The 1997 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's 22nd season with the National Football League (NFL). This season would mark a new era for the Seahawks as they drafted two first round picks (Shawn Springs and Walter Jones) and traded quarterback Rick Mirer and signed Minnesota Vikings/Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon to be John Friesz's backup. Moon and Jones would go on to be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and 2014, respectively. They also signed rookie quarterback Jon Kitna. After a Week 1 injury to Friesz, Moon led the Seahawks improvement from 1996's 7–9 record to finish 8–8. This would be Moon's last season making the Pro Bowl in his career, he went on to win Pro Bowl MVP.
This season is notable for being the first under new owner Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Allen helped keep the team from relocating and made sure it remained in Seattle.
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1997 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJim ArellanesQuarterbackFresno StatePaul BurtonPunterNorthwesternAndre CooperWide receiverFlorida StatePete DiMarioTackleAlabamaNick GianacakosDefensive endBoston CollegeJ InaGuardMiami (FL)David KempfertCenterMontanaLeVance McQueenLinebackerDuke
Personnel
Staff
Final roster
Starters in bold. (*) Denotes players that were selected for the 1998 Pro Bowl.
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap HOF Minnesota Vikings L 26–28 0–1 Fawcett Stadium Recap 1 Arizona Cardinals W 34–6 1–1 Kingdome Recap 2 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–21 1–2 3Com Park Recap 3 Indianapolis Colts W 45–3 2–2 Kingdome Recap 4 at Cincinnati Bengals W 31–28 3–2 Cinergy Field Recap
Source: Seahawks Media Guides1997 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.1998 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
Regular season Divisional matchups have the AFC West playing the NFC West.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap 1 August 31 New York Jets L 3–41 0–1 Kingdome Recap 2 September 7 Denver Broncos L 14–35 0–2 Kingdome Recap 3 September 14 at Indianapolis Colts W 31–3 1–2 RCA Dome Recap 4 September 21 San Diego Chargers W 26–22 2–2 Kingdome Recap 5 September 28 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–20 2–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 6 October 5 Tennessee Oilers W 16–13 3–3 Kingdome Recap 7Bye 8 October 19 at St. Louis Rams W 17–9 4–3 TWA Dome Recap 9 October 26 Oakland Raiders W 45–34 5–3 Kingdome Recap 10 November 2 at Denver Broncos L 27–30 5–4 Mile High Stadium Recap 11 November 9 at San Diego Chargers W 37–31 6–4 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 12 November 16 at New Orleans Saints L 17–20 6–5 Louisiana Superdome Recap 13 November 23 Kansas City Chiefs L 14–19 6–6 Kingdome Recap 14 November 30 Atlanta Falcons L 17–24 6–7 Kingdome Recap 15 December 7 at Baltimore Ravens L 24–31 6–8 Memorial Stadium Recap 16 December 14 at Oakland Raiders W 22–21 7–8 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 17 December 21 San Francisco 49ers W 38–9 8–8 Kingdome Recap
Bold indicates division opponents. Source: 1997 NFL season results1997 NFL season results, NFL.com, accessed February 14, 2015.
Standings
Game summaries
Preseason
Week P1: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week P2: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Week P3: at San Francisco 49ers
Week P4: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week P5: at Cincinnati Bengals
Regular season
Week 1: vs. New York Jets This is the Seahawk's worst home loss in franchise history.
Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 3: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 5: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 6: vs. Tennessee Oilers
Week 8: at St. Louis Rams
Week 9: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 10 at Denver Broncos
Week 11: at San Diego Chargers
Week 12: at New Orleans Saints
Week 13: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 14: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 15: at Baltimore Ravens
This was the first time the Seahawks had ever played a regular season game in Baltimore against either the Colts or the Ravens.Urena, Ivan; Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present, p. 17
Week 16: at Oakland Raiders
Week 17: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Awards and records Warren Moon, Pro Bowl MVP AwardNFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 202
References
External links
1997 Seattle Seahawks season at ESPN 1997 Seattle Seahawks at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com) 1997 Seattle Seahawks Statistics at jt-sw.com 1997 Seattle Seahawks Schedule at jt-sw.com 1997 NFL draft at HickokSports.com