Now that Week 14 is completed in my 1997 NFL Replay. Here are some links to standings, playoff races, Leaders and team numbers. Thanks for following along.
1997 Replay Week 14 Summary
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1997 Game 195 (Week 14) Green Bay at Minnesota (Monday Night)
Favre exorcises demons in the Metrodome!
For the first time in his career, Green Bay Packers’ quarterback won a game in the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Packers got a huge 3rd quarter from the reigning MVP and the Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 31-21, on Monday Night Football.
Favre was 0-6 against Minnesota in the Metrodome going into Monday Night Football; however, Favre erased a 21-16 halftime deficit with two touchdown passes in the third quarter to give the Packers the deciding edge.
Favre connected with WR Antonio Freeman on a 41-yard touchdown pass with 2:30 on the clock to take a 24-21 lead after a successful 2-point conversion. Then on the ensuing kickoff return, David Palmer fumbled and the Packers recovered setting them up at the 15-yard line. On the next play, Favre rifled a dart to WR Robert Brooks for the second touchdown and within 30 seconds the Packers took a 31-21 lead, which they never relinquished.
Favre finished 25 of 42 passing with 299 yards and 2 TDs but did have a costly interception. He also scored on a scramble in the first quarter. Freeman caught six passes for 79 yards and the TD, while Brooks caught 5 passes for 63 yards and the TD. Running back Dorsey Levens had a big night as he rushed for 118 yards on 22 carries.
The Vikings got a huge first half offensively. They racked up 261 yards on the Packers’ defense and scored 21 points. Reggie White and company got the ship right in the second half as they only surrendered 125 yards in the second half with no points.
Vikings’ QB Brad Johnson was injured late in the game, and he ended up 12 of 29 for 220 yards. RB Robert Smith rushed for 96 yards on eight carries. The Vikings rushed for 166 yards in the game but couldn’t take advantage because they fell behind in the 3rd quarter.
The Packers are still atop the NFC with a 12-1 record. They travel to Tampa Bay next week in a big NFC Central showdown. The Packers beat the Buccaneers earlier in the season at Lambeau 19-9. The Vikings are now 6-7 and are probably out of the NFC playoff picture. Next week, they travel to the Bay Area to take on the 49ers.
1997 Game 194 (Week 14) Denver at San Diego
Broncos gallop past the Chargers
The Denver Broncos are an elite team in the NFL. They proved that on Sunday Night Football as they blew out the San Diego Chargers, 31-7, at Qualcomm Stadium. The Broncos rolled up 434 total yards and had big games from RB Terrell Davis and WR Rod Smith.
Davis rushed for 159 yards on 36 carries and scored three touchdowns. On the season, Davis only trails Barry Sanders in rushing this season. He has rushed for 1,532 yards on 307 carries with 13 touchdowns.
Rod Smith is having his best season of his career. He caught eight passes on Sunday for 135 yards and a touchdown. On the season, Smith is leading the Broncos in receiving with 62 receptions for 849 yards and seven touchdowns.
QB John Elway threw for 253 yards on 18 of 30 passing with a TD and an interception. On the season, Elway has thrown for 2,931 yards with 21 TDs and 18 INTs.
Defensively, the Broncos held the Chargers to 151 total yards and 50 yards rushing and 101 passing yards. The Broncos sacked QB Craig Whelihan five times and Ray Crockett intercepted him twice.
The Broncos are now 11-2 on the season and are a game and a half behind the Kansas City Chiefs for the top spot in the AFC. The Broncos have a tough schedule the next two weeks. They travel to Pittsburgh next week and then travel to San Francisco on Monday Night Football the week after. The Chargers are now 1-12 and they will host the Atlanta Falcons next week.
1997 Game 193 (Week 14) Tampa Bay at NY Giants
Buccaneers gave the Giants the Blues!
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers secured their NFC Wildcard spot with a 22-14 victory over the New York Giants Sunday afternoon in Giants Stadium. Earlier in the day, the Washington Redskins lost to the St. Louis Rams, so the Giants blew a golden opportunity to tie the Skins for the NFC Eastern Division lead.
The Buccaneers’ defense was the story in this game as it has been all season. The Bucs held the Giants to 267 total yards and 138 in the air. The Bucs harassed Giant QB Danny Kanell all day long. They sacked him six times and DT Warren Sapp was all over the place. He had two sacks on the day.
The Buccaneers had a decent day from their offense. QB Trent Dilfer was 17 of 34 for 197 yards and two touchdowns and an interception. Mike Alstott rushed for 48 yards and caught a 35-yard pass. RB Warrick Dunn rushed for 24 yards and caught four passes for 51 yards and two TDs.
The Giants got 88 yards rushing from rookie RB Tiki Barber. QB Kanell was 16 of 31 for 170 yards and a touchdown. WR Chris Calloway caught 4 passes for 83 yards and a 59-yard touchdown.
The Buccaneers will have a huge matchup next week in Tampa Bay as they take on the division-leading Green Bay Packers. The Giants will have their first of three consecutive division games to end the season as they travel to Philadelphia. After the Eagle game, the Giants will have a huge game against the Redskins in a Saturday game. Then the Giants will end the season at Dallas.
