2000 American Football Season

The 2000 American football season is heavily defined by historic extremes: one of the greatest defensive units ever assembled in professional football, unparalleled offensive versatility, and the return to glory for a historic collegiate program.

The NFL: A Historic Defensive Standard

In the National Football League, the 2000 season belonged to the Baltimore Ravens. Under head coach Brian Billick, the Ravens built a defense that statistically ranks among the greatest in NFL history.

• Record-Setting Defense: Led by linebacker and Defensive Player of the Year Ray Lewis, the Ravens allowed a record-low 165 points during the 16-game regular season and forced 49 turnovers.
• Super Bowl XXXV: The Ravens’ dominance culminated in a 34–7 dismantling of the New York Giants in Tampa, Florida. The defense did not allow an offensive touchdown in the Super Bowl, yielding only a kickoff return score.
• Offensive MVP: On the opposite side of the spectrum, St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk won the NFL MVP award. Serving as the engine of the “Greatest Show on Turf,” Faulk scored an incredible 26 total touchdowns (18 rushing, 8 receiving) while sitting out two games due to injury.

College Football: The Sooners’ Perfect Run

The collegiate landscape in 2000 saw the resurgence of the Oklahoma Sooners under second-year head coach Bob Stoops.

• BCS National Championship: Entering the postseason undefeated, the Sooners faced the heavily favored Florida State Seminoles in the Orange Bowl. In a defensive struggle, Oklahoma shut down the high-powered FSU offense to win 13–2, claiming their seventh recognized national title and finishing 13–0.
• Heisman Trophy: Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke took home the Heisman Trophy. At 28 years old—having spent several years playing minor league baseball before his college football career—Weinke became the oldest player ever to win the award, throwing for over 4,100 yards and 33 touchdowns.

More Year 2000 Gridiron Milestones

Beyond the championships, the 2000 season featured several notable milestones and quiet beginnings that would shape the future of the sport:

• The Draft Pick: In the spring of 2000, the New England Patriots selected Michigan quarterback Tom Brady in the 6th round (199th overall). While he threw only three passes during the 2000 season, this draft pick ultimately changed the trajectory of the NFL for the next two decades.
• End of an Era for Stadiums: The 2000 season marked the final games played at two iconic venues: Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh and Texas Stadium’s contemporary, the Kingdome in Seattle (which was actually demolished in early 2000, forcing the Seahawks to temporarily relocate to Husky Stadium).
• Terrell Owens’ Star Breakout: San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens set a then-NFL record by catching 20 passes in a single game against the Chicago Bears on December 17, 2000, breaking a 50-year-old mark held by Tom Fears.

