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2000 Baltimore Ravens season
Head coach	Brian Billick
Home field	PSINet Stadium
Results
Record	12-4
Place	2nd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Broncos) 21-3 Won Divisional Playoffs (Titans) 24-10 Won AFC Championship (Raiders) 16-3 Won Super Bowl XXXV (Giants) 34-7
Pro Bowlers	5
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1999	2001

The Baltimore Ravens concluded the 2000 NFL season with a 12-4 record, good for second place in the AFC central, and earning them a spot in the playoffs as a wild card entrant. The Ravens won three straight games in the AFC playoffs, culminating in a trip to Tampa for the Super Bowl, where they defeated the New York Giants, 34-7, to win their first championship.

Contents 1 Offseason 2 Season summary 3 2000 NFL Draft 4 Roster 5 Regular season 5.1 Schedule 5.2 Standings 6 Postseason 7 Awards 8 References

[edit] Offseason

The Ravens spent most of the off-season concerned with the status of their star linebacker Ray Lewis, who along with two other acquaintances, was arrested and charged with murder after an incident outside of an Atlanta nightclub on January 31, 2000. On June 5, a plea bargain was struck, and murder and aggravated assault charges were dropped in exchange for testimony against his companions. Lewis pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice and was sentenced to a year of probation.

[edit] Season summary

The Ravens started the season with a 5-1 start, with three of their victories coming by shutout. Despite the great play of the defense, the offense hit a major swoon after the first month of the season. Following a 37-0 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens would not score a touchdown for five consecutive games. The Ravens won the first two of these games thanks to their defense, but lost the next three, including a critical division loss at home to the Titans. During this game, quarterback Tony Banks was benched in favor of Trent Dilfer, who would take over for the rest of the season. After a loss at home to Pittsburgh, the Ravens broke both their touchdown-less streak and losing streak against the Bengals the next week. It would be the first of seven straight wins to end the season.

The Ravens finished one game behind the Tennessee Titans in the AFC central, so the Ravens had to begin their playoff run at home in the wild card round against the Broncos. The team cruised to a 21-3 victory, setting up a date with the Titans the following week in Nashville. The Ravens prevailed 24-10, thanks to linebacker Ray Lewis' 50 yard interception return for a touchdown that put the game away. The team then traveled to Oakland to meet the Raiders for the right to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, and the Ravens advanced to their first, 16-3, as the defense held Oakland, the league's top rushing offense during the season, to just 24 yards rushing. The Ravens easily defeated the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, 34-7, as Ray Lewis led another dominant performance by the defense and was named most valuable player of the game for his efforts.

The Ravens relied heavily on their defense, which set several records during the 2000 season, including fewest points allowed during a 16-game season (165) and fewest rushing yards allowed (970). The defense finished the season number one overall in points allowed, and Ray Lewis was named defensive player of the year by the Associated Press. Starting cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Duane Starks combined to intercept ten passes, and defensive end Rob Burnett contributed with 10.5 sacks. The defense is thought of as one of the greatest ever. Offensively, the Ravens relied heavily on the running game. Rookie running back Jamal Lewis led the way with 1364 yards and veteran Priest Holmes added 588 yards. The passing game was rather pedestrian (23rd in yards passing), but Trent Dilfer brought stability to the position when he took over for Tony Banks mid-season. Tight end Shannon Sharpe, acquired as an unrestricted free agent from Denver during the offseason, was the team's leading pass receiver with 67 catches for 810 yards. Punt returner Jermaine Lewis scored two touchdowns on punt returns during the season, and ran back a kickoff in the Super Bowl, while placekicker Matt Stover made 35 field goals on 39 attempts.

