This upcoming season will mark the 25th anniversary of the most dominant defense to ever step onto a football field: the 2000 Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens.
Led by Ray Lewis and featuring Rod Woodson, Tony Siragusa, Sam Adams, Jamie Sharper, Chris McAlister, Duane Starks, Rob Burnett, Michael McCrary, and Peter Boulware, Baltimore's defense carried the team to a championship. Lewis won Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP.
They had to do it with a limited offense that went through a quarterback change in the middle of the season, moving from Tony Banks to Trent Dilfer after a month without scoring a touchdown. Baltimore relied on rookie running back Jamal Lewis to shoulder the load while Dilfer managed the game and got the ball to Shannon Sharpe, Qadry Ismail, and Brandon Stokley. Dilfer knew how dominant the defense was and that his job was simply to get the ball to his playmakers. The offense was certainly better after the switch to Dilfer.
Even with their offensive flaws, especially before the quarterback change, you'd think this team would rank highly in a list of the best Super Bowl champions since 2000. After all, this is the best defense of all time and certainly the best of this century. According to CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo? Not so much.
DeArdo ranked all Super Bowl winners since 2000, and the 2000 Ravens landed at a staggering 24th out of 25 teams. The only team ranked lower was the 2001 New England Patriots. Meanwhile, the 2012 Ravens were ranked 13th.
The Ravens' 2000 Super Bowl deserves more respect
DeArdo provided his reasoning for the low ranking:
"Led by future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, Baltimore had a historically dominant defense, a punishing running game (led by then-rookie and future 2,000-yard rusher Jamal Lewis) and a dynamic returner in Jermaine Lewis. The Ravens were great in some elements, but they lacked an elite passing attack that contributed to the unit undergoing a five-game drought without a touchdown during the season."
"Baltimore's defense was awesome, but it didn't face the toughest of competition that season, especially from a quarterback standpoint (Troy Aikman was the only future Hall of Fame quarterback the team faced that season, and he and the Cowboys were on a steep decline at that point). That's one of the reasons why the 2000 Ravens are not ranked higher."
Yes, Baltimore’s passing game wasn’t elite by any stretch with Banks or Dilfer at the helm, but Dilfer did exactly what was needed with that defense around him. Basing the ranking on the strength of the schedule is just an attempt to discredit how great this defense was. You can only play the teams on your schedule.
And speaking of Aikman and the Cowboys? Baltimore’s defense shut out the Hall of Fame quarterback. That was the last of four shutouts the Ravens pitched that season.
When it comes to the quarterbacks Baltimore faced, it’s a disservice to ignore that the Ravens went up against Steve McNair three times, including the postseason. The Tennessee Titans were in the Super Bowl the year before and were Baltimore’s biggest obstacle on their championship run. They knew they had to get past Tennessee, and they did exactly that in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. McNair would later win Co-MVP in 2003 alongside Peyton Manning.
Baltimore also had to take on Mark Brunell, a productive quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars at the time. Jacksonville had played in the AFC Championship the year before, and the Ravens had never beaten them before the 2000 season. That changed when Baltimore swept them that year.
In the AFC Championship, Baltimore’s defense held Rich Gannon and the Oakland Raiders’ top-ranked rushing offense out of the end zone. Gannon went on to win MVP in 2002.
Baltimore’s defense set the NFL record for the fewest points allowed in a single season—a mark that still hasn’t been topped more than two decades later. And they outdid themselves in the playoffs.
The Ravens allowed just one offensive touchdown in four playoff games, including their dominant 34-7 Super Bowl win over the New York Giants. That one touchdown came on an opening drive score by Titans running back Eddie George. The Giants’ only touchdown in the Super Bowl? A kickoff return.
- Baltimore’s defense picked off Kerry Collins four times in that Super Bowl, including a pick-six by Duane Starks.
- The fewest points allowed in a single season.
- One offensive touchdown allowed in an entire postseason.
Those are all-time feats, and we haven’t seen anything close to it in today’s NFL. That’s how dominant they were. Most of all, that team was tough. On a list ranking Super Bowl winners of the 21st century, the 2000 Ravens deserve to be much higher than second to last. Put some respect on their name.