1997 Buffalo Bills season

The 1997 Buffalo Bills season was their 38th in the league. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 10–6, instead falling to 6–10.^[1] They missed the playoffs for only the second time in ten seasons. 1997 was Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy's final year as the team's head coach, and the first season since 1985 when Jim Kelly was not on the opening day roster. Todd Collins started at quarterback for the Bills in their first season in the post-Kelly era. The Bills also signed Oakland's Billy Joe Hobert to challenge Collins for the starting job. Third-string quarterback Alex Van Pelt also saw playing time with three starts in Collins' absence.

1997 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
General manager	John Butler
Head coach	Marv Levy
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	G Ruben Brown DE Bruce Smith DT Ted Washington
← 1996 Bills seasons 1998 →

Hobert's contract was terminated after Week Seven, in which Hobert was backing up an injured Collins, and after the game revealed to the media that he had not studied the playbook. Hobert was released the next day.^[2]

One of the most memorable games in Buffalo Bills history occurred in Week Four against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts roared to a 26–0 lead in the second quarter, before the Bills went on a 37–3 run, ultimately taking the lead 37–29 with 1:15 remaining in the game. The Colts closed to within two, but missed a two-point conversion, giving Buffalo a two-point victory.^[3] The game remains the third-greatest regular season comeback in NFL history,^{[note 1]} and the second greatest in team history^{[note 2][4]}

Offseason

Prior to the 1997 season, long-time quarterback (and future Hall of Famer) Jim Kelly announced his retirement from professional football. This left the Bills forced to find a different opening day starting quarterback for the first time since 1985. Third-year quarterback Todd Collins started the season, and the Bills signed former Raiders quarterback Billy Joe Hobert, whose contract was terminated after a Week Seven loss to New England.

NFL draft

Main article: 1997 NFL draft

= Pro Bowler [note 3]

One notable player that was not drafted by the Bills, but debuted for the team in 1997, was future Pro Bowl defensive tackle Pat Williams, who played with the team for eight seasons.

1997 Buffalo Bills Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	23	Antowain Smith	RB	Houston
2	52	Marcellus Wiley[note 4]	DE	Columbia
4	120	Jamie Nails	OL	Florida A&M
5	153	Sean Woodson	DB	Jackson State
6	185	Marcus Spriggs	G	Houston
7	226	Pat Fitzgerald	TE	Texas

Roster

1997 Buffalo Bills roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 13 Jim Ballard 15 Todd Collins 10 Alex Van Pelt Running backs (RB) 44 Darick Holmes KR 25 Rene Ingoglia 23 Antowain Smith 34 Thurman Thomas Wide receivers (WR) 88 Quinn Early 82 Mitchell Galloway 80 Eric Moulds KR 81 Jerry Reese 89 Steve Tasker PR Tight ends (TE) 86 Tony Cline 87 Rob Coons 84 Lonnie Johnson 85 Jay Riemersma

Offensive linemen (OL) 79 Ruben Brown G 63 Bill Conaty C 70 John Fina T 68 Corbin Lacina G 72 Corey Louchiey T 74 Jamie Nails G 60 Jerry Ostroski T 73 Mike Rockwood T 69 Marcus Spriggs T 61 Dusty Zeigler C Defensive linemen (DL) 90 Phil Hansen DE 94 Mark Pike DE 91 Shawn Price DE 78 Bruce Smith DE 92 Ted Washington NT 75 Marcellus Wiley DE 93 Pat Williams NT

Linebackers (LB) 96 Dan Brandenburg OLB 52 John Holecek ILB 55 Mark Maddox ILB 98 Sean Moran ILB 99 Gabe Northern OLB 95 Bryce Paup OLB 58 Marlo Perry OLB 59 Sam Rogers OLB Defensive backs (DB) 22 Jeff Burris 27 Ken Irvin CB 31 Raymond Jackson FS 20 Henry Jones SS 21 Manny Martin CB 24 Kurt Schulz FS 40 Eric Smedley SS 28 Thomas Smith CB 37 Sean Woodson SS Special teams 76 Ethan Albright LS  2 Steve Christie K  9 Chris Mohr P

Practice squad 97 Doug Brown NT 53 active, 7 inactive, 1 practice squad Reserve 57 Damien Covington LB (IR) 48 Pat Fitzgerald TE (IR) 77 Jim Jeffcoat NT (IR) 46 Marlon Kerner CB (IR) 83 Andre Reed WR (IR) 54 Chris Spielman LB (IR) 33 Tim Tindale FB (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Record
1	August 31	Minnesota Vikings	L 34–13	79,139	0–1
2	September 7	at New York Jets	W 28–22	72,988	1–1
3	September 14	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 22–16	78,169	1–2
4	September 21	Indianapolis Colts	W 37–35	55,340	2–2
5	Bye
6	October 5	Detroit Lions	W 22–13	78,025	3–2
7	October 12	at New England Patriots	L 33–6	59,802	3–3
8	October 20	at Indianapolis Colts	W 9–6	61,139	4–3
9	October 26	Denver Broncos	L 23–20	78,458	4–4
10	November 2	Miami Dolphins	W 9–6	78,011	5–4
11	November 9	New England Patriots	L 31–10	65,783	5–5
12	November 17	at Miami Dolphins	L 30–13	74,155	5–6
13	November 23	at Tennessee Oilers	L 31–14	23,571	5–7
14	November 30	New York Jets	W 20–10	47,776	6–7
15	December 7	at Chicago Bears	L 20–3	39,784	6–8
16	December 14	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 20–14	41,231	6–9
17	December 20	at Green Bay Packers	L 31–21	60,108	6–10
Note: Intra-divisional games are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 14 7 7 28 Jets 3 10 6 3 22 Date: September 7 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 72,988 Game weather: 73 °F (22.8 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h; 7.8 kn) TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert, Randy Cross & Len Berman

