1997 Oakland Raiders season

1997 Oakland Raiders season
Owner	Al Davis
General manager	Al Davis
Head coach	Joe Bugel
Home field	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	4th AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	Darrell Russell, DT Tim Brown, WR

The 1997 season was the Oakland Raiders' 28th in the National Football League, their 38th overall, their 3rd since their return to Oakland, and their first under head coach Joe Bugel. They failed to improve upon their 7–9 from 1996 and finished with a 4–12 record, the worst finish for the Raiders since 1962; when they won only once in the final season before the arrival of Al Davis. The Raiders missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

• 96 Darrell Russell DT
• 62 Adam Treu C
• 70 Tim Kohn G/T
• 31 Chad Levitt
• 27 Calvin Branch CB
• 90 Grady Jackson DT

Staff

1997 Oakland Raiders staff
Head Coaches Head Coach – Joe Bugel Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Ray Perkins Quarterbacks – Bill Musgrave Running Backs – Bishop Harris Wide Receivers – Fred Biletnikoff Offensive Line – Keith Rowen Offensive Assistant – Robert Jenkins			Defensive Coaches Defensive Line – Bill Urbanik Linebackers – Dave Adolph Linebackers – Fred Whittingham Defensive Backs – Steve Shafer Assistant Defensive Backs – Willie Brown Defensive Assistant – Kevin Spencer Defensive Assistant – John Guy Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Rusty Tillman Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Garrett Giemont

Roster

Oakland Raiders roster
Quarterbacks 3 Jeff George 8 David Klingler Running backs 35 Joe Aska 48 Jerone Davison 34 Derrick Fenner 45 Tim Hall 26 Napoleon Kaufman 31 Chad Levitt 22 Harvey Williams Wide receivers 81 Tim Brown 80 Desmond Howard 82 James Jett 84 Kenny Shedd 88 Olanda Truitt Tight ends 83 Rickey Dudley 87 John Henry Mills 89 Bob Rosenstiel		Offensive Linemen 68 Rick Cunningham T 77 Pat Harlow T 71 Lester Holmes G 72 Lincoln Kennedy T 70 Tim Kohn G/T 63 Barret Robbins C 62 Adam Treu C 78 Scott Whittaker 76 Steve Wisniewski G Defensive Linemen 90 Grady Jackson DT 51 Lance Johnstone DE 67 Russell Maryland DT 96 Darrell Russell DT 94 Anthony Smith DE		Linebackers 54 Greg Biekert 99 Aundray Bruce 55 James Folston 53 Rob Fredrickson 57 Rob Holmberg 51 Mike Morton Defensive backs 27 Calvin Branch CB 24 Larry Brown CB 20 Perry Carter CB 29 Albert Lewis CB 43 Lorenzo Lynch S 36 Terry McDaniel CB 38 James Trapp SS 42 Eric Turner FS 23 Lionel Washington CB Special teams  2 Leo Araguz P  5 Cole Ford K		Reserve Lists Currently vacant

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time	Attendance	Record
1	August 31, 1997	at Tennessee Oilers	L 24–21	NBC 10:00am	30,171	0-1
2	September 8, 1997	Kansas City Chiefs	L 28–27	ABC 6:00pm	61,523	0-2
3	September 14, 1997	at Atlanta Falcons	W 36–31	NBC 10:00am	47,922	1-2
4	September 21, 1997	at New York Jets	L 23–22	NBC 10:00am	72,586	1-3
5	September 28, 1997	St. Louis Rams	W 35–17	FOX 1:00pm	42,506	2-3
6	October 5, 1997	San Diego Chargers	L 25–10	NBC 1:00pm	43,648	2-4
7	Bye
8	October 19, 1997	Denver Broncos	W 28–25	NBC 1:00pm	57,006	3-4
9	October 26, 1997	at Seattle Seahawks	L 45–34	NBC 1:00pm	66,264	3-5
10	November 2, 1997	at Carolina Panthers	L 38–14	NBC 10:00am	71,064	3-6
11	November 9, 1997	New Orleans Saints	L 13–10	FOX 1:00pm	40,091	3-7
12	November 16, 1997	at San Diego Chargers	W 38–13	ESPN 5:00pm	65,714	4-7
13	November 24, 1997	at Denver Broncos	L 31–3	ABC 6:00pm	75,307	4-8
14	November 30, 1997	Miami Dolphins	L 34–16	NBC 1:00pm	50,569	4-9
15	December 7, 1997	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 30–0	NBC 10:00am	76,379	4-10
16	December 14, 1997	Seattle Seahawks	L 22–21	NBC 1:00pm	40,124	4-11
17	December 21, 1997	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 20–9	NBC 1:00pm	40,032	4-12

Game summaries

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total • Raiders 7 14 14 3 38 Chargers 7 6 0 0 13 Date: November 16 Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California Game start: 5:00 p.m. Game weather: 61°F; wind 6

Scoring summary Q1 SD Greg Jackson 36 yard interception return (Greg Davis kick) SD 7–0 Q1 OAK Harvey Williams 8 yard pass from Jeff George (Cole Ford kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 OAK Harvey Williams 1 yard run (Cole Ford kick) OAK 14–7 Q2 SD Greg Davis 45 yard field goal OAK 14–10 Q2 OAK James Jett 9 yard pass from Jeff George (Cole Ford kick) OAK 21–10 Q2 SD Greg Davis 22 yard field goal OAK 21–13 Q3 OAK Harvey Williams 1 yard run (Cole Ford kick) OAK 28–13 Q3 OAK Harvey Williams 32 yard pass from Jeff George (Cole Ford kick) OAK 35–13 Q4 OAK Cole Ford 23 yard field goal OAK 38–13

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(1) Kansas City Chiefs	13	3	0	.813	375	232	W6
(4) Denver Broncos	12	4	0	.750	472	287	W1
Seattle Seahawks	8	8	0	.500	365	362	W2
Oakland Raiders	4	12	0	.250	324	419	L5
San Diego Chargers	4	12	0	.250	266	425	L8

Awards and records

• Tim Brown, Single Game Record, 14 receptions, achieved on December 21
• Napoleon Kaufman, Single Game Record, 227 rushing yards, achieved on October 19
• Harvey Williams, Single Game Record, 4 touchdowns (tied club record), achieved on November 16
• Napoleon Kaufman, Single Game Record, 24 points, (tied club record), achieved on November 16
• Jeff George, Single Season Record, Most Passing Yards in One Season, 3,917
• Tim Brown, Single Season Record, Most Receptions in One Season, 104
• Tim Brown, Single Season Record, Most Receiving Yards in One Season, 1,408

Milestones

• Tim Brown, 1st Raider to have 100 receptions in a season

References

Raiders on Pro Football Reference