The 1997 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 65th season in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 10–6, going only 6–9–1 and failing to reach the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. This was the season where the team was sponsored by the "Starters" brand.

Lowlights of the 1997 campaign include a disheartening one-point loss at Dallas in week 3, where starter Ty Detmer led the Birds on a potential game-winning drive late in regulation, only to see holder Tommy Hutton botch the hold on what would have been the deciding field goal from ex-Cowboys kicker Chris Boniol. In Week 7, the Eagles lost their first-ever game against the three-season-old Jacksonville Jaguars, and on November 10, in a Monday Night Football 24–12 home loss against San Francisco, a fan was spotted firing a flare gun in the upper deck. Six days later, at Memorial Stadium, the Eagles and Ravens engaged in a 10–10 tie. This was Eagles' first tie since 1986 against the Cardinals.

One bright spot during the year came on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when second-year Bobby Hoying stepped in under center and threw for a career-high 313 yards and four touchdowns in a 44–42 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The 1997 campaign was notable in that it ended a 13-year radio partnership between broadcasters Merrill Reese and former Eagle Stan Walters on 94 WIP. Mike Quick became the color commentator the following season.

Offseason

NFL draft

1997 Philadelphia Eagles draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 25 Jon Harris DE Virginia 2 57 James Darling LB Washington State 3 71 Duce Staley RB South Carolina 4 119 Damien Robinson FS Iowa 5 152 N. D. Kalu DE Rice 155 Luther Broughton TE Furman 6 190 Antwuan Wyatt WR Bethune-Cookman 198 Ed Jasper DT Texas A&M 7 207 Koy Detmer QB Colorado 225 Byron Capers DB Florida State 227 Deauntae Brown DB Central State (OH)

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 August 31, 1997 at New York Giants L 31–17 0–1 77,344 2 September 7, 1997 Green Bay Packers W 10–9 1–1 66,803 3 September 15, 1997 at Dallas Cowboys L 21–20 1–2 63,942 4 Bye 5 September 28, 1997 at Minnesota Vikings L 28–19 1–3 55,149 6 October 5, 1997 Washington Redskins W 24–10 2–3 67,008 7 October 12, 1997 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 38–21 2–4 69,150 8 October 19, 1997 Arizona Cardinals W 13–10 3–4 66,860 9 October 26, 1997 Dallas Cowboys W 13–12 4–4 67,106 10 November 2, 1997 at Arizona Cardinals L 31–21 4–5 39,549 11 November 10, 1997 San Francisco 49ers L 24–12 4–6 67,133 12 November 16, 1997 at Baltimore Ravens T 10–10 4–6–1 63,546 13 November 23, 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–20 5–6–1 67,166 14 November 30, 1997 Cincinnati Bengals W 44–42 6–6–1 66,623 15 December 7, 1997 New York Giants L 31–21 6–7–1 67,084 16 December 14, 1997 at Atlanta Falcons L 20–17 6–8–1 42,866 17 December 21, 1997 at Washington Redskins L 35–32 6–9–1 75,939 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

References

External links 1997 Philadelphia Eagles at Pro-Football-Reference.com