A Deep Dive into 2000 Football History and Highlights

• January 1, 2000 – The 86th Rose Bowl Game featured the Wisconsin Badgers facing the Stanford Cardinal. Coach Barry Alvarez’s Badgers came out on top over Coach Tyron Willingham’s Cardinal team 17-9. The Game MVP selected was Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne for the second straight year.
• January 4, 2000 – A day after accepting the head coaching position with the New York Jets, Bill Belichick resigned from the Jets and later accepted the head coaching job with the New England Patriots.
• January 4, 2000 – Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans – The 2nd BCS National Championship game held was  under the guise of the Allstate Sugar Bowl. It matched up two pretty good offensive teams.  #1 Florida State would face the #2 Virginia Tech squad. The Seminoles had their great Wide Receiver, Peter Warrick, and company, while the Hokies placed an interesting red-shirt freshman under center named Michael Vick, per the AllstateSugarBowl.org site. There were plenty of offensive fireworks as advertised. Warrick helped the Seminoles jump out early to a 28-7 lead in the first half. But Vick spearheaded the Hokies to a great comeback that actually put Virginia Tech ahead 29-28 at the end of the third quarter. Then Warrick and Florida State gave the final push that sealed the game for them.  FSU outlasted VT 46-29 in an exciting game!  
• January 9, 2000 – Miami Dolphins Quarterback Dan Marino had his final NFL victory in the AFC Wildcard game. The Dolphins defeated the Seattle Seahawks by the score of 20-17, according to the Pro-Football-Reference.com website. The last game for Marino was the following week when the Jacksonville Jaguars steamrolled the Fins 62-7.
• January 18, 2000-  Robert Wood Johnson IV, the heir to Johnson & Johnson, was approved by the NFL at the owners’ meeting to purchase the New York Jets franchise.
• January 23, 2000 – Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville – Some new names were found in the AFC Championship in the new millennium as the Tennessee Titans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 33-14, per Pro-Football-Reference.com. Titans Quarterback Steve McNair had almost as many yards rushing, 91 with three TDs, as he did passing, 14 of 23 for 112 yards. With the victory, Tennessee earned the right to play in Super Bowl XXXIV.
• January 23, 2000 – a defensive battle ensued in the 1999 NFC Championship game, played at the Trans World Dome in St. Louis, per Pro Football Reference. The St. Louis Rams outscored the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 11-6, to advance to Super Bowl XXXIV to face the Titans.
• January 30, 2000 – Georgia Dome, Atlanta – Who can forget the suspense of the very last play of Super Bowl XXXIV? The St. Louis Rams were up by seven, but Steve McNair had marched the Tennessee Titans most of the length of the field to the Rams’ ten-yard line with 6 seconds on the clock and no timeouts remaining! A Bleacher Report article reminds us of the rest: as DB Mike Jones was covering Titan tight end Frank Wycheck on the play near the goal line, an open Kevin Dyson caught the pass from McNair. Jones left his coverage when the ball was passed and tackled Dyson at his legs, leaving the receiver to stretch for the goal line.  As the play happened, everybody watching was on the edge of their seats, and then Dyson’s shoulder touched the ground…the ball was short of the line! The Rams win in the most dramatic of endings over Tennessee, 23-16.  St. Louis Quarterback Kurt Warner won the Most Valuable Player award after he threw for 414 yards and two scores in the game. At the time, this game had the fifth-highest viewership in television history, with over 130.7 million people watching.
• February 6, 2000 – Offense ruled the day as the NFC put up 51 points to defeat the AFC 51-31 at Aloha Stadium. Minnesota Vikings superstar Randy Moss took home MVP honors.
• March 27, 2000 – NFL officials announced that the 1999 season was the first time paid attendance averaged over 65,000 per game. It was also the first time in the League’s history that paid attendance reached over 20 million for all games in a single season.
• April 15, 2000, NFL Draft – Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown was the first pick by the Cleveland Browns. Brown was a consensus All-American in his senior season with the Nittany Lions. Courtney, along with Penn State teammate Lavar Arrington, was the most popular choice by draft gurus everywhere, labeling them as sure-fire picks. The Cleveland franchise believed in the hype, too, and Brown appeared to be the right choice during his rookie season, recording 69 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks, according to Brownsnation.com website.  An injury-plagued second season, though, derailed the trajectory of the young player, and his stock value fell sharply. The Browns kept Courtney on their roster for a total of five seasons, and then he played one final year in Denver before his playing career came to an end, according to Pro Football Reference website.
• June 12, 2000 – After an illustrious 14-year NFL career, legendary quarterback Steve Young retired from the sport. Young finished with three Super Bowl wins, two NFL MVP awards, and eventual induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
• October 23, 2000 – Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey – The “Monday Night Miracle” took place on ABC’s Monday Night Football! The Miami Dolphins were not the most polite of guests to the New York Jets, as they had outscored their hosts 30-7 by the end of the third quarter. The New York Jets would not lie down quietly in their house, though, as they pulled together an improbable comeback with 4 touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth quarter, and tied the game twice in the final stanza. The Green and White kept on scrapping and eventually defeated the Miami Dolphins 40-37 in overtime on a John Hall 40-yard field goal.
• November 4, 2000 – A Big 10 Conference Offensive explosion erupts as No. 21 Northwestern knocked off No. 12 Michigan 54 – 51.
• November 11, 2000 – South Bend, Indiana – According to onthisday.com, the 12th College Football Holy War was played, with Notre Dame knocking off Boston College 28-16. (source)
• November 26, 2000 – McMahon Stadium, Calgary –  In a thriller, it was the BC Lions who outlasted the Montreal Alouettes 28-26 in a very improbable CFL Championship in the 88th edition of the Grey Cup. The Lions were the first team ever to finish the regular season with more losses than wins and then to win the Grey Cup! The NinetyNineYards.com gang is all over this game in detail, so be sure to check out their article by clicking their highlighted name above.
• December 1, 2000 – The National Football League selected veteran official Mike Pereira as the Director of Officiating of the League. Mike stepped down from his duties at NFL Headquarters in 2010, and since then, he has been the NFL on Fox expert on all things officiating. (source)
• December 2, 2000 – In the 9th SEC Championship Game, the #7 Florida Gators cruised past the #18 Auburn Tigers 28-6.
• December 2, 2000 – The #1 Oklahoma Sooners outlasted the #8 Kansas State Wildcats 27-24 to win the 5th Big 12 Championship Game.
• December 11, 2000 – The Heisman Trophy was awarded to Quarterback Chris Weinke of Florida State University. The senior signal caller threw for 4,167 yards to lead the nation and also won the Johnny Unitas and Davey O’Brien Awards as the top quarterback in the country, per Heisman.com. The Seminoles lost to the Oklahoma Sooners in the National Championship game at the Orange Bowl by the score of 13-2.
• December 17, 2000 – Terrell Owens of the 49ers caught a single-game receiving record of 20 receptions for 283 yards against the Chicago Bears.  Owens broke the previous record of 18 set by Tom Fears in 1950 with the Rams. (source)
• December 26, 2000 – GeorgiaEncyclopedia.org reports that Mark Richt became the 25th head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. Richt’s 2002 season was the peak: 13-1, an SEC championship, and a Sugar Bowl win over Florida State. Richt led Georgia for 15 seasons, posting a 145-51 record, two SEC championship berths, and 9 bowl wins.