Wikipedia

1997 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1997 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 52nd overall. The team appeared in the NFC Championship Game for the fifth time in the 1990s. This season marked the 49ers' last appearance in the NFC title game until the 2011 season as well as the last time that they clinched the number 1 seed with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs until the 2019 season. The team's playoff run was ended by the Green Bay Packers for the third straight season.

1997 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerEdward J. DeBartolo Jr.
General managerCarmen Policy
Head coachSteve Mariucci
Offensive coordinatorMarty Mornhinweg
Defensive coordinatorJohn Marshall
Home field3Com Park
Results
Record13–3
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Vikings) 38–22
Lost NFC Championship
(vs. Packers) 10–23
Pro BowlersG Kevin Gogan
QB Steve Young
DT Dana Stubblefield
LB Ken Norton, Jr.
LB Lee Woodall
S Merton Hanks

Offseason

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NFL draft

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Main article: 1997 NFL draft
1997 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 26 Jim Druckenmiller  Quarterback Virginia Tech
2 55 Marc Edwards  Fullback Notre Dame
3 77 Greg Clark  Tight end Stanford
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

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1997 Undrafted free agents of note
Player Position College
Ryan Longwell Kicker California
Brandon Noble Defensive tackle Penn State

Personnel

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Staff

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1997 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway
  • Strength development coordinator – Michael Barnes


[1]

Roster

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1997 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad


53 active, 5 inactive, 3 practice squad Reserve


Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Opening the 1997 season with new coach Steve Mariucci and halfback Garrison Hearst, the 49ers seemed to have shored up their one major weakness from the season before. Also, additions Kevin Gogan to the offensive line and Rod Woodson to the defense were clear improvements over the previous season's roster.

However, in the first game of the season at Tampa Bay, both quarterback Steve Young and receiver Jerry Rice went down with injuries. Rice appeared to be out for the season with a serious knee injury, and Young, with yet another concussion, discussed retirement.

Young eventually came back, as did Rice for 1+1⁄2 quarters in the second-to-last game of the season (before getting another unrelated injury to his knee), and the team, with the league's number-one defense leading the way, pulled together and finished strongly at 13–3.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 31 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 6–13 0–1 Houlihan's Stadium 62,554
2 September 7 at St. Louis Rams W 15–12 1–1 Trans World Dome 64,630
3 September 14 New Orleans Saints W 33–7 2–1 3Com Park 61,838
4 September 21 Atlanta Falcons W 34–17 3–1 3Com Park 60,404
5 September 29 at Carolina Panthers W 34–21 4–1 Ericcson Stadium 70,972
6 Bye
7 October 12 St. Louis Rams W 30–10 5–1 3Com Park 63,825
8 October 19 at Atlanta Falcons W 35–28 6–1 Georgia Dome 53,378
9 October 26 at New Orleans Saints W 23–0 7–1 Louisiana Superdome 60,443
10 November 2 Dallas Cowboys W 17–10 8–1 3Com Park 68,657
11 November 10 at Philadelphia Eagles W 24–12 9–1 Veterans Stadium 67,133
12 November 16 Carolina Panthers W 27–19 10–1 3Com Park 61,500
13 November 23 San Diego Chargers W 17–10 11–1 3Com Park 61,195
14 November 30 at Kansas City Chiefs L 9–44 11–2 Arrowhead Stadium 77,535
15 December 7 Minnesota Vikings W 28–17 12–2 3Com Park 55,761
16 December 15 Denver Broncos W 34–17 13–2 3Com Park 68,461
17 December 21 at Seattle Seahawks L 9–38 13–3 Kingdome 66,253
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Steve Mariucci's debut game as 49ers head coach did not go well as Steve Young was sacked by Warren Sapp on San Francisco's first drive and was benched due to injury for Jeff Brohm until the fourth quarter. Brohm made no difference in the 13–6 Bucs win. Jerry Rice’s season all but ended in injury after four catches for 38 yards.

Week 2: at St. Louis Rams

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Jim Druckenmiller started for Young as the Niners entered the TWA Dome. The Rams scored first on a field goal while San Francisco's first drive saw a missed attempt; Druckenmiller completed only ten passes (on 28 throws) and three of them were on this drive but later in the second he completed a 25-yard touchdown (it would be the only touchdown of his NFL career). The Rams led 12–7 on four Jeff Wilkins field goals until after a Lawrence Phillips fumble with 12 minutes remaining, when Garrison Hearst burst in a 35-yard Niners score on the resulting San Francisco possession. The Rams failed on fourth down in the final five minutes to seal the 15–12 Niners win.

Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints

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The Niners' first home game of the year was another win over the Saints, who were led this time by ex-Bears coach Mike Ditka. Despite being sacked five times Steve Young completed eighteen passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Saints quarterbacks threw a combined six interceptions in the game.

Week 4: vs. Atlanta Falcons

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Young again blew past 30 points scored as the Niners routed the Falcons 34–7. Young completed 17 of 24 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns, one a 56-yarder to Terrell Owens.

Week 5: vs. Carolina Panthers

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After just one win in four career games against the Panthers in Carolina's first two seasons, the Niners upended the slumping Panthers 34–21. The Niners jumped to a 27–7 lead as they intercepted Kerry Collins three times.

Week 7: vs. St. Louis Rams

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The Niners crushed the Rams at 3Com Park 30–10 as they held Tony Banks to just nine completions while sacking him four times.

