New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
December 22, 1997
| Quarter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| New England Patriots | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Miami Dolphins | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| Scoring Summary | ||||
| 1st Quarter | ||||
| 6:06 | Mia | FG | FG Olindo Mare 50 | Mia 3, NE 0 |
| 2nd Quarter | ||||
| 13:41 | Mia | FG | FG Olindo Mare 41 | Mia 6, NE 0 |
| 3rd Quarter | ||||
| 7:07 | NE | TD | Marrio Grier 2 run (Adam Vinatieri Kick) | NE 7, Mia 6 |
| 4th Quarter | ||||
| 2:53 | NE | TD | David Meggett 5 run (Adam Vinatieri Kick) | NE 14, Mia 6 |
| 11:14 | Mia | TD | Lamar Thomas 8 pass from Dan Marino (Pass Failed) | NE 14, Mia 12 |
Attendance: 74,379
Missed Field Goals: Mia - Olindo Mare 51| Team Statistics | ||
| New England Patriots | Miami Dolphins | |
| First downs | 10 | 17 |
| Rushes - yards | 17 - 47 | 21 - 42 |
| Passing | 160 | 253 |
| Punt returns | 4 - 20 | 5 - 59 |
| Kickoff returns | 1 - 5 | 3 - 52 |
| Interception returns | 1 - 0 | 1 - 7 |
| Pass attempts - Completions - Had Intercepted | 18 - 26 - 1 | 28 - 44 - 1 |
| Sacked - yards lost | 2 - 13 | 3 - 22 |
| Punts | 7 - 46.6 | 5 - 43.6 |
| Fumbles - lost | 2 - 1 | 2 - 0 |
| Penalties - yards | 2 - 10 | 8 - 76 |
| Time of possession | 23:53 | 36:07 |
| Passing | ||||||||||
| New England Patriots | Att | Cmp | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lg | Sack | Loss | Rating |
| Drew Bledsoe | 26 | 18 | 173 | 6.65 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 13 | 71.5 |
| Miami Dolphins | Att | Cmp | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lg | Sack | Loss | Rating |
| Dan Marino | 44 | 28 | 275 | 6.25 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 3 | 22 | 79.3 |
| Rushing | |||||
| New England Patriots | Att | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Derrick Cullors | 10 | 29 | 2.9 | 6 | 0 |
| David Meggett | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 5t | 1 |
| Drew Bledsoe | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 7 | 0 |
| Marrio Grier | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2t | 1 |
| Miami Dolphins | Att | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Abdul-Karim Al-Jabbar | 13 | 33 | 2.5 | 8 | 0 |
| Lawrence Phillips | 5 | 8 | 1.6 | 3 | 0 |
| Jerris McPhail | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Dan Marino | 2 | -2 | -1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Receiving | |||||
| New England Patriots | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Shawn Jefferson | 7 | 76 | 10.9 | 22 | 0 |
| Ben Coates | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 9 | 0 |
| David Meggett | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 20 | 0 |
| Keith Byars | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 22 | 0 |
| Vincent Brisby | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Derrick Cullors | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Lamar Thomas | 6 | 64 | 10.7 | 16 | 1 |
| Abdul-Karim Al-Jabbar | 6 | 60 | 10.0 | 27 | 0 |
| O.J. McDuffie | 4 | 48 | 12.0 | 17 | 0 |
| Jerris McPhail | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Brett Perriman | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 17 | 0 |
| Bernie Parmalee | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 17 | 0 |
| Roosevelt Potts | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Stanley Pritchett | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 10 | 0 |
| Troy Drayton | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Kickoff Returns | ||||||
| New England Patriots | Num | Yds | Avg | FC | Lg | TD |
| Derrick Cullors | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | Num | Yds | Avg | FC | Lg | TD |
| Jerris McPhail | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Corey Harris | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Punt Returns | ||||||
| New England Patriots | Num | Yds | Avg | FC | Lg | TD |
| David Meggett | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | Num | Yds | Avg | FC | Lg | TD |
| Terrell Buckley | 4 | 58 | 14.5 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| O.J. McDuffie | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Punting | ||||||||||
| New England Patriots | Punts | Yds | Avg | Lg | TB | In20 | Blk | Net | OppRet | RetYds |
| Tom Tupa | 7 | 326 | 46.6 | 65 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38.1 | 5 | 59 |
| Miami Dolphins | Punts | Yds | Avg | Lg | TB | In20 | Blk | Net | OppRet | RetYds |
| John Kidd | 5 | 218 | 43.6 | 51 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35.6 | 4 | 20 |
| Defense | |||||||
| New England Patriots | Sacks | Loss | Ints | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Lawyer Milloy | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Canty | 1.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Todd Collins | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Johnson | 1.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | Sacks | Loss | Ints | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Terrell Buckley | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Trace Armstrong | 1.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daryl Gardener | 1.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1997 NFL Scoreboard - Week 17
Saturday, December 20, 1997
| Buffalo | 21 |
| Green Bay | 31 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| St. Louis | 30 |
| Carolina | 18 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
Sunday, December 21, 1997
| Baltimore | 14 |
| Cincinnati | 16 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Indianapolis | 28 |
| Minnesota | 39 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Pittsburgh | 6 |
| Tennessee | 16 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Chicago | 15 |
| Tampa Bay | 31 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| New Orleans | 13 |
| Kansas City | 25 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| NY Giants | 20 |
| Dallas | 7 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Philadelphia | 32 |
| Washington | 35 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Jacksonville | 20 |
| Oakland | 9 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| NY Jets | 10 |
| Detroit | 13 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| San Diego | 3 |
| Denver | 38 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Atlanta | 26 |
| Arizona | 29 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| San Francisco | 9 |
| Seattle | 38 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
Monday, December 22, 1997
| New England | 14 |
| Miami | 12 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
