Below are some links to standings, playoff races, division leaders and overall stats through 16 weeks of my 1997 NFL replay. One week to go before the playoffs.
1997 Week 16 Summary
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Tag Archives: APBA Football Replay
1997 Game 225 (Week 16) Denver at San Francisco
49ers clinch the West with win on Monday Night
Two NFL superheavyweights collided Monday Night at 3 Comm Park as the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Denver Broncos. The 49ers clinched the #2 seed in the NFC and the NFC West Championship with a 23-10 victory.
The 49ers’ defense, which has been the NFL’s best all season, showed up again. They shut down the high-powered Broncos offense holding them to 223 total yards and 10 points. Bronco RB Terrell Davis was the AFC’s leading rusher, but he was held to just 60 yards on 17 carries. Bronco QB John Elway threw for just 144 yards, was sacked three times, and was intercepted once.
As for the Niners’ offense, they didn’t have a great day, but did just enough to hold off the Broncos. Steve Young threw for 167 yards on 18 of 28 passing with a TD and an INT. Without starting running back Garrison Hearst, the Niners were paced on the ground by Terry Kirby, who rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Next week, the 49ers (11-4) will end their season on Sunday Night Football as they travel to Seattle. As for the Broncos, they secured the fourth seed in the AFC playoffs and will host a first round Wildcard game. They will end their season at home against San Diego.
1997 Game 224 (Week 16) Chicago at St. Louis
Rams take down the Bears in OT
St. Louis Rams Kicker Jeff Wilkins had a rollercoaster day. He missed four of five field goals in regulation, but when it counted the most, he drilled a 28-yarder in overtime to propel the Rams to a 20-17 victory over the Chicago Bears Sunday night in the TWA Dome.
Bears RB Darnell Autry had the best day of his NFL career until the last carry. Late in OT, Autry had 112 yards rushing, but he fumbled the ball and the Rams recovered at the Bears’ 38-yard line. After an 18-yard pass to RB Amp Lee and a few carries from Jerald Moore, the Rams were set up at the 11-yard line. Head Coach Dick Vermeil nervously ran out Wilkins, but the kicker drilled the 28-yarder for the victory.
The Rams are now 4-11 on the season and will end their season at Carolina, while the 2-13 Bears will finish up at Tampa Bay.
1997 Game 223 (Week 16) Seattle at Oakland
Jets get a gift; Seahawks blow opportunity
The Seattle Seahawks were motivated going into their game Sunday afternoon against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda Co. Coliseum. The New York Jets lost earlier in the day to Tampa Bay, so the Seahawks had a chance to control the final spot in the AFC playoff race heading into the final week.
Shockingly, the Seahawks blew their opportunity to take control of their playoff destiny as they lost 20-14 to the Raiders. Now the Seahawks need the Jets to lose to the Lions, and they must beat the 49ers to earn a playoff spot.
The Seahawks seemed to be in a primed position to go to the playoffs, but they lost starting QB Warren Moon last week to a hip injury and Moon did not play in this game either. Backup John Kitna took the snaps, and he didn’t play bad. He threw for 267 yards on 24 of 35 passing with two touchdowns.
It was the Raiders, who played outstanding. QB Jeff George has had an MVP-like season. He threw for 326 yards in this game on 21 of 30 passing with two touchdowns. On the season, George has thrown for 33 TDs and 4,242 yards. He also has only thrown three interceptions all season and has a 106.4 QB rating.
WR Tim Brown has been another MVP candidate. Brown caught 10 passes for 124 yards and two TDs. On the season, Brown is just three receptions from tying Herman Moore’s record for most receptions in a season at 123. Moore did it two years ago in 1995. On the season, Brown has caught 120 passes for 1,712 yards and nine TDs.
1997 Game 222 (Week 16) Kansas City at San Diego
Chiefs lock up the AFC West
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Diego Chargers Sunday, 34-20, at Qualcomm Stadium and have won the AFC West Division Championship. The Chiefs are still battling with the New England Patriots for the #1 overall seed in the AFC and that will be decided next Sunday.
The Chiefs forced six San Diego turnovers in the game. They picked off Charger QB Dan Whelihan four times and forced two fumbles on receptions. The Chiefs took advantage of those turnovers and scored 20 points off them.
The Chiefs got an awesome performance from QB Rich Gannon. He threw for 222 yards on 19 of 29 passing with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He finished with a 123.1 QB rating.
Chief WR Andre Rison has had a tremendous season. In this game, he caught eight passes for 128 yards and a TD. On the season, Rison has 94 receptions for 1,415 yards and nine touchdowns.
The Chiefs (13-2) will try to get the #1 overall seed in the AFC when they host the Saints in Arrowhead next Sunday. The Chargers will end their season at Denver.
1997 Game 221 (Week 16) Green Bay at Carolina
Packers earn the NFC’s top seed with a win in Carolina
For the second season in a row, the road in the NFC to the Super Bowl goes through Lambeau Field. The Green Bay Packers earned the NFC’s top seed with a 27-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Ericcson Stadium.
QB Brett Favre was on fire early in the victory. He threw three 1st half touchdowns as he paced the Packers to a commanding 24-7 halftime lead. Favre hooked up with WR Robert Brooks on a five-yard TD pass and then WR Antonio Freeman on touchdowns of 18 and 12. All three came in the second quarter.
Favre finished 28 of 44 passing for 324 yards and three touchdowns. Freeman caught 5 passes for 81 yards and 2 TDs, while Brooks had 10 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown.
