Team: | New Orleans Saints |
Year: | 1997 |
Record: | 6–10 |
Division Place: | 4th NFC West |
Coach: | Mike Ditka |
Stadium: | Louisiana Superdome |
Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers: | T Willie Roaf |
Shortnavlink: | Saints seasons |
The 1997 New Orleans Saints season was the franchise’s 31st season in the National Football League (NFL), and 24th at the Louisiana Superdome. The team improved upon its 1996 record of 3–13, winning six games, but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
This was the Saints’ first season with Mike Ditka as head coach. New Orleans hired the former Chicago Bears head coach after Ditka had spent the previous four seasons as a studio analyst for NBC Sports.
See main article: 1997 NFL draft. [1]
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 31 | at St. Louis Rams | L 24–38 | 0–1 | TWA Dome | 64,575 | ||
2 | September 7 | San Diego Chargers | L 6–20 | 0–2 | Louisiana Superdome | 65,760 | ||
3 | September 14 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 7–33 | 0–3 | 3Com Park | 61,838 | ||
4 | September 21 | Detroit Lions | W 35–17 | 1–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 50,016 | ||
5 | September 28 | at New York Giants | L 9–14 | 1–4 | Giants Stadium | 68,891 | ||
6 | October 5 | at Chicago Bears | W 20–17 | 2–4 | Soldier Field | 58,865 | ||
7 | October 12 | Atlanta Falcons | L 17–23 | 2–5 | Louisiana Superdome | 65,619 | ||
8 | October 19 | Carolina Panthers | L 0–13 | 2–6 | Louisiana Superdome | 50,963 | ||
9 | October 26 | San Francisco 49ers | L 0–23 | 2–7 | Louisiana Superdome | 60,443 | ||
10 | Bye | |||||||
11 | November 9 | at Oakland Raiders | W 13–10 | 3–7 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 40,091 | ||
12 | November 16 | Seattle Seahawks | W 20–17 | 4–7 | Louisiana Superdome | 50,493 | ||
13 | November 23 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 3–20 | 4–8 | Georgia Dome | 48,620 | ||
14 | November 30 | at Carolina Panthers | W 16–13 | 5–8 | Ericcson Stadium | 57,957 | ||
15 | December 7 | St. Louis Rams | L 27–34 | 5–9 | Louisiana Superdome | 54,803 | ||
16 | December 14 | Arizona Cardinals | W 27–10 | 6–9 | Louisiana Superdome | 45,517 | ||
17 | December 21 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 25–13 | 6–10 | Arrowhead Stadium | 66,772 | ||
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |