Throwback Thursday: The 4 shutouts of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens
The 2000 Ravens are considered one of the greatest defenses of all-time. Ebony Bird has made the case that it is the the greatest defensive unit ever. Let’s talk about the four shutouts they had in their Super Bowl season:
All statistics used for this post about the Baltimore Ravens epic defense were gathered from Pro-Football-Reference.com
The 2000 Baltimore Ravens were known for one thing, great defense. They dominated the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV so badly that the Giants offense didn’t even come close to scoring. If it weren’t for a lapse of coverage on special teams, the Giants would have been shutout. The Ravens also set the record for the fewest points allowed in a 16 game season; having four shutouts helps setting records like that.
The 2000 season started with the Ravens battling the Pittsburgh Steelers. Back then, Ravens vs. Steelers wasn’t nearly the rivalry that it is today. Baltimore ended up dominating the Steelers to the score of 16-0. The Ravens held the Steelers to 199 yards through the air and less than 50 yards on the ground. It was total domination. Richard Huntley led the Steelers in rushing with a whopping 31 yards. That was not a rare showing for a defensive line that had Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams eating space while Ray Lewis roamed free. Remembering this game should make any Ravens fan smile, especially because the rivalry has become quite intense.
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Back to back shutouts
Week 4 saw the Ravens shutout another AFC Central team, the Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens put up 37 points on the Bengals and the Bengals laid a goose egg. The Ravens recorded four sacks and two interceptions and recovered two fumbles in the lopsided game. It’s worth noting that the Bengals were absolutely atrocious at the time. Is it impressive? Yes, but the Bengals ineptitude did some of the work. Scott Mitchell and Akili Smith quarterbacked the Bengals, which tells you all you really need to know about the kind of match-up it was.
The Ravens got back to back shutouts with an ugly 12-0 win over the Cleveland Browns. Do you remember Tim Couch? If you do, you remember some good days for the Ravens against the Browns. In this particular game Couch tossed three interceptions to the purple and black and had a passer rating of 38.5. Jamal Lewis and Priest Holmes gave the Ravens all the offense they needed to win the game. It’s hard not to miss that combination even if the offense was forgettable in the Ravens first Super Bowl run. The Browns offense did nothing against the great defense of the Ravens.
The Shutouts were incredible even if the teams they dominated were not:
The fourth and final shutout of the 2000 Ravens season came against the Dallas Cowboys. It was a 27-0 victory. This was Troy Aikman’s final season with the Cowboys and this was not a game that he would want to remember. Aikman threw three interceptions and only totaled 138 yards. Emmitt Smith only managed 48 yards on the ground. I know neither legendary Cowboy was even close to their prime but that’s the Ravens dominating two Hall of Fame players.
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The Ravens defense was so athletic and the secondary was so gifted, that passing the ball on them was a challenge. Chris McAlister and Duane Starks were play-making cornerbacks. Rod Woodson and Kim Herring were great in the back end of the defense. In all four shutouts, they dominated the opposing quarterback. The Ravens were a complete defense that dominated most of the teams they played. While the four shutouts came against teams that weren’t especially good, it was an impressive showing of the Ravens’ dominance. The Ravens only let three teams score over 20 points all season, so it’s not like they only beat up on the bad teams.