Scoring summary 1 NYJ John Hall 27 yard field goal Jets 3–0 2 NYJ Dedric Ward 19 yard pass from Neil O'Donnell (John Hall kick) Jets 10–0 2 BUF Thurman Thomas 2 yard run (Steve Christie kick) Jets 10–7 2 BUF Andre Reed 10 yard pass from Todd Collins (Steve Christie kick) Bills 14–10 2 NYJ John Hall 19 yard field goal Bills 14–13 3 BUF Quinn Early 19 yard pass from Todd Collins (Steve Christie kick) Bills 21–13 3 NYJ Aaron Glenn 96 yard kickoff return (run failed) Bills 21–19 4 NYJ John Hall 52 yard field goal Jets 22–21 4 BUF Jay Riemersma 10 yard pass from Todd Collins (Steve Christie kick) Bills 28–22

^[5]

Week 3

Starting QBs -> Buffalo Bills: Todd Collins (quarterback) / Kansas City Chiefs: Elvis Grbac

Vegas Line: Kansas City Chiefs -4.5

Over/Under: 40.0 (under)

Buffalo Bills (1-1) at Kansas City Chiefs (1-1)

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 3 7 6 16 • Chiefs 6 3 0 13 22 Date: Sep 14, 1997 Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Game start: 1:00 PM EST Game attendance: 78,169 Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C) • 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn) Referee: Tom White (American football official) TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Mike Breen and James Lofton

^[6]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP BUF KC 1 8:20 11 54 5:03 Chiefs 46-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich 0 3 1 1:08 6 30 2:38 Chiefs 45-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich 0 6 2 7:49 9 32 3:30 Bills 46-yard field goal by Steve Christie 3 6 2 1:03 9 47 1:07 Chiefs 42-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich 3 9 3 12:15 2 86 0:48 Bills Andre Reed 77-yard touchdown reception from Todd Collins (quarterback), Steve Christie kick good 10 9 4 14:29 6 57 1:58 Bills 33-yard field goal by Steve Christie 13 9 4 14:13 1 94 0:16 Chiefs Kickoff returned 94 yards for touchdown by Tamarick Vanover, Pete Stoyanovich kick good 13 16 4 11:52 5 49 2:21 Bills 30-yard field goal by Steve Christie 16 16 4 9:50 6 50 1:24 Chiefs Tony Richardson (American football) 1-yard touchdown reception from Elvis Grbac, Pete Stoyanovich kick no good (blocked) 16 22 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 16 22

^[6]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Bills	Passing	Todd Collins (quarterback)	22/43, 297 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Antowain Smith	11 carries, 30 yards
	Receiving	Andre Reed	4 receptions, 113 yards, 1 TD
Chiefs	Passing	Elvis Grbac	20/37, 179 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Greg Hill (running back)	17 carries, 59 yards
	Receiving	Andre Rison	5 receptions, 75 yards

^[6]

Statistics	Bills	Chiefs
First downs	16	17
Plays–yards	66-325	62-267
Rushes–yards	23-50	25-107
Passing yards	275	160
Passing: comp–att–int	22-43-2	20-37-0
Time of possession	31:32	28:28

^[6]

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(3) New England Patriots	10	6	0	.625	369	289	W1
(6) Miami Dolphins	9	7	0	.563	339	327	L2
New York Jets	9	7	0	.563	348	287	L1
Buffalo Bills	6	10	0	.375	255	367	L3
Indianapolis Colts	3	13	0	.188	313	401	L1

Notes

1. It has been surpassed only by a 33-point comeback by the 2022 Vikings and a 28-point comeback by the 1980 49ers
2. Surpassed only by "The Comeback" in the 1992 playoffs
3. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
4. Made Pro Bowl with San Diego in 2001

References

1. "1997 Buffalo Bills". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
2. David Fleming, Breaking down the Bills' QB situation ESPN.com, September 23, 2010, "the infamous Billy Joe Hobert who promptly threw a pick on his first pass leading to a 33–6 blowout loss, after which Billy Joe admitted (awesomely, I might add) that he hadn't actually, you know, opened his playbook that week" | retrieved January 9, 2012
3. "Indianapolis Colts 35 at Buffalo Bills 37, Sunday, September 21, 1997". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
4. "Buffalo Bills NFL Primetime 8". YouTube.
5. "Buffalo Bills at New York Jets — September 7th, 1997". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
6. "Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs — September 14th, 1997". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2020.