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1997 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner Lamar Hunt
General manager Carl Peterson
Head coach Marty Schottenheimer
Home field Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record13–3
Division place1st AFC West
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Broncos) 10–14
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3
  • G Dave Szott (1st team)
  • G Will Shields (2nd team)
  • CB James Hasty (2nd team)

The 1997 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 28th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 38th overall. The Chiefs improved on their 9–7 record from 1996, and finished with a 13–3 record and as AFC West division champions. The Rich GannonElvis Grbac quarterback controversy was a focal point of the team's season. [1] It brewed throughout the entire season and arguably cost the Chiefs a victory in the playoffs. The Chiefs were defeated by division rival and eventual Super Bowl champion, Denver Broncos, in the 1997 playoffs. 1997 was the final season the Chiefs appeared in the playoffs during the 1990s and for the next several seasons, they fell into futility. They did not return to the playoffs until 2003.

This was the last season that head coach Marty Schottenheimer would coach the team into the playoffs, with the loss to Denver in the divisional round 14–10 capping off many years of disappointing playoff struggles. This was also the final season for future Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen.

Offseason

Draft

1997 Kansas City Chiefs draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 13 Tony Gonzalez *   Tight end California
2 47 Kevin Lockett  Wide receiver Kansas State
4 110 Pat Barnes  Quarterback California
6 163 June Henley  Running back Kansas
6 195 Isaac Byrd  Wide receiver Kansas
7 214 Nathan Parks  Offensive tackle Stanford
      Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1997 Kansas City Chiefs staff

Front office

  • Founder – Lamar Hunt
  • Chairman of the Board – Jack Steadman
  • President/General Manager/Chief Executive Officer – Carl Peterson
  • Executive Vice President/Assistant General Manager – Dennis Thum
  • Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Russ Ball

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster

1997 Kansas City Chiefs roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

53 active, 2 inactive, 5 practice squad


Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 August 2 Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–28 0–1 Arrowhead Stadium 72,726 Recap
2 August 9 at New Orleans Saints L 7–26 0–2 Louisiana Superdome 55,211 Recap
3 August 14 Carolina Panthers W 30–10 1–2 Arrowhead Stadium 76,972 Recap
4 August 22 at St. Louis Rams L 13–14 1–3 Trans World Dome 63,936 Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 August 31 at Denver Broncos L 3–19 0–1 Mile High Stadium 75,600 Recap
2 September 8 at Oakland Raiders W 28–27 1–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 61,523 Recap
3 September 14 Buffalo Bills W 22–16 2–1 Arrowhead Stadium 78,169 Recap
4 September 21 at Carolina Panthers W 35–14 3–1 Ericsson Stadium 67,402 Recap
5 September 28 Seattle Seahawks W 20–17 (OT) 4–1 Arrowhead Stadium 77,877 Recap
6 October 5 at Miami Dolphins L 14–17 4–2 Pro Player Stadium 71,794 Recap
7 Bye
8 October 16 San Diego Chargers W 31–3 5–2 Arrowhead Stadium 77,196 Recap
9 October 26 at St. Louis Rams W 28–20 6–2 Trans World Dome 64,864 Recap
10 November 3 Pittsburgh Steelers W 13–10 7–2 Arrowhead Stadium 78,301 Recap
11 November 9 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 10–24 7–3 Alltel Stadium 70,444 Recap
12 November 16 Denver Broncos W 24–22 8–3 Arrowhead Stadium 77,963 Recap
13 November 23 at Seattle Seahawks W 19–14 9–3 Kingdome 66,264 Recap
14 November 30 San Francisco 49ers W 44–9 10–3 Arrowhead Stadium 77,535 Recap
15 December 7 Oakland Raiders W 30–0 11–3 Arrowhead Stadium 76,379 Recap
16 December 14 at San Diego Chargers W 29–7 12–3 Qualcomm Stadium 54,594 Recap
17 December 21 New Orleans Saints W 25–13 13–3 Arrowhead Stadium 66,772 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Denver Broncos

Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 0 303
Broncos 3 6 01019

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Week 2: at Oakland Raiders

Week 2: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 10 9628
Raiders 7 3 17027

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

Game information

Week 3: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 3: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 0 3 7616
Chiefs 6 3 01322

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 4: at Carolina Panthers

Week 4: Kansas City Chiefs at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 7 71435
Panthers 0 7 0714

at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Game information

Week 5: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 5: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Seahawks 7 3 70017
Chiefs 0 7 73320

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: September 28
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Clear, 79 °F (26 °C)
  • Game attendance: 77,877
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Jim Mora
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 6: at Miami Dolphins

Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 14 0014
Dolphins 7 7 0317

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida

Game information

Week 8: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 8: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 0 303
Chiefs 7 17 0731

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 9: at St. Louis Rams

Week 9: Kansas City Chiefs at St. Louis Rams – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 6 11 11028
Rams 7 7 0620

at Trans World Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

Game information

Week 10: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 10: Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Steelers 10 0 0010
Chiefs 0 13 0013

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 3
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 37 °F (3 °C)
  • Game attendance: 78,301
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf and Lynn Swann
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 11: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 11: Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 3 0710
Jaguars 7 17 0024

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

  • Date: November 9
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Clear, 59 °F (15 °C)
  • Game attendance: 70,444
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dan Hicks, Jim Kelly and James Lofton
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 12: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 12: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos 3 10 3622
Chiefs 0 14 7324

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 16
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Clear and cold, 31 °F (−1 °C)
  • Game attendance: 77,963
  • Referee: Bill Carollo
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire, Phil Simms and Jim Gray
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 13: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 13: Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 3 7219
Seahawks 7 7 0014

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: November 23
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST/1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 66,264
  • Referee: Larry Nemmers
  • TV announcers (NBC): Mike Breen and James Lofton
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 14: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 14: San Francisco 49ers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 3 3 309
Chiefs 7 21 01644

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 15: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 15: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 0 000
Chiefs 10 10 01030

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: December 7
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast with fog, 28 °F (−2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 76,379
  • Referee: Ron Blum
  • TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Bob Trumpy
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 16: at San Diego Chargers

Week 16: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 7 8729
Chargers 0 7 007

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: December 14
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST/1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear and sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
  • Game attendance: 54,594
  • Referee: Bernie Kukar
  • TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond and Randy Cross
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 17: vs. New Orleans Saints

Week 17: New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Saints 0 0 7613
Chiefs 3 9 01325

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Kansas City Chiefs 13 3 0 .813 375 232 W6
(4) Denver Broncos 12 4 0 .750 472 287 W1
Seattle Seahawks 8 8 0 .500 365 362 W2
Oakland Raiders 4 12 0 .250 324 419 L5
San Diego Chargers 4 12 0 .250 266 425 L8

Postseason

Schedule

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
Wild Card First-round bye
Divisional January 4, 1998 Denver Broncos (4) L 10–14 0–1 Arrowhead Stadium 76,965 Recap

Game summaries

AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (4) Denver Broncos

AFC Divisional Playoffs: (4) Denver Broncos at (1) Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 7 0714
Chiefs 0 0 10010

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: January 4
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast, 32 °F (0 °C)
  • Game attendance: 76,965
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Phil Simms, Paul Maguire and Jim Gray
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

See also

References

  1. ^ Gretz, Bob. Quarterbacks and controversy Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine KCChiefs.com, November 1, 2006
  2. ^ "1997 Kansas City Chiefs draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2014.