The Packer defense was dominant. They held the Panthers to just 207 total yards in the win. They sacked QB Kerry Collins twice and intercepted him twice, both by SS LeRoy Butler.
The Packers (14-1) will finish the regular season Sunday at Lambeau against the Bills, while the Panthers (3-12) finish up on Saturday at home versus the St. Louis Rams.
1997 Game 220 (Week 16) Arizona at New Orleans
Saints march into the playoffs!
The preseason prognosticators didn’t give the New Orleans Saints much chance of having a successful 1997 season let alone getting into the playoffs. Good thing head coach Mike Ditka doesn’t listen to the media because the New Orleans Saints punched their ticket to the postseason with a 47-24 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at the Superdome.
The Saints had their best offensive day of the season on Sunday. They racked up 488 total yards on the day and scored 47 points. It is the third highest scoring output in Saint history. They scored 51 points in 1969 and 1976.
The Saints QB Billy Jo Hobert threw for 259 yards on 19 of 30 passing. He also threw three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Saints also gained 229 yards on the ground. RB Ray Zellars rushed for 116 yards on 20 carries. Troy Davis rushed for 44 yards and two touchdowns. Mario Bates rushed for 70 yards on 18 carries.
The Cardinals’ QB Jake Plummer had a horrible first half. He was five of 11 passing for 42 yards with five first-half interceptions. Jeff Graham replaced Plummer after halftime. He threw for 146 yards on 13 of 20 passing with a touchdown.
Now that the Saints have secured a playoff spot, they are eyeing the NFC West Championship. They are now 10-5 and will play at Kansas City next weekend. In order to win the West, the Saints need to win their last game and need the 49ers to lose Monday Night against Denver and at Seattle in two weeks.
As for the Cardinals, they are now 2-13 and will finish their season at home against Atlanta.
1997 Game 219 (Week 16) Tampa Bay at NY Jets
Buccaneers secure playoff birth
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t been in the playoffs since 1982 in the strike shortened season. They snapped that streak when they defeated the New York Jets, 23-9, on Sunday at Giants Stadium.
The Buccaneers’ defense was the story on Sunday. They held the Jets’ potent running attack to just 45 yards. They also did a number on QB Neil O’Donnell, who came into the game without throwing an interception this season. On O’Donnell’s 403rd throw of the season in the second quarter of week 16, he threw his first interception of the season to Donnie Abraham. O’Donnell’s 402 attempts without an interception is an NFL record.
In fact, late in the fourth quarter, O’Donnell threw his second interception which thwarted a Jet scoring drive and a chance to tighten up the game. O’Donnell was 19 of 38 passing for 218 yards and the two interceptions.
As for the Buccaneers, they finally got their running game going. They rushed for 139 yards on the day and controlled the clock. RB Warrick Dunn rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown, which sealed the game. Mike Alstott rushed for 51 yards on 14 carries.
The Buccaneers have secured a spot in the NFC playoffs with the victory today and they will end their season at home against Chicago. With the loss, the Jets do not control their own destiny for the final playoff spot in the AFC. They need to win their final game at Detroit and hope Seattle loses one of its final two games against Oakland (today) and San Francisco (next week).
1997 Game 218 (Week 16) Philadelphia at Atlanta
Chandler has a big day in Falcons win!
Atlanta Falcon QB Chris Chandler is quietly having his best year of his career, despite the Falcons 7-8 record and not being involved in the playoffs. Chandler had a big day in the Falcons’ 34-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday in the Georgia Dome. He threw for 332 yards on 24 of 33 passing with two touchdowns and one interception.
On the season, Chandler has completed 59% of his passes for 3,559 yards with 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has a 92.4 QB rating, which puts him in the top ten in the league.
The Falcons also got a huge workhorse day from RB Jamaal Anderson. He rushed for 128 yards on 29 carries with a touchdown. On the season, Anderson topped the 1,000-yard mark on the season with 1,070 yards and five touchdowns.
The Falcons controlled the ball the entire day against the Eagles. They held the ball for over 38 minutes in the game and ran 79 offensive plays. They racked up 484 total yards and held the Eagles to 233.
The Falcons will end their season next Sunday at Arizona, while the Eagles (5-10) will travel to Washington.
1997 Game 217 (Week 16) Miami at Indianapolis
Colts take down the Dolphins
Jimmy Johnson’s second year in Miami didn’t go so well. Johnson had great success in Dallas winning two Super Bowls and many in Miami have expected the Dolphins to improve in Johnson’s second season. The Dolphins were 8-8 a year ago. After losing to the Colts 17-13 on Sunday, Johnson and the Dolphins will be saddled with a losing season as they are now 6-9.
The Dolphins signed RB Lawrence Phillips this week to bolster their running game. Phillips was waived by the St. Louis Rams a couple of weeks ago, but he did nothing to help the Dolphins. They were once again inept in the running game as they finished with 70 yards against the Colts run defense.
The Colts didn’t light things up either, but they did just enough to get the victory. RB Marshall Faulk rushed for 102 yards on 27 carries and scored a TD. QB Jim Harbaugh was 17 of 26 passing for 163 yards.
The Colts Dan Footman had 1.5 sacks in the game. He currently has 18.5 sacks. The NFL record for the most sacks in a season is 22 by Mark Gastineau of the NY Jets.
The Dolphins will end their disappointing season against New England on Monday Night, while the Colts (5-10) finish up at Minnesota.