1997 Green Bay Packers season
| 1997 Green Bay Packers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Mike Holmgren |
| General manager | Ron Wolf |
| Home field | Lambeau Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–3 |
| Division place | 1st NFC Central |
| Playoff finish |
Won Divisional Playoffs (Buccaneers) 21–7 Won Conference Championship (49ers) 23–10 Lost Super Bowl XXXII (Broncos) 31–24 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scoring summary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GB | Ryan Longwell 38 yard field goal | Packers 3–0 | |
| 2 | CHI | Raymont Harris 1 yard run (Jim Flanigan pass from Todd Sauerbrun) | Bears 8–3 | |
| 2 | GB | Jeff Thomason 1 yard pass from Brett Favre (Dorsey Levens pass from Brett Favre) | Packers 11–8 | |
| 2 | CHI | Jeff Jaeger 42 yard field goal | Tie 11–11 | |
| 2 | GB | Robert Brooks 18 yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick) | Packers 18–11 | |
| 3 | GB | Ryan Longwell 36 yard field goal | Packers 21–11 | |
| 3 | GB | Ryan Longwell 29 yard field goal | Packers 24–11 | |
| 4 | GB | Dorsey Levens 1 yard run (Ryan Longwell kick) | Packers 31–11 | |
| 4 | CHI | Ricky Proehl 22 yard pass from Erik Kramer (pass failed) | Packers 31–17 | |
| 4 | GB | Gabe Wilkins 1 yard fumble return (Ryan Longwell kick) | Packers 38–17 | |
| 4 | CHI | Raymont Harris 68 yard run (Jeff Jaeger kick) | Packers 38–24 | |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scoring summary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | CHI | Raymont Harris 1 yard run (Jeff Jaeger kick) | CHI 7–0 | |
| Q1 | CHI | Jeff Jaeger 41 yard field goal | CHI 10–0 | |
| Q2 | GB | Mark Chmura 2 yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick) | CHI 10–7 | |
| Q2 | GB | Dorsey Levens 1 yard run (Ryan Longwell kick) | GB 14–10 | |
| Q3 | CHI | Erik Kramer 3 yard run (Jeff Jaeger kick) | CHI 17–14 | |
| Q3 | GB | Mark Chmura 12 yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick) | GB 21–17 | |
| Q4 | GB | Ryan Longwell 37 yard field goal | GB 24–17 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Chris Penn 22 yard pass from Erik Kramer (pass failed) | GB 24–23 | |
The 1997 Green Bay Packers season was the team's 78th season in the National Football League. The season concluded with the team winning its second consecutive NFC championship, but losing in a 31–24 upset to John Elway's Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII. The 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 1/2 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 losses in four previous Super Bowls. 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.
...
Wikipedia