1997 Game 192 (Week 14) Pittsburgh at Arizona
Defense keeps Steelers in pace with the Bengals
Earlier in the day, the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, so the Pittsburgh Steelers had to beat the Arizona Cardinals in the desert to keep pace with the division-leading Bengals. The Steelers did thanks in part to their defense as they are now 9-4 with a 28-20 victory.
The Steelers have lived on two things all season long…big plays from QB Kordell Stewart and a dominating defense. They got both on this Sunday.
The first big play came with the Steelers trailing 3-0 in the game. Stewart scrambled right and threw a bomb deep into the Cardinal endzone. WR Courtney Hawkins ran under the pass for a 41-yard TD reception giving the Steelers a 7-3 lead in the 1st quarter.
The second big play came when the Steelers were trailing 10-7 in the second quarter. Stewart avoided a sack from DT Eric Swann and scrambled through the Arizona defense for a 49-yard touchdown run giving the Steelers a 14-10 lead at halftime.
The third big play came when the Steelers were in trouble as they were trailing 20-14 midway through the fourth quarter. After the defense forced a Cardinal punt, Stewart threw another bomb! This time WR Yancy Thigpen ran under this one and raced 82 yards for a touchdown to give the Steelers a 21-20 lead!
The final big play came from the Steelers’ defense. After the Thigpen TD, the Cardinals took over and was forced with a third-down play. QB Jake Plummers’ pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage, and it was picked off by cornerback Donnell Woolford, who returned the pick 16-yards for a touchdown. The Steelers won the game 28-20.
With the victory, the Steelers are tied with the Bengals for the AFC Central lead, but the Bengals hold the tiebreaker because the Bengals swept the Steelers in their head-to-head meetings. The Steeles have a huge game next week as they host the Denver Broncos. The Cardinals are now 2-11 and will face the Redskins at home in a huge game for the Skins.
1997 Game 191 (Week 14) Miami at Oakland
Dolphins roll the Raiders
All season long, the Miami Dolphins have been waiting to have a huge offensive day and they finally got that Sunday in Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum as the Dolphins came out victorious 31-18.
Dolphin QB Dan Marino had his best game of his season as he threw for 224 yards on 18 of 31 passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Marino has been delighted with the acquisition of WR Brett Perriman. In this game, Perriman caught five passes for 79 yards and three touchdowns. Since joining the Dolphins five games ago, Perriman has caught 20 passes for 272 yards and six TDs.
The Dolphins also got a huge rushing game against the worst rushing defense in the NFL. The Dolphins rushed for 199 yards on the day. Karim Abdul-Jabbar had his best game of the season as he rushed for 186 yards on 32 carries with a TD.
On defense, the Dolphins hounded QB Jeff George all day. The Dolphins sacked him six times and intercepted him late in the game. George has only thrown three INTs all season long.
As for the Raiders, they still are getting great offensive production from QB Jeff George and WR Tim Brown. George was 20 of 34 for 304 yards and 2 TDs, while Brown caught 8 passes for 119 yards. On the season, Brown has caught 100 passes for 1,421 yards and six touchdowns.
The Dolphins (6-7) will have a huge test next Sunday night as they take on the Detroit Lions. The Raiders (3-10) will travel to take on the AFC leading Kansas City Chiefs.
1997 Game 190 (Week 14) Atlanta at Seattle
Seahawks blow past the Falcons; stay in playoff hunt
One of the best free agent acquisitions this offseason has to be the Seattle Seahawks signing veteran QB Warren Moon, who has found chemistry in the Emerald City with his receivers. Moon and the Hawks won their fourth straight game and seventh of their last eight as they defeated the Atlanta Falcons 38-17 Sunday in the Kingdome. The Hawks are in the thick of the Wildcard race in the AFC as they are now 9-4 on the season.
Moon was outstanding on Sunday as he torched the Falcons for 231 yards on 23 of 29 passing and 3 touchdown passes. Moon had a QB rating of 134.3 on the day. Earlier in the season, Moon was throwing interceptions, which really hurt the Hawks. On this four-game winning streak, Moon has thrown eight TD passes and only two interceptions.
The Seahawks also got their running game going on Sunday as they piled up 199 yards on the ground. RB Lamar Smith led the way with 86 yards on 13 carries with a TD. RB Chris Warren carried the ball 20 times for 42 yards and a TD. Steve Broussard chipped in 40 yards on five carries.
As for Atlanta, QB Chris Chandler had a decent day. He was 22 of 39 passing for 221 yards and 2 touchdowns. RB Jamal Anderson rushed for 98 yards on 10 carries, but the Falcons got behind early and could not lean on their running game to keep in the game.
The Seahawks will try to keep things rolling as they go on the road for the next two weeks. Next Sunday they travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens and then in two weeks they travel to take on arch-rival the Oakland Raiders. The Falcons are now 5-8 on the season and they will travel to San Diego next Sunday.
