1997_Pittsburgh_Steelers_season

1997 Pittsburgh Steelers season
1997 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Owner	The Rooney Family
General manager	Tom Donahoe
Head coach	Bill Cowher
Home field	Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs; (vs. Patriots) 7–6; Lost AFC Championship; (vs. Broncos) 21–24
Pro Bowlers	6 RB Jerome Bettis; C Dermontti Dawson; ILB Levon Kirkland; SS/CB Carnell Lake; NT Joel Steed; WR Yancey Thigpen;
AP All-Pros	5 Dermontti Dawson (1st team); Levon Kirkland (1st team); Carnell Lake (1st team); Jerome Bettis (2nd team); Yancey Thigpen (2nd team);
Team MVP	Jerome Bettis
Team ROY	Chad Scott
	← 1996; Steelers seasons; 1998 →;

1997 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Sports season

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.

Quick Facts Pittsburgh Steelers season, Owner ...

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.^[1] 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.

Personnel

Staff

**1997 Pittsburgh Steelers staff**
	Front office President – Daniel M. Rooney Vice president – John R. McGinley Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. Vice president and general counsel – Arthur J. Rooney II Administration advisor – Chuck Noll Director of business – Mark Hart Business coordinator – Dan Ferens Accounts coordinator – Jim Ellenberger Office/ticket manager – Geraldine Glenn Marketing coordinator – Mark Fuhrman Merchandising manager – Tim Carey Assistant marketing manager – Lynne Molyneaux Media relations coordinator – Rob Boulware Assistant/community relations – Ron Miller Football operations Director of football operations – Tom Donahoe Personnel staff College personnel coordinator – Tom Modrak Pro personnel coordinator – Charles Bailey College scout – Bob Lane College scout – Max McCartney College scout – Phil Kreidler BLESTO College Scout – Mark Gorscak Head coaches Head coach – Bill Cowher Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Chan Gailey Running backs – Dick Hoak Wide receivers – David Culley Tight ends – Mike Mularkey Offensive line – Kent Stephenson			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jim Haslett Defensive line – John Mitchell Linebackers – Mike Archer Defensive backs – Tim Lewis Special teams coaches Special teams – Ron Zook Administrative assistant – Lou Spanos Strength and conditioning Conditioning coordinator – Chet Fuhrman Medical staff Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty Physician, orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley Neurological surgery consultant – Dr. Joseph Maroon Physician, M.D. – Dr. Richard Rydze Physician, consultant – Dr. Abraham J. Twerski Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates Training staff Head trainer – John Norwig Assistant trainer – Rick Burkholder Equipment manager – Rodgers Freyvogel Field manager – Rich Baker Field/equipment assistant – Paul Gallagher Equipment consultant – Tony Parisi Video coordinator – Bob McCartney Video assistant – Pat Dolan Player development coordinator – Anthony Griggs Photographers – Mike Fabus, Bill Amatucci,Michael Drazdzinski ^[2]

Notable additions include Paul Wiggins and Mike Vrabel.

Regular season

Game summaries

Playoffs

Game summaries

Both of the Steelers post-season matchups were rematches from the regular season. The Steelers had a first-round bye, then faced the AFC East champion (and defending AFC champion) New England Patriots at home. The game, which was a homecoming for young Patriots players & Pittsburgh area natives Ty Law and Curtis Martin (Martin was in fact playing in his last game with New England before signing with the New York Jets that offseason), was also a rematch of the previous year's AFC Divisional matchup, which took place in Foxborough.

After defeating the Pats, the Steelers would lose to the eventual Super Bowl XXXII champion Denver Broncos 24–21 in Elway's last trip to Pittsburgh.

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[1] [1]
"In a single season, from 1990 to 1999, in the NFL, in the regular season, sorted by descending Rushing Attempts". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[1997MediaGuide-2] [2]
1997 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.

[3] [3]
1998 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.

[4] [4]
"1997 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.

[5] [5]
"1998 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.

[6] [6]
"1999 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.