[edit] 2000 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	5	Jamal Lewis	Running Back	Tennessee
1	10	Travis Taylor	Wide Receiver	Florida
3	75	Chris Redman	Quarterback	Louisville
5	148	Richard Mercier	Offensive Guard	Miami (FL)
6	186	Adalius Thomas	Linebacker	Southern Mississippi
6	191	Cedric Woodard	Defensive Tackle	Texas

[edit] Roster

Baltimore Ravens 2000 final roster
Quarterbacks 12 Tony Banks 8 Trent Dilfer 7 Chris Redman Running Backs 30 Obafemi Ayanbadejo 29 Chuck Evans 32 Sam Gash 33 Priest Holmes 31 Jamal Lewis Wide Receivers 86 Billy Davis 87 Qadry Ismail 83 Patrick Johnson 84 Jermaine Lewis 80 Brandon Stokley 89 Travis Taylor Tight Ends 81 Ben Coates 85 John Jones 82 Shannon Sharpe 88 Frank Wainwright		Offensive Linemen 74 Orlando Bobo 62 Mike Flynn 71 Spencer Folau 66 John Hudson 60 Jeff Mitchell 64 Edwin Mulitalo 75 Jonathan Ogden 70 Harry Swayne 77 Kipp Vickers 72 Sammy Williams Defensive Linemen 95 Sam Adams 90 Rob Burnett 91 Lional Dalton 99 Michael McCrary 76 Carl Powell 98 Tony Siragusa 96 Adalius Thomas 93 Keith Washington 79 Larry Webster		Linebackers 58 Peter Boulware 57 O. J. Brigance 51 Cornell Brown 56 Anthony Davis 50 Brad Jackson 52 Ray Lewis 55 Jamie Sharper Defensive Backs 35 Robert Bailey 45 Corey Harris 20 Kim Herring 25 Clarence Love 21 Chris McAlister 42 Anthony Mitchell 43 Anthony Poindexter 22 Duane Starks 38 James Trapp 26 Rod Woodson		Special Teams 5 Kyle Richardson 3 Matt Stover

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL Recap
1	September 3, 2000	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 16-0	1-0-0	Three Rivers Stadium	[1]	CBS 1:00pm
2	September 10, 2000	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 39-36	2-0-0	PSINet Stadium	[2]	CBS 1:00pm
3	September 17, 2000	Miami Dolphins	L 6-19	2-1-0	Pro Player Stadium	[3]	ESPN 8:30pm
4	September 24, 2000	Cincinnati Bengals	W 37-0	3-1-0	PSINet Stadium	[4]	CBS 1:00pm
5	October 1, 2000	Cleveland Browns	W 12-0	4-1-0	Cleveland Browns Stadium	[5]	CBS 1:00pm
6	October 8, 2000	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 15-10	5-1-0	ALLTEL Stadium	[6]	ESPN 8:30pm
7	October 15, 2000	Washington Redskins	L 3-10	5-2-0	FedEx Field	[7]	CBS 1:00pm
8	October 22, 2000	Tennessee Titans	L 6-14	5-3-0	PSINet Stadium	[8]	CBS 1:00pm
9	October 29, 2000	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 6-9	5-4-0	PSINet Stadium	[9]	CBS 1:00pm
10	November 5, 2000	Cincinnati Bengals	W 27-7	6-4-0	Paul Brown Stadium	[10]	CBS 1:00pm
11	November 12, 2000	Tennessee Titans	W 24-23	7-4-0	Adelphia Coliseum	[11]	CBS 1:00pm
12	November 19, 2000	Dallas Cowboys	W 27-0	8-4-0	PSINet Stadium	[12]	FOX 4:15pm
13	November 26, 2000	Cleveland Browns	W 44-7	9-4-0	PSINet Stadium	[13]	CBS 1:00pm
14	Bye
15	December 10, 2000	San Diego Chargers	W 24-3	10-4-0	PSINet Stadium	[14]	CBS 1:00pm
16	December 17, 2000	Arizona Cardinals	W 13-7	11-4-0	Sun Devil Stadium	[15]	CBS 4:15pm
17	December 24, 2000	New York Jets	W 34-20	12-4-0	PSINet Stadium	[16]	CBS 1:00pm

