1997 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Infobox NFL season
team = Pittsburgh Steelers
year = 1997
record = 11-5
division_place = 1st in AFC Central
coach = Bill Cowher
stadium = Three Rivers Stadium
playoffs = L to the Denver Broncos for the AFC Championship
previous = 1996
next = 1998The 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers was considered a "transitional" year heading into the season due to many key free agent losses in the offseason, as well as the first season of Kordell Stewart starting at quarterback.

However, the Steelers didn't budge, finishing with an 11-5 record, their fourth consecutive AFC Central crown, 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 year.

The Steelers would host the AFC Championship game for the third time in four years. However, they would ultimately lose to the wild-card Denver Broncos in the AFC Title game.

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. The uniforms have remained the same since these changes as of 2007.

Regular season

chedule

Game Summaries

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Cowboys
R1=0
R2=17
R3=17
R4=3
Home=Steelers
H1=0
H2=0
H3=0
H4=7"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather: 74°F (Partly Sunny)
* Game attendance: 60,396
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (FOX) Pat Summerall (play by play), John Madden (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

* Dallas - Miller 12 pass from Aikman (Cunningham kick)
* Dallas - Irvin 42 pass from Aikman (Cunningham kick)
* Dallas - FG Cunningham 52
* Dallas - Irvin 15 pass from Aikman (Cunningham kick)
* Dallas - FG Cunningham 24
* Dallas - Johnston 13 pass from Aikman (Cunningham kick)
* Dallas - FG Cunningham 28
* Pittsburgh - Bruener 4 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Redskins
R1=0
R2=3
R3=10
R4=0
Home=Steelers
H1=7
H2=0
H3=0
H4=7"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather: 74°F (Partly Sunny)
* Game attendance: 58,059
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (FOX) Dick Stockton (play by play), Matt Millen (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

* Pittsburgh - Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Washington - FG Blanton 37
* Washington - Mitchell 97 kickoff return (Blanton kick)
* Washington - FG Blanton 28
* Pittsburgh - Bettis 1 run (N. Johnson kick)

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

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=7
R2=0
R3=7
R4=7
Home=Jaguars
H1=7
H2=10
H3=3
H4=10"at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida"

* Game time: 9:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 73,016
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators), Lynn Swann (sideline reporter)

Scoring Drives:

* Jacksonville - Means 1 run (Hollis kick)
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 6 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Jacksonville - Smith 11 pass from Brunell (Hollis kick)
* Jacksonville - FG Hollis 20
* Pittsburgh - Thigpen 4 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Jacksonville - FG Hollis 45
* Pittsburgh - Bruener 1 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Jacksonville - FG Hollis 27
* Jacksonville - Hudson 58 blocked field goal return (Hollis kick)

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Oilers
R1=0
R2=6
R3=3
R4=15
Home=Steelers
H1=10
H2=21
H3=3
H4=3"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather: 67°F (Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 57,507
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Jim Donovan (play by play), Beasley Reece (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

* Pittsburgh - Stewart 7 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - FG Johnson 48
* Pittsburgh - Gildon 12 fumble return (N. Johnson kick)
* Tennessee - FG Del Greco 37
* Pittsburgh - Bruener 18 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 2 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Tennessee - FG Del Greco 47
* Tennessee - FG Del Greco 26
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 25
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 44
* Tennessee - Wycheck 10 pass from McNair (Wycheck pass from McNair)
* Tennessee - Davis 11 pass from McNair (Del Greco kick)

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=0
R2=7
R3=14
R4=21
Home=Ravens
H1=14
H2=10
H3=0
H4=10"at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 64,421
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Tom Hammond (play by play), Jim Kelly (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

* Baltimore - Green 22 pass from Testaverde (Stover kick)
* Baltimore - Morris 1 run (Stover kick)
* Baltimore - Kinchen 24 pass from Testaverde (Stover kick)
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Baltimore - FG Stover 34
* Pittsburgh - Blackwell 97 kickoff return (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - C. Johnson 8 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - Bruener 4 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - C. Johnson 17 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Baltimore - Alexander 10 pass from Testaverde (Byner pass from Testaverde)
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 74 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Baltimore - Safety, Miller ran out of end zone

