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. They missed the playoffs for only the second time in ten seasons. 1997 was

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

head coach

Marv Levy Marvin Daniel Levy (; born August 3, 1925) is an American former football coach and executive who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for seventeen seasons. He spent most of his head coaching career with the Buffalo Bills, lea ...

's final year as the team's head coach. Todd Collins started at quarterback for the Bills in their first season in the post- Jim Kelly era. The Bills also signed Oakland's Billy Joe Hobert to challenge Collins for the starting job. Third-string quarterback

Alex Van Pelt Gregory Alexander Van Pelt (born May 1, 1970) is an American football coach and former player who is the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the ...

also saw playing time with three starts in Collins' absence. 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. One of the most memorable games in Buffalo Bills history occurred in Week Four against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. 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. The game was the second-greatest regular season comeback in NFL history (second only to a 28-point comeback by the 1980 49ers), and the second greatest in team history (second to " The Comeback" in the 1992 playoffs.)

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 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. Third-year quarterback Todd Collins started the season, and the Bills signed former

Raiders Raider(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Paul Revere & the Raiders, an American rock band * "Raider", a track from the 1969 album ''Farewell Aldebaran'', by Judy Henske and Jerry Yester * "Raiders", a track from the 1987 album ''Young an ...

quarterback Billy Joe Hobert, whose contract was terminated after a Week Seven loss to New England.

NFL Draft

One notable player that was not drafted by the Bills, but debuted for the team in 1997, was future Pro Bowl

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

Pat Williams, who played with the team for eight seasons.

Roster

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 2

Week 3

Starting QBs -> Buffalo Bills:

Todd Collins (quarterback) Todd Steven Collins (born November 5, 1971) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan. Collins also played for the Kansas Ci ...

/ Kansas City Chiefs: Elvis Grbac Vegas Line: Kansas City Chiefs -4.5 Over/Under: 40.0 (under)
Retrieved 2020-Jul-06.

Standings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Buffalo Bills Season Buffalo Bills seasons

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...