers Stadium 13 November 23 at Philadelphia Eagles L 20–23 8–4 Veterans Stadium 14 at Arizona Cardinals W 26–20 (OT) 9–4 Sun Devil Stadium 15 December 7 Denver Broncos W 35–24 10–4 Three Rivers Stadium 16 at New England Patriots W 24–21 (OT) 11–4 Foxboro Stadium 17 December 21 at Tennessee Oilers L 6–16 11–5 Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumNote: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1 (Sunday August 31, 1997): vs. Dallas Cowboys
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: (Partly Sunny) Game attendance: 60,396 Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers: (FOX) Pat Summerall (play by play), John Madden (color commentator), Pam Oliver (sideline reporter)
Scoring drives:
Dallas – Miller 12 pass from Aikman (Cunningham kick) Dallas – Irvin 42 pass from Aikman (Cunningham kick) Dallas – FG Cunningham 52 Dallas – Irvin 15 pass from Aikman (Cunningham kick) Dallas – FG Cunningham 24 Dallas – Johnston 13 pass from Aikman (Cunningham kick) Dallas – FG Cunningham 28 Pittsburgh – Bruener 4 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
Week 2 (Sunday September 7, 1997): vs. Washington Redskins
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: (Partly Sunny) Game attendance: 58,059 Referee: Ron Blum TV announcers: (FOX) Dick Stockton (play by play), Matt Millen (color commentator), Pam Oliver (sideline reporter)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick) Washington – FG Blanton 37 Washington – Mitchell 97 kickoff return (Blanton kick) Washington – FG Blanton 28 Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
Week 3 (Sunday September 14, 1997): Bye Week
Week 4 (Monday September 22, 1997): at Jacksonville Jaguars
at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
Game time: 9:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 73,016 Referee: Gerry Austin TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators), Lynn Swann (sideline reporter)
Scoring drives:
Jacksonville – Means 1 run (Hollis kick) Pittsburgh – Stewart 6 run (N. Johnson kick) Jacksonville – Smith 11 pass from Brunell (Hollis kick) Jacksonville – FG Hollis 20 Pittsburgh – Thigpen 4 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Jacksonville – FG Hollis 45 Pittsburgh – Bruener 1 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Jacksonville – FG Hollis 27 Jacksonville – Hudson 58 blocked field goal return (Hollis kick)
Week 5 (Sunday September 28, 1997): vs. Tennessee Oilers
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: (Cloudy) Game attendance: 57,507 Referee: Bernie Kukar TV announcers: (NBC) Jim Donovan (play by play), Beasley Reece (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Stewart 7 run (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – FG Johnson 48 Pittsburgh – Gildon 12 fumble return (N. Johnson kick) Tennessee – FG Del Greco 37 Pittsburgh – Bruener 18 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – Stewart 2 run (N. Johnson kick) Tennessee – FG Del Greco 47 Tennessee – FG Del Greco 26 Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 25 Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 44 Tennessee – Wycheck 10 pass from McNair (Wycheck pass from McNair) Tennessee – Davis 11 pass from McNair (Del Greco kick)
Week 6 (Sunday October 5, 1997): at Baltimore Ravens
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Game time: 1:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 64,421 Referee: Bill Carollo TV announcers: (NBC) Tom Hammond (play by play), Jim Kelly (color commentator)
Scoring drives:
Baltimore – Green 22 pass from Testaverde (Stover kick) Baltimore – Morris 1 run (Stover kick) Baltimore – Kinchen 24 pass from Testaverde (Stover kick) Pittsburgh – Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick) Baltimore – FG Stover 34 Pittsburgh – Blackwell 97 kickoff return (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – C. Johnson 8 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – Bruener 4 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – C. Johnson 17 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Baltimore – Alexander 10 pass from Testaverde (Byner pass from Testaverde) Pittsburgh – Stewart 74 run (N. Johnson kick) Baltimore – Safety, Miller ran out of end zone
Week 7 (Sunday October 12, 1997): vs. Indianapolis Colts
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 8:00 pm EDT Game weather: (Clear) Game attendance: 57,925 Referee: Tom White TV announcers: (TNT) Verne Lundquist (play by play), Pat Haden & Mark May (color commentators), Craig Sager (sideline reporter)
Scoring drives:
Indianapolis – Harrison 18 pass from Harbaugh (Blanchard kick) Indianapolis – FG Blanchard 37 Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 23 Pittsburgh – Bettis 7 run (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – Lake 38 fumble return (N. Johnson kick) Indianapolis – FG Blanchard 27 Pittsburgh – Hawkins 28 pass from Tomczak (N. Johnson kick) Indianapolis – FG Blanchard 35 Indianapolis – Stablein 5 pass from Harbaugh (pass failed)
Week 8 (Sunday October 19, 1997): at Cincinnati Bengals
at Cinergy Field, Cincinnati
Game time: 4:00 pm EDT Game weather: Game attendance: 60,020 Referee: Phil Luckett TV announcers: (NBC) Dan Hicks (play by play), Bob Trumpy & Jim Kelly (color commentators)
Scoring drives:
Cincinnati – Carter 6 run (Pelfrey kick) Pittsburgh – Jones 11 pass from Stewart (pass failed) PIttsburgh – Bettis 1 run (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – Thigpen 11 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Cincinnati – FG Pelfrey 33 Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 43 Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 32
Week 9 (Sunday October 26, 1997): vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 4:00 pm EST Game weather: (Light Rain) Game attendance: 57,011 Referee: Gary Lane TV announcers: (NBC) Dick Enberg (play by play), Phil Simms & Paul Maguire (color commentators)
Scoring drives:
Jacksonville – Jackson 8 pass from Brunell (Hollis kick) Jacksonville – FG Hollis 20 Pittsburgh – Hawkins 28 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick) Jacksonville – Mitchell 3 pass from Brunell (Hollis kick) Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 19 Pittsburgh – Bettis 17 pass from Stewart
Week 10 (Monday November 3, 1997): at Kansas City Chiefs
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Game time: 9:00 pm EST Game weather: Game attendance: 78,301 Referee: Ed Hochuli TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators), Lynn Swann (sideline reporter)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Hawkins 44 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 27 Kansas City – FG Stoyanovich 35 Kansas City – FG Stoyanovich 44 Kansas City – Hughes 14 pass from Allen (Stoyanovich kick)
Week 11 (Sunday November 9, 1997): vs. Baltimore Ravens
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 8:00 pm EST Game weather: (Cloudy) Game attendance: 56,669 Referee: Gary Lane TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann (color commentator), Ron Jaworski (sideline reporter)
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Bettis 1 run (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 52 Pittsburgh – Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 22 Pittsburgh – FG N. Johnson 39 Pittsburgh – Thigpen 52 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick) Pittsburgh – Jones 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
Week 12 (Sunday November 16, 1997): vs. Cincinnati Bengals
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: 1:00 pm EST Game weather: (Light Snow) Game attendance: 55,226 Referee: Johnny Grier