1997 Cincinnati Bengals season

1997 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Bruce Coslet
Home field	Cinergy Field
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	4th AFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify

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 would go into a tailspin losing their next seven games, to effectively end their playoff hopes. The struggles would cost Jeff Blake his starting Quarterback job, as former Bengal starting QB Boomer Esiason who was reacquired in the off-season comes back in to lead the Bengals. With Esiason back under center the Bengals started to win as the old pro proved he had something left by connecting on 13 Touchdown passes, while only giving up two interceptions. Under Boomer the Bengals would win six of their final eight games, to finish with a 7–9 record. Just as the Bengals were ready to give Boomer Esiason the job full-time, he get 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] RB 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]

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

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 Head Coach – Bruce Coslet Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator – Dick LeBeau 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 Defensive Line – Tim Krumrie Linebackers – Mark Duffner Defensive Backs – Ray Horton Defensive Staff Assistant – Louie Cioffi Special teams coaches Special Teams – Al Roberts Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood

Regular season

Schedule

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

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

Player	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	INT	Rating
Jeff Blake	184	317	2125	8	7	77.6
Boomer Esiason	118	186	1478	13	2	106.9

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	YPC	Long	TD
Corey Dillon	233	1129	4.8	66	10

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Darnay Scott	54	797	14.8	77	5
Tony McGee	34	414	12.2	37	6

Defensive

Player	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	FF	FR
Sam Shade	96	4.0	1	1	1
Gerald Dixon	50	8.5	0	1	0
Corey Sawyer	31	0.0	4	0	0

Kicking and punting

Player	FGA	FGM	FG%	XPA	XPM	XP%	Points
Doug Pelfrey	16	12	75.0%	43	41	95.3%	77

Player	Punts	Yards	Long	Blkd	Avg.
Lee Johnson	81	3471	66	0	42.9

Special teams

Player	KR	KRYards	KRAvg	KRLong	KRTD	PR	PRYards	PRAvg	PRLong	PRTD
Eric Bieniemy	34	789	23.2	102	1	0	0	0.0	0	0
Greg Myers	0	0	0.0	0	0	26	201	7.7	18	0

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]

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

External links

• Official website
• 1997 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com