# 1997 Atlanta Falcons season

The 1997 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL). It was their first season with new head coach Dan Reeves, who had been hired on January 21.
For the season, they added a new logo and added the numerals and socks on the road jerseys are switched from black to red.
The season was marked with tragedy, as team owner Rankin Smith died on October 26, 1997. The following week, the team wore a commemorative patch on their jerseys for the remainder of the season. The season was the last time Falcons started 0–5 until 2020.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1997 Atlanta Falcons draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 11 | Michael Booker | Cornerback | Nebraska |
| 2 | 32 | Nathan Davis | Defensive end | Indiana |
| 2 | 41 | Byron Hanspard | Running back | Texas Tech |
| 3 | 70 | O. J. Santiago | Tight end | Kent State |
| 4 | 100 | Henri Crockett | Linebacker | Florida State |
| 5 | 133 | Marcus Wimberly | Defensive back | Miami (FL) |
| 6 | 180 | Calvin Collins | Guard | Texas A&M |
| 7 | 204 | Tony Graziani | Quarterback | Oregon |
| 7 | 222 | Chris Bayne | Safety | Fresno State |
| Made roster ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | August 31 | at Detroit Lions | L 17–28 | 0–1 | Pontiac Silverdome | Recap |
| 2 | September 7 | Carolina Panthers | L 6–9 | 0–2 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 3 | September 14 | Oakland Raiders | L 31–36 | 0–3 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 4 | September 21 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 7–34 | 0–4 | 3Com Park | Recap |
| 5 | September 28 | Denver Broncos | L 21–29 | 0–5 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 12 | at New Orleans Saints | W 23–17 | 1–5 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap |
| 8 | October 19 | San Francisco 49ers | L 28–35 | 1–6 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 9 | October 26 | at Carolina Panthers | L 12–21 | 1–7 | Ericsson Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 2 | St. Louis Rams | W 34–31 | 2–7 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 11 | November 9 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 10–31 | 2–8 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 12 | November 16 | at St. Louis Rams | W 27–21 | 3–8 | Trans World Dome | Recap |
| 13 | November 23 | New Orleans Saints | W 20–3 | 4–8 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 14 | November 30 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 24–17 | 5–8 | Kingdome | Recap |
| 15 | December 7 | at San Diego Chargers | W 14–3 | 6–8 | Qualcomm Stadium | Recap |
| 16 | December 14 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–17 | 7–8 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 17 | December 21 | at Arizona Cardinals | L 26–29 | 7–9 | Sun Devil Stadium | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Season summary
### Week 7 at Saints

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 10 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| Saints | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
at Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana
* Date: October 12
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Indoors (dome)
* Game attendance: 65,619
* Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database
Game information :
Falcons
Chris Chandler 10/22, 117 Yds, TD
Jamal Anderson 21 Rush, 62 Yds, TD
Bert Emanuel 3 Rec, 40 Yds, TD
Saints
Danny Wuerffel 9/13, 120 Yds, TD, INT
Mario Bates 15 Rush, 31 Yds, TD
Andre Hastings 4 Rec, 96 Yds, TD :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | ATL | NO |
| 1 | 2:49 | 10 | 37 | | Falcons | 25-yard field goal by Morten Andersen | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 1:45 | 2 | 12 | | Falcons | Bert Emanuel 9-yard touchdown reception from Chris Chandler, Morten Andersen kick good | 10 | 0 |
| 2 | 8:45 | 12 | 45 | | Saints | 35-yard field goal by Doug Brien | 10 | 3 |
| 2 | 2:15 | 8 | 12 | | Falcons | 32-yard field goal by Morten Andersen | 13 | 3 |
| 2 | 0:00 | 1 | 18 | | Falcons | 55-yard field goal by Morten Andersen | 16 | 3 |
| 3 | 12:46 | 2 | 6 | | Falcons | Jamal Anderson 2-yard touchdown run, Morten Andersen kick good | 23 | 3 |
| 4 | 14:55 | 2 | 30 | | Saints | Andre Hastings 16-yard touchdown reception from Danny Wuerffel, Doug Brien kick good | 23 | 10 |
| 4 | 11:30 | 6 | 20 | | Saints | Mario Bates 1-yard touchdown run, Doug Brien kick good | 23 | 17 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 23 | 17 |

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ San Francisco 49ers | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 375 | 265 | L1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 265 | 314 | L2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 320 | 361 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 237 | 327 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 299 | 359 | W1 |