Week 8: at Atlanta Falcons

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A week after getting their first win of the season (against New Orleans) the Falcons hosted the Niners and their first drive ended in a 27-yard touchdown throw by Jamal Anderson to Bert Emanuel. The Niners scored three straight touchdowns and kept answering ensuing Falcons touchdowns with more of their own. With the score 35–28 San Francisco, the Falcons attempted an onside kick but the Niners recovered and won the game.

Week 9:at New Orleans Saints

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The Niners traveled 470 miles southwest to the Superdome and flustered the 2–6 Saints yet again. Three Saints quarterbacks could only muster 109 yards with a pick and a fumble as the Niners rolled 23–0.

Week 10: vs. Dallas Cowboys

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The playoff-level intensity of the 1992–96 period was gone as the faltering Cowboys limped into 3Com Park at 4–4 and led in the third quarter 10–7, but the surging Niners scored ten more points and then intercepted Troy Aikman in the game's final minute on a pass intended for Stepfret Williams. The 17–10 Niners win would in essence be a last hurrah for the rivalry that had dominated the league earlier in the decade. It was also the 49ers' last win over the Cowboys at home until 2022.

Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles

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The Niners traveled to Veterans Stadium and won 24–12, snaring three Eagles turnovers and scoring on a Merton Hanks fumble return and a Chuck Levy punt return.

Week 12: vs. Carolina Panthers

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The Niners picked off Kerry Collins three more times and held the Panthers under 260 total yards as they reached ten straight wins 23–19.

Week 13: vs. San Diego Chargers

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The collapse of San Diego's season after a 4–4 start continued as only a Paul Bradford fumble-return score marred San Francisco's 17–10 win.

Week 14: at Kansas City Chiefs

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Three years after their loss to Joe Montana at Arrowhead Stadium, the Niners were crushed 44–9 as Rich Gannon threw three touchdowns and Steve Young threw three interceptions, and Jeff Brohm threw a pick-six.

Week 15: vs. Minnesota Vikings

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Steve Young rebounded with two touchdowns in a 28–17 win over the Vikings. In a harbinger of the Vikings' subsequent season, Randall Cunningham played the whole game and had two touchdowns.

Week 16: vs. Denver Broncos

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The Niners reached thirteen wins by crushing the Super Bowl-bound Denver Broncos 34–17. The Broncos led 17–14 in the third quarter but after a Niners field goal John Elway was picked off by Merton Hanks and Hanks scored. Another Niners field goal and a fumble-return score by Kevin Greene salted away the San Francisco win. Jerry Rice returned for this one game and had three catches and a touchdown.

Week 17: at Seattle Seahawks

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Having secured the top playoff seed, the Niners played all three of their quarterbacks at the Kingdome, and the frustrated Seahawks ended their 8–8 season on a high note as Warren Moon erupted for four touchdowns in only his second career win (38–9) in six games against San Francisco (the other win was a 10–7 win with the Oilers in 1993).

Standings

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NFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) San Francisco 49ers 13 3 0 .813 375 265 L1
Carolina Panthers 7 9 0 .438 265 314 L2
Atlanta Falcons 7 9 0 .438 320 361 L1
New Orleans Saints 6 10 0 .375 237 327 L1
St. Louis Rams 5 11 0 .313 299 359 W1

Postseason

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See also: 1997–98 NFL playoffs

Schedule

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Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Stadium
Wild Card First-round bye
NFC Divisional Playoff January 3, 1998 Minnesota Vikings (6) W 38–22 1–0 Candlestick Park
NFC Championship Game January 11, 1998 Green Bay Packers (2) L 23–10 1–1 Candlestick Park

Toward the end of the season, things appeared to be going well for the team's postseason prospects. But in the second-to-last game of the season, Rice was injured again and deemed out for the playoffs. Similarly, the team's offensive heart for the season, running back Garrison Hearst, had a broken collar bone through the postseason and did not return to full health before the end of the season.

Despite not having either their leading receiver or their starting running back, the 49ers were able to make it to their 7th NFC championship game in 10 years. But not having an elite receiver or solid running back showed glaringly in their loss to the Packers in the conference championship game; Hearst returned, but his injury was still a problem as he only played a few ineffective snaps.

NFC Divisional Game vs. (6) Minnesota Vikings

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NFC Divisional Playoff: Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers – Game Summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 7 0 7822
49ers 7 14 10738

at 3Com Park

  • Date: January 3, 1998
  • Game time: 1 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 54 °F or 12.2 °C, relative humidity 88%, wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)
Game information

NFC Championship Game vs. (2) Green Bay Packers

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NFC Championship at San Francisco 49ers – Game Summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Packers 3 10 01023
49ers 0 3 0710

at 3Com Park

  • Date: January 11, 1998
  • Game time: 1 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 54 °F or 12.2 °C, relative humidity 90%, wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
Game information

The 49ers and Packers met in the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row, and for the 3rd year in a row, the Packers defeated the 49ers. The 49ers were battling multiple injuries in the game, including missing star wide receiver Jerry Rice. The lack of depth on offense showed throughout the game, as the offense generated just 3 points. The only touchdown of the game for the 49ers was Chuck Levy's 95-yard kick return for a touchdown. But by then, the Packers had a commanding 23–10 lead in the 4th quarter. With the loss, the 49ers finished the year at 14–4.

Awards and records

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  • Steve Young, Led NFL, Passer Rating, 104.7 Rating [2]

References

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  1. ^ "Organization". 1997 San Francisco 49ers Media Guide. pp. 5–23.
  2. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 450
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