1997 Washington Redskins season

The 1997 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 66th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 62nd in Washington, D.C. The team failed to improve on their 9–7 record from 1996 and finished 8–7–1, knocking them out of playoff contention for the fifth straight year. This was the Redskins' first season playing in their new stadium, Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, that would be later called FedExField. In an infamous game with the New York Giants on November 23, 1997, quarterback Gus Frerotte sprained his neck by ramming his head into a padded cement wall during a touchdown celebration and missed the rest of the game. Jeff Hostetler would throw three interceptions and lose a fumble in relief, with three of those turnovers occurring in overtime that was capped off with a potential game-winning 54-yard field goal by Scott Blanton being shanked wide right. The game ended in a 7-7 tie, the first in team history since 1971. They finished the season with eight wins while two of the Wild Card team went in with 9-7 records.

1997 Washington Redskins season
Owner	Jack Kent Cooke's estate
General manager	Charley Casserly
President	John Kent Cooke
Head coach	Norv Turner
Offensive coordinator	Norv Turner
Defensive coordinator	Mike Nolan
Home field	Jack Kent Cooke Stadium
Results
Record	8–7–1
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1997 NFL Draft

1997 Washington Redskins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	17	Kenard Lang	Defensive end	Miami (FL)
2	51	Greg Jones	Linebacker	Colorado
3	80	Derek Smith	Linebacker	Arizona State
4	115	Albert Connell	Wide receiver	Texas A&M
5	132	Jamel Williams	Safety	Nebraska
5	140	Keith Thibodeaux	Cornerback	Northwestern State
5	148	Twan Russell	Linebacker	Miami (FL)
5	162	Brad Badger	Guard	Stanford
Made roster

Personnel

Staff

1997 Washington Redskins staff

Front office President – John Kent Cooke General manager – Charley Casserly Assistant general manager – Bobby Mitchell Head coaches Head coach – Norv Turner Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Mike Martz Running backs – Bobby Jackson Wide receivers – Terry Robiskie Tight ends – Mike Pope Offensive line – Russ Grimm

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mike Nolan Defensive line – Earl Leggett Linebackers – Dale Lindsey Defensive backs – Tom Hayes Defensive assistant – LeCharls McDaniel Special teams coaches Special teams – Pete Rodriguez Strength and conditioning Strength – Dan Riley Conditioning Director – Jason Arapoff

Roster

1997 Washington Redskins roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Trent Green 15 Jeff Hostetler 11 Jamie Martin Running backs (RB) 21 Terry Allen 47 Larry Bowie 48 Stephen Davis 20 Marc Logan 30 Brian Mitchell Wide receivers (WR) 83 Albert Connell 85 Henry Ellard 89 Chris Thomas 87 James Thrash 82 Michael Westbrook Tight ends (TE) 84 Jamie Asher 80 David Frisch 88 James Jenkins

Offensive linemen (OL) 73 Darryl Ashmore T 74 Brad Badger G 75 Bob Dahl G 68 Joe Patton G/T 67 Shar Pourdanesh T 52 Cory Raymer C 76 Ed Simmons T 63 Keith Sims G 55 Jeff Uhlenhake C Defensive linemen (DL) 93 Marc Boutte DT 92 Jamal Duff DE 79 Steve Emtman DE 95 William Gaines DT 97 Kelvin Kinney DE 99 Ryan Kuehl DT 90 Kenard Lang DE 91 Chris Mims DT 96 Rich Owens DE 78 Chris Zorich DT

Linebackers (LB) 58 Patrise Alexander MLB 57 Ken Harvey OLB 54 Greg Jones OLB 53 Marvcus Patton MLB 98 Twan Russell OLB 50 Derek Smith OLB Defensive backs (DB) 37 Jesse Campbell SS 26 Cris Dishman CB 35 Leomont Evans FS 28 Darrell Green CB 31 Darryl Pounds CB/S 24 Stanley Richard FS 32 Keith Thibodeaux CB 22 Jamel Williams SS Special teams 16 Scott Blanton K 13 Chris Jacke K 66 Dan Turk LS  1 Matt Turk P

Practice squad 61 Malcolm Hamilton LB 69 Jeff Miller T 66 Ozell Powell T 46 Chris Sanders TE 53 active, 5 inactive, 4 practice squad Reserve 12 Gus Frerotte QB (IR) 14 Karl Hankton WR (IR) 77 Tre' Johnson G (IR) 86 Leslie Shepherd WR (IR) 29 Scott Turner CB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	August 31, 1997	at Carolina Panthers	W 24–10	1–0	72,633
2	September 7, 1997	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 14–13	1–1	58,059
3	September 14, 1997	Arizona Cardinals	W 19–13	2–1	78,270
4	Bye
5	September 28, 1997	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 24–12	3–1	74,421
6	October 5, 1997	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 24–10	3–2	67,008
7	October 13, 1997	Dallas Cowboys	W 21–16	4–2	76,159
8	October 19, 1997	at Tennessee Oilers	L 28–14	4–3	31,042
9	October 26, 1997	Baltimore Ravens	L 20–17	4–4	75,067
10	November 2, 1997	at Chicago Bears	W 31–8	5–4	53,032
11	November 9, 1997	Detroit Lions	W 30–7	6–4	75,162
12	November 16, 1997	at Dallas Cowboys	L 17–14	6–5	64,559
13	November 23, 1997	New York Giants	T 7–7	6–5–1	75,703
14	November 30, 1997	St. Louis Rams	L 23–20	6–6–1	74,772
15	December 7, 1997	at Arizona Cardinals	W 38–28	7–6–1	41,537
16	December 13, 1997	at New York Giants	L 30–10	7–7–1	77,571
17	December 21, 1997	Philadelphia Eagles	W 35–32	8–7–1	75,939

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(3) New York Giants	10	5	1	.656	307	265	W3
Washington Redskins	8	7	1	.531	327	289	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	6	9	1	.406	317	372	L3
Dallas Cowboys	6	10	0	.375	304	314	L5
Arizona Cardinals	4	12	0	.250	283	379	W1