The 1997 Buffalo Bills season was their 38th in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

. 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 head coach Marv Levy'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 James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United Stat ...

era. The Bills also signed Oakland's

Billy Joe Hobert Billy Joe Hobert (born January 8, 1971) is a former professional American football quarterback. He played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with four teams, primarily as a reserve. College career While at the University of Wash ...

to challenge Collins for the starting job. Third-string quarterback Alex Van Pelt 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 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 The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

(and future

Hall of Famer 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 fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

)

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

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

NFL Draft

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

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

defensive tackle 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) / Kansas City Chiefs:

Elvis Grbac Elvis M. Grbac (born August 13, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football at Michigan, where he won the ...

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 Buffalo Bills