# 1997 Washington Redskins season

The 1997 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 66th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 62nd in Washington, D.C. The team failed to improve on their 9–7 record from 1996 and finished 8–7–1, knocking them out of playoff contention for the fifth straight year. This was the Redskins' first season playing in their new stadium, Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, that would be later called FedExField.
In an infamous game with the New York Giants on November 23, 1997, quarterback Gus Frerotte sprained his neck by ramming his head into a padded cement wall during a touchdown celebration and missed the rest of the game. Jeff Hostetler would throw three interceptions and lose a fumble in relief, with three of those turnovers occurring in overtime that was capped off with a potential game-winning 54-yard field goal by Scott Blanton being shanked wide right. The game ended in a 7–7 tie, the first in team history since 1971. They finished the season with eight wins while two of the Wild Card team went in with 9–7 records.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1997 Washington Redskins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 17 | Kenard Lang | Defensive end | Miami (FL) |
| 2 | 51 | Greg Jones | Linebacker | Colorado |
| 3 | 80 | Derek Smith | Linebacker | Arizona State |
| 4 | 115 | Albert Connell | Wide receiver | Texas A&M |
| 5 | 132 | Jamel Williams | Safety | Nebraska |
| 5 | 140 | Keith Thibodeaux | Cornerback | Northwestern State |
| 5 | 148 | Twan Russell | Linebacker | Miami (FL) |
| 5 | 162 | Brad Badger | Guard | Stanford |
| Made roster ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | August 31, 1997 | at Carolina Panthers | W 24–10 | 1–0 | 72,633 |
| 2 | September 7, 1997 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–13 | 1–1 | 58,059 |
| 3 | September 14, 1997 | Arizona Cardinals | W 19–13 | 2–1 | 78,270 |
| 4 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 5 | September 28, 1997 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 24–12 | 3–1 | 74,421 |
| 6 | October 5, 1997 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 24–10 | 3–2 | 67,008 |
| 7 | October 13, 1997 | Dallas Cowboys | W 21–16 | 4–2 | 76,159 |
| 8 | October 19, 1997 | at Tennessee Oilers | L 28–14 | 4–3 | 31,042 |
| 9 | October 26, 1997 | Baltimore Ravens | L 20–17 | 4–4 | 75,067 |
| 10 | November 2, 1997 | at Chicago Bears | W 31–8 | 5–4 | 53,032 |
| 11 | November 9, 1997 | Detroit Lions | W 30–7 | 6–4 | 75,162 |
| 12 | November 16, 1997 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 17–14 | 6–5 | 64,559 |
| 13 | November 23, 1997 | New York Giants | T 7–7 | 6–5–1 | 75,703 |
| 14 | November 30, 1997 | St. Louis Rams | L 23–20 | 6–6–1 | 74,772 |
| 15 | December 7, 1997 | at Arizona Cardinals | W 38–28 | 7–6–1 | 41,537 |
| 16 | December 13, 1997 | at New York Giants | L 30–10 | 7–7–1 | 77,571 |
| 17 | December 21, 1997 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 35–32 | 8–7–1 | 75,939 |

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ New York Giants | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 307 | 265 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 327 | 289 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 9 | 1 | .406 | 317 | 372 | L3 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 304 | 314 | L5 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 283 | 379 | W1 |