1997 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1997 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 30th year in professional football and its 28th with the National Football League. After winning the first game of the season, the Bengals lost their next seven games, to effectively end their playoff hopes. The struggles cost Jeff Blake his starting quarterback job, as former Bengal starting quarterback Boomer Esiason, who was reacquired in the off-season, came back in to lead the Bengals. With Esiason back under center the Bengals started to win as he connected on 13 touchdown passes, while giving up two interceptions. Under Esiason the Bengals won six of their final eight games, to finish with a 7–9 record. Just as the Bengals were ready to give Esiason the job full-time, he got a lucrative offer from ABC-TV to do games on Monday Night Football. Since he would earn more money on ABC he decided to retire.[1] Running back Corey Dillon set a rookie rushing record (since broken) for most yards in a game. On December 4, 1997, Dillon rushed for 246 yards in a game versus the Tennessee Oilers.[2]

1997 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coachBruce Coslet
Home fieldCinergy Field
Results
Record7–9
Division place4th AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

For the season, the Bengals sported new uniforms and a new logo. They would remain until 2003. The new tiger head logo remains in use today.

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1997 NFL Draft
1997 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 14 Reinard Wilson  Linebacker Florida State
2 43 Corey Dillon *  Running back Washington
3 76 Rod Payne  Center Michigan
4 111 Tremain Mack *  Defensive back Miami (FL)
5 144 Andre Purvis  Defensive tackle North Carolina
6 176 Canute Curtis  Linebacker West Virginia
7 217 William Carr  Defensive tackle Michigan
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[3]

Personnel

Staff
1997 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Front office
  • President – Mike Brown

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive Coordinator – Ken Anderson
  • Running Backs – Jim Anderson
  • Tight Ends – Bob Wylie
  • Offensive Line – Paul Alexander
  • Offensive Staff Assistant – John Garrett
 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood

Roster
1997 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance Record
1 August 31, 1997 Arizona Cardinals W 24–21
53,644
 1-0
2 September 7, 1997 at Baltimore Ravens L 23–10
52,968
 1-1
3 Bye
4 September 21, 1997 at Denver Broncos L 38–20
73,871
 1-2
5 September 28, 1997 New York Jets L 31–14
57,209
 1-3
6 October 5, 1997 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 21–13
67,128
 1-4
7 October 12, 1997 at Tennessee Oilers L 30–7
17,071
 1-5
8 October 19, 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers L 26–10
60,020
 1-6
9 October 26, 1997 at New York Giants L 29–27
72,584
 1-7
10 November 2, 1997 San Diego Chargers W 38–31
53,754
 2-7
11 November 9, 1997 at Indianapolis Colts W 28–13
58,473
 3-7
12 November 16, 1997 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–3
55,226
 3-8
13 November 23, 1997 Jacksonville Jaguars W 31–26
55,158
 4-8
14 November 30, 1997 at Philadelphia Eagles L 44–42
66,623
 4-9
15 December 4, 1997 Tennessee Oilers W 41–14
49,086
 5-9
16 December 14, 1997 Dallas Cowboys W 31–24
60,043
 6-9
17 December 21, 1997 Baltimore Ravens W 16–14
50,917
 7-9

Standings
AFC Central
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

Team leaders

Passing
PlayerAttCompYdsTDINTRating
Jeff Blake31718421258777.6
Boomer Esiason1861181478132106.9

Rushing
PlayerAttYdsYPCLongTD
Corey Dillon23311294.86610

Receiving
PlayerRecYdsAvgLongTD
Darnay Scott5479714.8775
Tony McGee3441412.2376

Defensive
PlayerTacklesSacksINTsFFFR
Sam Shade964.0111
Gerald Dixon508.5010
Corey Sawyer310.0400

Kicking and punting
PlayerFGAFGMFG%XPAXPMXP%Points
Doug Pelfrey161275.0%434195.3%77
PlayerPuntsYardsLongBlkdAvg.
Lee Johnson81347166042.9

Special teams
PlayerKRKRYardsKRAvgKRLongKRTDPRPRYardsPRAvgPRLongPRTD
Eric Bieniemy3478923.21021000.000
Greg Myers000.000262017.7180

Awards and records
  • Corey Dillon, Franchise Record (since broken), Most Rushing Yards in One Game, 246 yards vs. Tennessee Oilers (achieved on December 4, 1997) [2]
  • Corey Dillon, Rookie Record (since broken), Most Rushing Yards in One Game, 246 yards vs. Tennessee Oilers (achieved on December 4, 1997)
  • Corey Dillon, Franchise Record (tied), Most Points in One Game, 24 Points vs. Tennessee Oilers (achieved on December 4, 1997) [4]
  • Corey Dillon, Franchise Record (tied), Most Touchdowns in One Game, 4 TD's vs. Tennessee Oilers (achieved on December 4, 1997) [4]

Milestones
  • Corey Dillon, 1st 1000 yard rushing season (1,129 rushing yards) [5]
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References
  1. Season summary and statistics at Sports E Cylclopedia
  2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 438
  3. "1997 Cincinnati Bengals Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  4. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 37
  5. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 436
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