1997 Detroit Lions: A Playoff Return & An MVP
After missing the postseason, the 1997 Detroit Lions got back on track and Barry Sanders won a co-MVP award. Read the game-by-game narrative of how it unfolded.
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1997 San Francisco 49ers: New Coach, Same Outcome
1997 was a year of change for the San Francisco 49ers, with Steve Mariucci taking over as head coach. For almost two decades the franchise had been the gold standard in the NFL—winning Super Bowl titles under Bill Walsh in 1981, 1984 and 1988, and then doing it twice more under George Seifert in 1989 […]
This One’s For John: The 1997 Denver Broncos Super Bowl Journey
Everything was about redemption for the 1997 Denver Broncos, both short-term and long-term. In the short-term, this was a team that had the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs in 1996 and lost in a big upset at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the long-term, 37-year-old quarterback John Elway had yet to win a […]
1996 Jacksonville Jaguars: An Improbable AFC Championship Game Trip
The 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars were in just their second season of existence. To no one’s surprise, they had gone 4-12 in their first year. To everyone’s surprise, they made a stunning late season push in 1996 to sneak into the playoffs. And to everyone’s shock, Tom Coughlin’s Jags then made it all the way to […]
1996 Indianapolis Colts: A Playoff Berth Amidst Change
After a surprise run to the AFC Championship Game in 1995, the Colts had to find a new coach. Ted Marchibroda, who had led this franchise to the postseason in both its Baltimore and Indianapolis iterations, called it a career. The front office tapped offensive coordinator Lindy Infante. While Infante had flamed out in a […]
1996 Buffalo Bills: The End Of The Kelly Era
Jim Kelly came to the Buffalo Bills in 1986, after a brief stint in the defunct United States Football League (USFL) out of college. Kelly’s tenure in Buffalo was the greatest in franchise history. By 1988, the Bills were a perennial contender. They won a historic four straight AFC crowns from 1990-93. Even though they […]
1996 Houston Oilers: The End Of An Era
The Houston Oilers came into existence in 1960 with the rest of the old American Football League. They won the first two AFL championships. In the late 1970s, they had the “Luv Ya Blue” teams of Earl Campbell that reached a pair of AFC Championship Games. In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was […]
1996 Miami Dolphins: The Johnson Era Begins
The 1996 Miami Dolphins were starting a new era in franchise history. The 26-year run of the legendary Don Shula ended after the 1995 season. Shula had won two Super Bowls, five AFC titles and made the playoffs in four of his final six years. But with the great quarterback Dan Marino getting older, the […]
1996 Minnesota Vikings: A Return To The Playoffs
After making the playoffs their first three seasons under Dennis Green, the Minnesota Vikings slipped to .500 in 1995. In 1996, they only modestly improved—but it was enough to get back into the playoffs and start another streak of postseason trips. The franchise was going through some tumult at quarterback. They had acquired the veteran […]
1996 Philadelphia Eagles: Beyond Adversity & Into The Playoffs
The Philadelphia Eagles came into 1996 building off a season where they won 10 games and advanced to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. That 1995 run was in the first year under head coach Ray Rhodes, who took over a team that had been around .500 the previous couple of seasons. In 1996, even […]
1996 San Francisco 49ers: The End Of The Seifert Era
George Seifert enjoyed an exemplary coaching career with the San Francisco 49ers. He was an assistant in the Bill Walsh era that produced three Super Bowl titles, and the defensive coordinator for two of those championships. Upon taking over as boss in 1989, he won a Super Bowl of his own. He won another one […]
1996 Carolina Panthers: 2nd-Year Success
The Carolina Panthers entered the league in 1995 and promptly went a respectable 7-9, a remarkable level of success for a first-year franchise. It turned out that was no fluke—in 1996, the Panthers continued their rapid growth and made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game. Carolina’s success was built around a veteran […]