In only the fourth season after becoming an NFL team, the Baltimore Ravens won a Super Bowl in one of the strangest seasons for a Super Bowl winning team. The team’s offense was nothing special and was actually one of the worst in the league, but their defense led the team to the promise land and is consistently ranked as one of the best of all time. Here in this article, I will take a look back at this up and down, legendary season for the Ravens.
The offseason prior to this season was a disaster for the Ravens as they were the talk ot the league as Ray Lewis was in a heated legal battle over a stabbing that happened after a fight between him and his entourage with other individuals. Eventually, a plea bargain was reached and the murder and assault charges were dropped and the team could once again focus on football.
(source: wsnt.net)
The season started off in brilliant fashion for the Baltimore Ravens as they began the campaign 5-1, with three of those wins being shutouts. While both the offense and defense were playing pretty good for the first few weeks, after the first month of the season, the offense took a massive nose dive. In fact, after a 37-0 demolition of the Cincinnati Bengals the team wouldn’t score another touchdown for five straight games. However, despite this stat, the team actually won two of those five games, which shows just how outstanding their defense was. But eventually, the team would break this touchdown-less streak and go on to win their final seven games of the season and go into the playoffs one of the hottest teams in the NFL, finishing second in the division with a 12-4 record.
They punched their ticket to the Super Bowl with three blowout wins in the first three rounds of the playoffs in which they outscored their opponents 61-16. This set them up with a date against the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. However, the game was not an exciting one as the Ravens easily destroyed the Giants by a score of 34-7 to win the Super Bowl, and Ray Lewis was named the Super Bowl MVP.
(sourcde: sportslistoftheday.com)
Throughout the season and their playoff run, the team relied heavily on their defense, which is one of the best of all time. The 2000 Ravens defense set numerous NFL record such as: fewest points allowed in a 16-game season (165) and fewest rushing yards allowed in a 16 game season with 970 yards, which is about 60 a game. The team also had a ridiculous 26 recovered fumbles during this historic season, which was double the total of the team that came in second. The team had numerous All-Pro’s and Pro Bowlers and this is what solidified Ray Lewis as one of the best NFL linebackers of all time. While they were also top 10 against the pass, it was their run defense that helped this team achieve the legacy they currently have.