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Colts
R1=10
R2=0
R3=3
R4=9
Home=Steelers
H1=0
H2=17
H3=7
H4=0"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 8:00 PM EDT
* Game weather: 66°F (Clear)
* Game attendance: 57,925
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (TNT) Verne Lundquist (play by play), Pat Haden & Mark May (color commentators), Craig Sager (sideline reporter)

Scoring Drives:

* Indianapolis - Harrison 18 pass from Harbaugh (Blanchard kick)
* Indianapolis - FG Blanchard 37
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 23
* Pittsburgh - Bettis 7 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - Lake 38 fumble return (N. Johnson kick)
* Indianapolis - FG Blanchard 27
* Pittsburgh - Hawkins 28 pass from Tomczak (N. Johnson kick)
* Indianapolis - FG Blanchard 35
* Indianapolis - Stablein 5 pass from Harbaugh (pass failed)

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=0
R2=13
R3=7
R4=6
Home=Bengals
H1=7
H2=0
H3=3
H4=0"at Cinergy Field, Cincinnati, Ohio"

* Game time: 4:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 60,020
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Dan Hicks (play by play), Bob Trumpy & Jim Kelly (color commentators)

Scoring Drives:

* Cincinnati - Carter 6 run (Pelfrey kick)
* Pittsburgh - Jones 11 pass from Stewart (pass failed)
* PIttsburgh - Bettis 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - Thigpen 11 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Cincinnati - FG Pelfrey 33
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 43
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 32

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Jaguars
R1=0
R2=10
R3=0
R4=7
R5=0
Home=Steelers
H1=0
H2=0
H3=7
H4=10
H5=6"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 4:00 PM EST
* Game weather: 48°F (Light Rain)
* Game attendance: 57,011
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Dick Enberg (play by play), Phil Simms & Paul Maguire (color commentators)

Scoring Drives:

* Jacksonville - Jackson 8 pass from Brunell (Hollis kick)
* Jacksonville - FG Hollis 20
* Pittsburgh - Hawkins 28 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Jacksonville - Mitchell 3 pass from Brunell (Hollis kick)
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 19
* Pittsburgh - Bettis 17 pass from Stewart

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=10
R2=0
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Chiefs
H1=0
H2=13
H3=0
H4=0"at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri"

* Game time: 9:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 78,301
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf (color commentators), Lynn Swann (sideline reporter)

Scoring Drives:

* Pittsburgh - Hawkins 44 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 27
* Kansas City - FG Stoyanovich 35
* Kansas City - FG Stoyanovich 44
* Kansas City - Hughes 14 pass from Allen (Stoyanovich kick)

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Ravens
R1=0
R2=0
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Steelers
H1=10
H2=10
H3=10
H4=7"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 8:00 PM EST
* Game weather: 44°F (Cloudy)
* Game attendance: 56,669
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (ESPN) Mike Patrick (play by play), Joe Theismann (color commentator), Ron Jaworski (sideline reporter)

Scoring Drives:

* Pittsburgh - Bettis 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 52
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 22
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 39
* Pittsburgh - Thigpen 52 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - Jones 1 run (N. Johnson kick)

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bengals
R1=0
R2=0
R3=3
R4=0
Home=Steelers
H1=3
H2=3
H3=7
H4=7"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather: 30°F (Light Snow)
* Game attendance: 55,226
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Dan Hicks (play by play), Jim Kelly (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 34
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 25
* Pittsburgh - Thigpen 20 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Cincinnati - FG Pelfrey 25
* Pittsburgh - Bruener 5 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=3
R2=3
R3=7
R4=7
Home=Eagles
H1=14
H2=3
H3=3
H4=3"at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 67,166
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), Jim Mora (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

* Philadelphia - Dunn 31 pass from Hoying (Boniol kick)
* Philadelphia - Fryar 8 pass from Hoying (Boniol kick)
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 46
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 40
* Philadelphia - FG Boniol 23
* Philadelphia - FG Boniol 35
* Pittsburgh - Bettis 19 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Philadelphia - FG Boniol 25
* Pittsburgh - Blackwell 30 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=7
R2=3
R3=7
R4=3
R5=6
Home=Cardinals
H1=0
H2=3
H3=14
H4=3
H5=0"at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona"

