| 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | The Rooney Family |
| General manager | Tom Donahoe |
| Head coach | Bill Cowher |
| Home field | Three Rivers Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 1st AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Patriots) 7–6 Lost AFC Championship (vs. Broncos) 21–24 |
| Pro Bowlers | 6
|
| AP All-Pros | 5
|
| Team MVP | Jerome Bettis |
| Team ROY | Chad Scott |
The 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 65th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
This season was considered a transitional year due to many key free agent losses in the offseason, as well as the first season of Kordell Stewart starting at quarterback.
The Steelers finished with an 11–5 record, their fourth consecutive AFC Central top seed, and their sixth straight playoff appearance. In doing so, Steelers head coach Bill Cowher tied Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown with most consecutive playoff appearances to start a head coaching career in the NFL—a record Cowher still co-owns with Brown, as the Steelers missed the playoffs the following season.
The Steelers made 572 rushing attempts in 1997, the most in the 1990s.[1] Their 2,479 total rushing yards were the third-most of the decade by any team.
The Steelers went into the season introducing a new font style numbers on jerseys matching the ones they wear on the helmets and the Steelers logo patch on uniform. This was the only season where the white away jerseys featured the players last names in black letters. It would switch back to gold lettering with black trim the next season.
The Steelers would host the AFC Championship Game for the third time in four years; however, they would ultimately lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. That game was the last playoff appearance for the Steelers during the 1990s and they did not return to the postseason until 2001.