New gameplay features included the ability to control the speed with which the ball is thrown and the use of a blue arc to track possible receivers.

Tom Ham elaborated in GameSpot: "For example, it's hard to distinguish who the receiver is, and the quarterback takes too long to hand the ball off.

"[5] Next Generation found the most fault with the passing arc,[1] while GamePro focused on the limited number of player moves, and concluded that "with so many serious flaws, the game's just no fun to play.

"[7] Kraig Kujawa of Electronic Gaming Monthly simply said that "it hurts to play NFL '97.

"[3] Colin Ferris gave it a positive review in Game Revolution, citing the playbook editor, bigger player graphics, and control of passing arc.