1997 Miami Dolphins season

The 1997 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 32nd overall and 28th as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 8–8, winning nine games.[1] Seven of the team's sixteen games were decided by a field goal or less. This was also the season where the Dolphins released a new logo and new uniforms with a darker aqua and dark navy drop shadow in numbers. The uniforms and logo lasted until the 2012 season. During Week 3, the Dolphins were defeated by the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers for the first time in franchise history. This could be argued as the most cursed of all Dolphins seasons because it offered a turnaround where the New England Patriots defeated the Dolphins 3 times in the 1997 season, sweeping them. This was the first of five consecutive playoff appearances for the Dolphins. This season saw the Patriots return three Marino interceptions for touchdowns in New England (two of them in the 2nd quarter of the week 13 matchup, and one in the Wild Card matchup where the Patriots defeated Miami 17–3). The Wild Card loss came less than a week after the Dolphins lost to the Patriots 14–12 on Monday Night Football in Miami for the AFC East division title. Until 2021, this was the last time the Dolphins swept the New York Jets in back-to-back seasons.

1997 Miami Dolphins season
OwnerWayne Huizenga
Head coachJimmy Johnson
Home fieldPro Player Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Patriots) 3–17
Pro Bowlers1
DT Tim Bowens

Offseason

NFL Draft
1997 Miami Dolphins draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 15 Yatil Green  Wide receiver Miami
2 44 Sam Madison *  Cornerback Louisville
3 73 Jason Taylor * †  Defensive end Akron
3 92 Derrick Rodgers  Linebacker Arizona State
3 93 Ronnie Ward  Linebacker Kansas
3 96 Brent Smith  Tackle Mississippi State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster
1997 Miami Dolphins final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • -- Kirby Dar Dar WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 87 Yatil Green WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 53 Larry Izzo LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 96 Danny Stubbs DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 82 Frank Wainright LS (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 26 Bracy Walker S (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 55 Ronnie Ward LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 53 active, 7 inactive, 5 practice squad

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 31 Indianapolis Colts W 16–10 1–0 Pro Player Stadium 70,813
2 September 7 Tennessee Oilers W 16–13 (OT) 2–0 Pro Player Stadium 64,439
3 September 14 at Green Bay Packers L 18–23 2–1 Lambeau Field 60,075
4 September 21 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 21–31 2–2 Houlihan's Stadium 73,314
5 Bye
6 October 5 Kansas City Chiefs W 17–14 3–2 Pro Player Stadium 71,794
7 October 12 at New York Jets W 31–20 4–2 Giants Stadium 75,601
8 October 19 at Baltimore Ravens W 24–13 5–2 Memorial Stadium 64,354
9 October 27 Chicago Bears L 33–36 (OT) 5–3 Pro Player Stadium 73,156
10 November 2 at Buffalo Bills L 6–9 5–4 Rich Stadium 78,011
11 November 9 New York Jets W 24–17 6–4 Pro Player Stadium 73,809
12 November 17 Buffalo Bills W 30–13 7–4 Pro Player Stadium 74,155
13 November 23 at New England Patriots L 24–27 7–5 Foxboro Stadium 59,002
14 November 30 at Oakland Raiders W 34–16 8–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 50,569
15 December 7 Detroit Lions W 33–30 9–5 Pro Player Stadium 72,266
16 December 14 at Indianapolis Colts L 0–41 9–6 RCA Dome 61,282
17 December 22 New England Patriots L 12–14 9–7 Pro Player Stadium 74,379

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance
Wild Card December 28 at New England Patriots (3) L 3–17 0–1 Foxboro Stadium 60,041

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) New England Patriots 1060.625369289W1
(6) Miami Dolphins 970.563339327L2
New York Jets 970.563348287L1
Buffalo Bills 6100.375255367L3
Indianapolis Colts 3130.188313401L1

References
  1. 1997 Miami Dolphins
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