2000 St. Louis Rams season

The [2000 National Football League|NFL season|2000 season] was the St. Louis Rams' 63rd in the National Football League and their sixth in St. Louis. For the first time in franchise history, the Rams entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions, and started 6–0 for the second straight season. The Rams finished the regular-season with a record of 10–6 but would go on to lose to the New Orleans Saints 31–28 in the wild-card round of the playoffs. They led the NFL in scoring for a second straight year with 540 points. The Rams became the first team in NFL history to score more than 500 points on offense while allowing more than 450 points on defense. They allowed more than 30 points in seven of their games and less than 20 points only once all season, a 16–3 loss to the [2000 2000 Carolina Panthers season|Carolina Panthers season|Carolina Panthers] in week 14.
Running back Marshall Faulk was named the MVP of the regular season. It was the second straight time a Rams player was named MVP.
After the resignation of Dick Vermeil, who had been the Rams' head coach through St. Louis' 1999 championship season, Mike Martz took over as head coach, and attempted to defend the Rams' Super Bowl XXXIV title. The Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" continued its offensive dominance, scoring 33.8 points per game.
Statistically, Football Outsiders calculates that the 2000 Rams had the most efficient rushing attack of any single-season NFL team from 1993 to 2010. The 2000 Rams are one of only three teams in NFL history to score 35 points or more nine times in a single season. The Denver Broncos did it 10 times in 2013. The Rams' offense offset the team's defensive struggles: St. Louis' 471 points allowed in 2000 is the most ever surrendered by an NFL team with a winning record. The Rams had the best offense in the league, but had the worst defense in the league.
The season saw the Rams change their logo and uniforms. The team traded their blue and yellow uniforms for "New Century gold" and "Millennium blue" ones. St. Louis' new logo depicted a charging blue ram with a gold outline, matching the ram's horn. This logo would be in use for the rest of their tenure in St. Louis. After the season, Ray Agnew, Todd Collins, Steve Everitt, D'Marco Farr, and Pete Stoyanovich decided they had played their final NFL games. Troy Pelshak and Fernando Smith did, too, but they left St. Louis in the middle of the season, to go to Jacksonville for Pelshak, and back to Minnesota for Smith.

Regular season

Game summaries

Week 5: vs. San Diego Chargers

The Rams opened their offense with Kurt Warner throwing 14 consecutive passes.

Week 14: at Carolina Panthers

Postseason

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Wild Card		at New Orleans Saints		0–1	Louisiana Superdome

Game summaries

NFC Wild Card Game: at (3) New Orleans Saints

The Saints won their first playoff game in their 34-year history with quarterback Aaron Brooks' 266 passing yards and four touchdowns, by holding off the defending champion Rams, who scored three touchdowns in the final quarter. Overall, the Rams committed five turnovers while the Saints committed none. Rams quarterback Kurt Warner lost four turnovers, while running back Marshall Faulk, who shredded the Saints with 220 rushing yards when they played against them in the regular season, was held to a season low of 24 yards on the ground.

Best performances

Marshall Faulk, October 15, 208 rushing yards vs. Atlanta Falcons
Marshall Faulk, December 24, 220 rushing yards vs. New Orleans Saints
Trent Green, 431 passing yards vs. the Carolina Panthers,
Kurt Warner, 441 passing yards vs. the Denver Broncos,

Statistics

Led NFL, average yards per play
NFL record, combined net yards gained
NFL record, passing yards,
Led NFL, first downs, passing
Led NFL, passes completed
Led NFL, passing offense
Led NFL, passing touchdowns
Led NFL, percentage of passes completed
Led NFL, rushing touchdowns
Led NFL, third down efficiency
Led NFL, total offense
Led NFL, total touchdowns
Led NFL, two-point conversions
Led NFL, yards gained per completed pass

Awards and records

Marshall Faulk, NFL MVP
Marshall Faulk, Associated Press MVP
Marshall Faulk, Associated Press All-Pro
Marshall Faulk, All-NFL Team
Marshall Faulk, Associated Press Most Valuable Player
Marshall Faulk, Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year
Marshall Faulk, Daniel F. Reeves Memorial Award
Marshall Faulk, Football Digest Player of the Year
Marshall Faulk, College and Pro Football Newsweekly Offensive Player of the Year
Marshall Faulk, Miller Lite Player of the Year
Marshall Faulk, NFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 3
Marshall Faulk, NFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 7
Marshall Faulk, NFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 17
Marshall Faulk, NFC Offensive Player of the Month, October
Marshall Faulk, NFC Offensive Player of the Month, December
Marshall Faulk, Pro Football Writers of America Most Valuable Player
Marshall Faulk, Sporting News Player of the Year
Marshall Faulk, Sports Illustrated Player of the Year
London Fletcher, NFC Defensive Player of the Week, week 15
Trent Green, NFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 11
Trent Green, NFC Passer Rating Leader,
Az-Zahir Hakim, All-NFL Team
Az-Zahir Hakim, NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, week 9
Az-Zahir Hakim, PFW/PFWA All-Pro Team
Kurt Warner, NFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 5
Kurt Warner, NFC Offensive Player of the Month, September