Cincinnati Bengals Record 1997:     7 wins and 9 losses

The Cincinnati Bengals opened training camp at a new home for the 1997 season. The new camp was being held for the first time ever in Georgetown, Kentucky.

The Bengals won their opener 24-21 against Arizona and then proceeded to lose their next seven games against the likes of the Ravens, Jets Broncos, and Pittsburgh.  During the tailspin the Bengals lost all hopes of making it into the playoffs and starting Quarterback Jeff Black was benched. 

An old familiar face had returned to Cincinnati and was put in to replace the struggling Black.  Quarterback Boomer Esiason was back leading the Bengals again.  With Esiason back at Quarterback, the Bengals started to win as the old veteran proved he had could still play the game with the best of them.  Esiason connected on 13 TD passes, while only giving up 2 interceptions. Under Boomer Esiason in the 1997 season, the Cincinnati Bengals would win 6 of their final 8 to finish with a 7-9 record.

Highlights for the season included Rookie Bengals Running Back Corey Dillon rushing for 1129 yards which was the 3rd most yardage in Bengals history.  Dillon’s accomplishments also included a 246-yard game against the Tennessee Titans on December 4th, 1997.  Cory Dillon broke Jim Brown's 40-year-old NFL record for the single game rookie rushing record. Meanwhile, Boomer Esiason posted a 106.9 passer rating for the final 8 games of the season.

Just as the Bengals thought they had found their answers to their Quarterback issues, Boomer Esiason was offered a spot on the Monday Night Football broadcast team.  The job as a Monday Night Football announcer was so lucrative that Esiason decided to retire so he could take the job.  Esiason went on to broadcast Monday Night Football for two year before he was finally released from the job. 

Scored 355 points (22.2/g), 10th of 30 in the NFL.
Allowed 405 points (25.3/g), 27th.
Differential of -50 points (-3.1/g), 21st.