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Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1997 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
1	24	Chad Scott	Cornerback	Maryland
2	53	Will Blackwell	Wide receiver	San Diego State
3	82	Paul Wiggins	Tackle	Oregon
3	91	Mike Vrabel *	Linebacker	Ohio State
5	154	George Jones	Running back	San Diego State
6	186	Daryl Porter	Safety	Boston College
6	199	Rod Manuel	Defensive end	Oklahoma
7	223	Mike Adams	Wide receiver	Texas
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career


	Quarterbacks 11 Mike Quinn 10 Kordell Stewart 18 Mike Tomczak Running backs 36 Jerome Bettis 43 George Jones 34 Tim Lester FB 25 Fred McAfee 38 Jon Witman FB Wide receivers 89 Will Blackwell KR/PR 19 Andre Coleman KR 88 Courtney Hawkins 83 Corey Holliday 81 Charles Johnson 17 Curtis Marsh Sr. 82 Yancey Thigpen Tight ends 84 Kirk Botkin LS 87 Mark Bruener 46 Troy Sadowski		Offensive linemen 63 Dermontti Dawson C 65 John Jackson T 62 Tom Myslinski G 68 Brendan Stai G 67 Jamain Stephens T 73 Justin Strzelczyk T 66 Jim Sweeney C/T/LS 79 Paul Wiggins T 77 Will Wolford G Defensive linemen 98 Oliver Gibson NT 74 Nolan Harrison DE 76 Kevin Henry DE 97 Rod Manuel DE 71 Orpheus Roye DE 93 Joel Steed NT		Linebackers 53 Steve Conley OLB 51 Carlos Emmons OLB 92 Jason Gildon OLB 50 Earl Holmes ILB 54 Donta Jones OLB 99 Levon Kirkland ILB 95 Greg Lloyd OLB 55 Jerry Olsavsky ILB 96 Mike Vrabel OLB Defensive backs 40 Myron Bell SS 27 J. B. Brown CB 41 Lethon Flowers FS 29 Randy Fuller CB 37 Carnell Lake CB/SS 24 Chris Oldham CB 39 Darren Perry FS 30 Chad Scott CB 21 Donnell Woolford CB Special teams 9 Norm Johnson K 4 Josh Miller P		Reserve lists 86 Mike Adams WR/KR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 80 Jahine Arnold WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 14 Henry Bailey WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 85 Mitch Lyons TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 22 DeAuntae Brown CB 57 John Fiala LB 42 David McCann RB ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] Rookies in italics 53 active, 4 inactive, 3 practice squad

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

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	September 22	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	November 3	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	November 30	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	December 13	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 Stadium
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	17	17	3	37
Steelers	0	0	0	7	7

AFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ Pittsburgh Steelers	11	5	0	.688	372	307	L1
⁽⁵⁾ Jacksonville Jaguars	11	5	0	.688	394	318	W2
Tennessee Oilers	8	8	0	.500	333	310	W1
Cincinnati Bengals	7	9	0	.438	355	405	W3
Baltimore Ravens	6	9	1	.406	326	345	L1

1997_Pittsburgh_Steelers_season

Offseason

NFL Draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Preseason

Schedule

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday August 31, 1997): vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 2 (Sunday September 7, 1997): vs. Washington Redskins

Week 3 (Sunday September 14, 1997): Bye Week

Week 4 (Monday September 22, 1997): at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 5 (Sunday September 28, 1997): vs. Tennessee Oilers

Week 6 (Sunday October 5, 1997): at Baltimore Ravens

Week 7 (Sunday October 12, 1997): vs. Indianapolis Colts

Week 8 (Sunday October 19, 1997): at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 9 (Sunday October 26, 1997): vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 10 (Monday November 3, 1997): at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 11 (Sunday November 9, 1997): vs. Baltimore Ravens

Week 12 (Sunday November 16, 1997): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 13 (Sunday November 23, 1997): at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 14 (Sunday November 30, 1997): at Arizona Cardinals

Week 15 (Sunday December 7, 1997): vs. Denver Broncos

Week 16 (Saturday December 13, 1997): at New England Patriots

Week 17 (Sunday December 21, 1997): at Tennessee Oilers

Standings

Playoffs

Game summaries

AFC Divisional Playoff (Saturday January 3, 1998): vs. New England Patriots

AFC Championship Game (Sunday January 11, 1998): vs. Denver Broncos

Honors and awards

Pro Bowlers

All-Pros

References

External links

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