Steve Beuerlein - NFL Career - Carolina Panthers - 1997 Season

1997 Season

Expectations could not have been higher for the Panthers entering the 1997 season, but two events in the preseason involving quarterback Collins put a damper on the season before it began. In a highly-publicized incident at a bar on the last night of training camp, a drunken Collins jokingly used a racial slur to refer to a teammate, which was poorly received and hurt Collins' status as a team leader. Two days later, in a preseason game against the Broncos, Denver linebacker Bill Romanowski laid a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit on Collins, displacing Collins' helmet and breaking his jaw in several places. Beuerlein started the first two regular season games in relief of the injured Collins, going 1-1. Collins returned in Week 3 and although he was able to pull out a win at San Diego with a strong running game and solid defensive play, he often looked timid and indecisive, still not fully healed from his traumatic jaw injury. He threw seven interceptions in the next two games - both losses - including a home loss to the 49ers on Monday Night Football, where Beuerlein replaced Collins after his third interception and the 49ers up 27-7. Beuerlein rallied the Panthers with two 4th-quarter TD passes, but it was not enough as the 49ers won 34-21. Beuerlein replaced Collins as the starter for one game after the bye week, giving Collins two more weeks to heal, as well as to try and gain some of his confidence back. Beuerlein also served as a mentor to Collins, relating his stories of watching other young quarterbacks struggle in their early years before becoming stars.

In Week 8, Collins returned as the starter, playing better and winning three-straight against weaker opponents, before losing the next two where he threw 6 interceptions and only one touchdown, including an embarrassing 34-0 shutout loss to Denver at Mile High Stadium. After a win at the 2-9 Rams, which evened the Panthers' record at 6-6 and kept them in playoff contention, they suffered a devastating three-point home loss to the 4-8 New Orleans Saints. Despite out-gaining the Saints' offense by more than 100 yards, they were doomed by four turnovers, as Beuerlein again came off the bench in the first half in relief of a concussed Collins, who had thrown two early interceptions. The Panthers entered the final week with a slim chance at the last NFC playoff seed, but lost at home to the 11-loss Rams. Once again, Collins threw three interceptions and was benched late in favor of Beuerlein, who threw for a 4th-quarter touchdown, but the Rams' 30-8 lead proved insurmountable and the Panthers lost 30-18. Despite appearing in only 13 games and playing only six full games, Collins led the NFL in interceptions that year with 21. Beuerlein played much better in his three starts and seven appearances, with a passer rating almost 30 points higher than Collins. Capers saw his 7th-ranked scoring offense of 1996 fall to 27th out of 30 teams, as the Panthers were unable to repeat the success of 1996, and finished with a disappointing 7-9 record.