* Game time: 4:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 66,341
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Dan Hicks (play by play), Jim Kelly (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

* Pittsburgh - Bettis 2 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Arizona - FG Nedney 32
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 40
* Arizona - Sanders 3 pass from Plummer (Nedney kick)
* Pittsburgh - Bettis 7 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Arizona - Gedney 11 pass from Plummer (Nedney kick)
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 39
* Arizona - FG Nedney 19
* Pittsburgh - Bettis 10 run

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Broncos
R1=14
R2=7
R3=3
R4=0
Home=Steelers
H1=7
H2=14
H3=7
H4=7"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather: 31°F (Flurries)
* Game attendance: 59,739
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Dick Enberg (play by play), Phil Simms & Paul Maguire (color commentators)

Scoring Drives:

* Denver - R. Smith 37 pass from Elway (Elam kick)
* Pittsburgh - Thigpen 33 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Denver - Davis 3 run (Elam kick)
* Denver - R. Smith 25 pass from Elway (Elam kick)
* Pittsburgh - Thigpen 69 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - Thigpen 21 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)
* Denver - FG Elam 35
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 4 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 9 run (N. Johnson kick)

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=0
R2=7
R3=3
R4=11
R5=3
Home=Patriots
H1=0
H2=14
H3=0
H4=7
H5=0"at Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts"

* Game time: 4:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 60,013
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Dick Enberg (play by play), Phil Simms & Paul Maguire (color commentators)

Scoring Drives:

* New England - Coates 18 pass from Bledsoe (Vinatieri kick)
* New England - Gash 1 pass from Bledsoe (Vinatieri kick)
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 36
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 34
* New England - Meggett 49 pass from Bledsoe (Vinatieri kick)
* Pittsburgh - Bruener 1 pass from Stewart (Thigpen pass from Stewart)
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 31

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=3
R2=0
R3=0
R4=3
Home=Oilers
H1=3
H2=14
H3=7
H4=0"at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 50,677
* Referee:
* TV announcers: (NBC) Charlie Jones (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

* Tennessee - FG Del Greco 34
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 23
* Tennessee - Thomas 25 run (Del Greco kick)
* Tennessee - FG Del Greco 29
* Tennessee - FG Del Greco 26
* Pittsburgh - FG N. Johnson 36

Post season

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.

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Patriots
R1=0
R2=3
R3=0
R4=3
Home=Steelers
H1=7
H2=0
H3=0
H4=0"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 12:30 PM EST
* Game weather: 52°F (Light Rain)
* Game attendance: 61,228
* Referee: Walt Coleman
* TV announcers: (NBC) Tom Hammond (play by play), Randy Cross (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

* Pittsburgh - Stewart 40 run (N. Johnson kick)
* New England - FG Vinatieri 31
* New England - FG Vinatieri 46

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Broncos
R1=7
R2=17
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Steelers
H1=7
H2=7
H3=0
H4=7"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 12:30 PM EST
* Game weather: 34°F (Mostly Sunny)
* Game attendance: 61,382
* Referee: Ron Blum
* TV announcers: (NBC) Dick Enberg (play by play), Phil Simms & Paul Maguire (color commentators), Jim Gray & John Dockery (sideline reporters)

Scoring Drives:

* Denver - Davis 8 run (Elam kick)
* Pittsburgh - Stewart 33 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Pittsburgh - Bettis 1 run (N. Johnson kick)
* Denver - FG Elam 43
* Denver - Griffith 16 pass from Elway (Elam kick)
* Denver - McCaffrey 1 pass from Elway (Elam kick)
* Pittsburgh - C. Johnson 15 pass from Stewart (N. Johnson kick)

Honors and Awards

Pro Bowlers

See: "1998 Pro Bowl

* #36 Jerome Bettis-Running Back
* #37 Carnell Lake-Safety
* #63 Dermontti Dawson-Center
* #82 Yancey Thigpen-Wide Receiver
* #93 Joel Steed-Nose Tackle
* #99 Levon Kirkland-Inside Linebacker

References