[edit] Standings

AFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
(1) Tennessee Titans	13	3	0	.813	346	191
(4) Baltimore Ravens	12	4	0	.750	333	165
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	7	0	.563	321	255
Jacksonville Jaguars	7	9	0	.438	367	327
Cincinnati Bengals	4	12	0	.250	185	359
Cleveland Browns	3	13	0	.188	161	419

[edit] Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	NFL Recap	TV Time
1	December 31, 2000	Denver Broncos	W 21-3	PSINet Stadium	[17]	CBS 12:30pm
2	January 7, 2001	at Tennessee Titans	W 24-10	Adelphia Coliseum	[18]	CBS 12:30pm
3	January 14, 2001	at Oakland Raiders	W 16-3	Network Associates Coliseum	[19]	CBS 4:00pm
4	January 28, 2001	New York Giants	W 34-7	Raymond James Stadium	[20]	CBS 6:30pm

[edit] Awards

Middle linebacker Ray Lewis was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. Four players represented the Ravens in the Pro Bowl: Lewis joined defensive tackle Sam Adams, safety Rod Woodson, and offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden. Kicker Matt Stover joined Lewis and Ogden on the associated press' All-Pro first team. Defensive end Rob Burnett joined Adams and Woodson on the AP All-Pro second team.

• Sam Adams, AFC Pro Bowl Selection,^[1]
• Brian Billick, USA Today AFC Coach of the Year,^[2]
• Trent Dilfer, Football Digest Comeback Player of the Year,^[2]
• Jamal Lewis, USA Today Offensive Rookie of the Year,^[2]
• Marvin Lewis, Football Digest Assistant Coach of the Year,^[2]
• Marvin Lewis, Pro Football Writers Association Assistant Coach of the Year,^[2]
• Marvin Lewis, USA Today AFC Assistant Coach of the Year,^[2]
• Ray Lewis, Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year,^[2]
• Ray Lewis, Football Digest Defensive Player of the Year,^[2]
• Ray Lewis, Pro Football Writers Association Defensive Most Valuable Player,^[2]
• Jonathan Ogden, AFC Pro Bowl Selection,^[1]
• Matt Stover, Golden Toe Award ^[2]
• Rod Woodson, AFC Pro Bowl Selection,^[1]

[edit] References

1. [21]
2. [22]
3. [23]
4. [24]
5. [25]

v • d • e Baltimore Ravens Founded in 1996 • Based in Baltimore, Maryland The Franchise Franchise • History • First-round draft picks • Starting Quarterbacks • Draft Stadiums Memorial Stadium • M&T Bank Stadium Culture Baltimore • Edgar Allan Poe • Art Modell • Steve Bisciotti • Ozzie Newsome • Browns leave Cleveland • Baltimore's Marching Ravens • Edgar, Allan, and Poe Head Coaches Marchibroda • Billick • Harbaugh Division Championships (2) 2003, 2006 Super Bowl Appearances (1) XXXV League Championships (1) 2000 Ring of Honor Earnest Byner, Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Art Donovan, Jim Parker, Raymond Berry, Ted Hendricks, John Mackey, Gino Marchetti, Art Modell, Michael McCrary, Peter Boulware, Jonathan Ogden Seasons 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 Current League Affiliations League: National Football League • Conference: American Football Conference • Division: North Division

v • d • e Baltimore Ravens seasons 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009

2000 NFL season v • d • e
AFC	East	Central	West	East	Central	West	NFC
	Buffalo	Baltimore	Denver	Arizona	Chicago	Atlanta
	Indianapolis	Cincinnati	Kansas City	Dallas	Detroit	Carolina
	Miami	Cleveland	Oakland	NY Giants	Green Bay	New Orleans
	New England	Jacksonville	San Diego	Philadelphia	Minnesota	St. Louis
	NY Jets	Pittsburgh	Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay	San Francisco
		Tennessee
2000 NFL Draft • NFL Playoffs • Pro Bowl • Super Bowl XXXV