# 1997 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1997 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the fourth and final season under head coach Barry Switzer. Before the season considered among the favorites to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XXXII—which would have been their fourth such appearance in the 1990s—the team took a significant step backwards.
The Cowboys not only failed to improve on their 10–6 record from 1996, they finished with a losing record for the first time since 1990 and failed to qualify for the playoffs. A series of countless off-the-field incidents, lack of discipline, and rumors of infighting between quarterback Troy Aikman and head coach Barry Switzer plagued the team throughout the year.
Switzer resigned at the end of the season, bringing his coaching career to an end. Chan Gailey would be his successor.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1997 Dallas Cowboys draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 22 | David LaFleur | Tight end | LSU |
| 3 | 65 | Dexter Coakley * | Linebacker | Appalachian State |
| 3 | 83 | Steve Scifres | Guard | Wyoming |
| 3 | 94 | Kenny Wheaton | Cornerback | Oregon |
| 4 | 101 | Antonio Anderson | Defensive tackle | Syracuse |
| 4 | 127 | Macey Brooks | Wide receiver | James Madison |
| 4 | 129 | Nicky Sualua | Fullback | Ohio State |
| 6 | 187 | Lee Vaughn | Cornerback | Boston College |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season

Though the season began well with an impressive win against the Pittsburgh Steelers and a 3–1 start, the Cowboys would soon see a sharp decline that included five consecutive losses to close out the year. A series of countless off-the-field incidents, lack of discipline, and rumors of infighting between quarterback Troy Aikman and head coach Barry Switzer plagued the team throughout the year. In a season filled with injuries and controversy, which also saw a tearful Michael Irvin promising change following a tough loss to the New York Giants in the final regular season game, Switzer would later resign after the season. Notable additions to the team were linebacker Dexter Coakley.

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | August 31 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 37–7 | 1–0 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 7 | at Arizona Cardinals | L 22–25 (OT) | 1–1 | Sun Devil Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 15 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–20 | 2–1 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 5 | September 28 | Chicago Bears | W 27–3 | 3–1 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 5 | at New York Giants | L 17–20 | 3–2 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 7 | October 13 | at Washington Redskins | L 16–21 | 3–3 | Jack Kent Cooke Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | October 19 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 26–22 | 4–3 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | October 26 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 12–13 | 4–4 | Veterans Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 2 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 10–17 | 4–5 | Candlestick Park | Recap |
| 11 | November 9 | Arizona Cardinals | W 24–6 | 5–5 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 16 | Washington Redskins | W 17–14 | 6–5 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | November 23 | at Green Bay Packers | L 17–45 | 6–6 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
| 14 | November 27 | Tennessee Oilers | L 14–27 | 6–7 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 8 | Carolina Panthers | L 13–23 | 6–8 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| 16 | December 14 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 24–31 | 6–9 | Cinergy Field | Recap |
| 17 | December 21 | New York Giants | L 7–20 | 6–10 | Texas Stadium | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cowboys | 0 | 17 | 17 | 3 | 37 |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
* Michael Irvin 7 Rec, 153 Yds

### 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 |

## Awards and records

* Troy Aikman, Walter Payton Man of the Year Award

## Publications

The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4 Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3 Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2