# 1997 Baltimore Ravens season

The 1997 season was the Baltimore Ravens’ second season in the National Football League (NFL) and second under coach Ted Marchibroda. While Baltimore failed to finish above 5th in the AFC Central, they improved from 4–12 in 1996 to 6–9–1. It would be the final season they finished at the bottom of their division for 10 years.
The Ravens updated their uniforms with a new style of numbers featuring a shadow in the back. White pants were introduced for use with home jerseys, while the black pants continued to be worn on the road.
This was the final NFL season played in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1997 Baltimore Ravens draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 4 | Peter Boulware * | Linebacker | Florida State |
| 2 | 34 | Jamie Sharper | Linebacker | Virginia |
| 2 | 58 | Kim Herring | Safety | Penn State |
| 3 | 64 | Jay Graham | Running back | Tennessee |
| 4 | 118 | Tyrus McCloud | Linebacker | Louisville |
| 5 | 134 | Jeff Mitchell | Center | Florida |
| 6 | 167 | Steve Lee | Running back | Indiana |
| 6 | 194 | Cornell Brown | Linebacker | Virginia Tech |
| 7 | 205 | Chris Ward | Defensive end | Kentucky |
| 7 | 234 | Wally Richardson | Quarterback | Penn State |
| 7 | 236 | Ralph Staten | Safety | Alabama |
| 7 | 238 | Leland Taylor | Defensive tackle | Louisville |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1997 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Mike Flynn | Center | Maine |
| Priest Holmes | Running back | Texas |

## Preseason
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | August 2 | New York Giants | L 20–21 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium |
| 2 | August 8 | at New York Jets | L 29–39 | 0–2 | Giants Stadium |
| 3 | August 16 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 13–24 | 0–3 | Veterans Stadium |
| 4 | August 22 | Buffalo Bills | L 28–31 | 0–4 | Memorial Stadium |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 31 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 27–28 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 61,018 |
| 2 | September 7 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 23–10 | 1–1 | Memorial Stadium | 52,968 |
| 3 | September 14 | at New York Giants | W 24–23 | 2–1 | Giants Stadium | 69,768 |
| 4 | September 21 | at Tennessee Oilers | W 36–10 | 3–1 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 17,737 |
| 5 | September 28 | at San Diego Chargers | L 17–21 | 3–2 | Qualcomm Stadium | 54,094 |
| 6 | October 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 34–42 | 3–3 | Memorial Stadium | 64,421 |
| 7 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 8 | October 19 | Miami Dolphins | L 13–24 | 3–4 | Memorial Stadium | 64,354 |
| 9 | October 26 | at Washington Redskins | W 20–17 | 4–4 | Jack Kent Cooke Stadium | 75,067 |
| 10 | November 2 | at New York Jets | L 16–19 (OT) | 4–5 | Giants Stadium | 59,524 |
| 11 | November 9 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 0–37 | 4–6 | Three Rivers Stadium | 56,669 |
| 12 | November 16 | Philadelphia Eagles | T 10–10 (OT) | 4–6–1 | Memorial Stadium | 63,546 |
| 13 | November 23 | Arizona Cardinals | L 13–16 | 4–7–1 | Memorial Stadium | 53,976 |
| 14 | November 30 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 27–29 | 4–8–1 | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | 63,712 |
| 15 | December 7 | Seattle Seahawks | W 31–24 | 5–8–1 | Memorial Stadium | 54,395 |
| 16 | December 14 | Tennessee Oilers | W 21–19 | 6–8–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,558 |
| 17 | December 21 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 14–16 | 6–9–1 | Cinergy Field | 50,917 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Pittsburgh Steelers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 372 | 307 | L1 |
| $^{(5)}$ Jacksonville Jaguars | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 394 | 318 | W2 |
| Tennessee Oilers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 333 | 310 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 355 | 405 | W3 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 6 | 9 | 1 | .406 | 326 | 345 | L1 |