1997 Game 189 (Week 14) San Francisco at Kansas City
Chiefs win the battle of Super Powers
The entire football world was peering into Arrowhead Stadium Sunday as the 11-1 Kansas City Chiefs took on the 10-2 San Francisco 49ers in a battle of NFL super heavyweights. As expected, the game was dominated by the defenses and it took a late 4th quarter drive by the Chiefs to secure the victory, 13-6.
Not much was happening on the offensive side of the ball in this game. The Chiefs managed a mere 233 total yards, while the 49ers were worse at 191. The Chiefs managed a little bit of a running game as they pounded the rock 32 times for 94 yards, while the 49ers were held to just 26 yards rushing. The Niners came into the game averaging 141 on the ground, while the Chiefs were among the league’s best at 151 per game.
The difference in the game was the constant pass rush on 49ers’ QB Steve Young. The Chiefs’ defense pounded Young throughout the game. They sacked Young seven times and forced him to throw an ill-advised interception because of the pass rush that thwarted a 49er drive. Young had his worst passing efficiency game of the year with a quarterback rating of 76.
The Chiefs got the drive they needed late in the 4th quarter. They were leading 6-3 and they finally got their offense going with a mix of a running and passing. The biggest play in the drive was a strike from QB Rich Gannon to WR Andre Rison for 30 yards on a crucial third -down play that set the Chiefs up at the 49ers one-yard line! On the next play, RB Marcus Allen leaped over the pile and scored the only touchdown of the game giving the Chiefs’ a 13-3 lead with just 2:45 remaining.
Young led the 49ers down the field with a barrage of completions to the Chiefs’ 25-yard line with 45 seconds to play. Kicker Gary Anderson drilled a 42-yard field goal to cut the lead to 13-6; however, the Chiefs recovered the ensuing onside kick and ended the game.
The Chiefs are now 11-1 and are in the driver’s seat for the #1 seed in the AFC. They host the Oakland Raiders next weekend. The 49ers are still atop the NFC West as they are now 10-3 and they will face the Minnesota Vikings at home in Candlestick with a chance to lockdown the #2 seed in the NFC.
1997 Game 188 (Week 14) St. Louis at Washington
Redskins blow an opportunity
The Washington Redskins came into Sunday afternoon’s game against the St. Louis Rams leading the NFC East with an 8-4 record. The Rams were 2-10 on the season and many predicted the Redskins to have an easy victory at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, BUT… the Rams shocked the Redskins and defeated them 13-3 in a lackluster game for the Redskins.
The Redskins couldn’t get anything going all day offensively as the Rams’ defense dominated them. The Rams held the Redskins to just 232 total yards and only 88 on the ground. The Rams held RB Terry Allen to just 21 yards on 11 carries. Linebacker Mike Jones had two huge sacks on Redskins’ QB Gus Frerotte to stop drives.
As for the Rams, they came into the game as one of the worst rushing offenses in football, but they picked up 107 on the ground. Jerald Moore paced them with 78 yards on 14 carries.
The lone touchdown of the game happened just into the fourth quarter. QB Tony Banks hit RB Amp Lee on a swing pass and he took it in for the only TD of the game to give the Rams a 10-3 lead. Banks, who completed zero passes in 13 attempts to start last week’s game, faired a little bit better today as he threw for 162 yards today on 19 of 39 passing with a TD and an INT.
The Redskins (8-5) will try to stay atop the NFC East next Sunday when they take on the Arizona Cardinals in the desert. The Rams (3-10) will travel to the Louisianna Superdome to take on the Saints.
1997 Game 187 (Week 14) NY Jets at Buffalo
O’Donnell takes down the Bills in a heroic final drive
With 3:13 left in the 4th quarter, the Buffalo Bills kicked a field goal and took a 19-14 lead Sunday afternoon at Rich Stadium. The New York Jets and QB Neill O’Donnell took over at their own 20-yard line with the Bills’ mafia rocking the stadium and the Jets needing a TD to win the game.
O’Donnell, who has been hot all year long, began a methodical drive that took them to the Bills’ 32-yard line with just a minute to play. On 4th and 12 and the game on the line, O’Donnell stood in the pocket and delivered a strike to WR Wayne Chrebet, who was tackled at the Bills’ 4-yard line, giving the Jets new life.
After RB Adrian Murrell was stuck for no gain and O’Donnell threw incomplete, the Jets were forced into another pressure situation on 3rd and goal. This time, O’Donnell threw a pass to the corner of the end zone and hit was hauled in by WR Jeff Graham for the game-winning four-yard TD catch with 15 seconds remaining! The Jets failed on their two-point conversion and led 20-19. The Bills tried one last gasp bomb and it fell incomplete giving the Jets the victory.
O’Donnell finished the game 24 of 41 for 208 yards and 3 TDs. He worked the underneath coverage the entire game and it paid off on the final drive. O’Donnell now has the NFL record for the most consecutive passing attempts without an interception. He has thrown 359 passes this season without an interception. O’Donnell has completed 55% of his passes for 2,237 yards with 12 TDs and no interceptions.
The Jets hold one of the AFC Wildcard positions at 8-5. They will host Indianapolis next week and then Tampa Bay the week after. They will finish the season with a big-time game at Detroit. As for the Bills, they are now 4-9 and will travel to Chicago next weekend.