Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League champion for the 2000 season. The Ravens defeated the Giants to win their first championship in franchise history. Their 34–7 victory was tied for the seventh largest Super Bowl margin of victory with Super Bowl XXXVII. The game was played on January 28, 2001, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, making it the first time Raymond James Stadium held a Super Bowl.
The Ravens, who posted a 12–4 regular season record, became the third wild card team to win the Super Bowl and the second in four years. The Giants entered the game seeking to go 3–0 in Super Bowls after also finishing the regular season with a 12–4 record.
The Ravens allowed only 152 yards of offense by the Giants, recorded 4 sacks, and forced five turnovers. All sixteen of the Giants' possessions ended with punts or interceptions, with the exception of the last one, which ended when time expired in the game. The Giants' lone touchdown, a 97-yard kickoff return, was quickly answered by the Ravens on an 84-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff. The Giants became the first team since the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII not to score an offensive touchdown and the fifth overall. This was the fourth Super Bowl where the winning team outscored the losing team in all four quarters. Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who made three solo tackles, two assists, and blocked four passes, was named Super Bowl MVP.
This was the fifth meeting between teams from Baltimore and New York City for a major professional sports championship, which previously occurred in the 1958 and 1959 NFL Championship Games, Super Bowl III, and the 1969 World Series. A team from Baltimore had not won a Super Bowl since the Colts' victory in 1971.
Background
Host selection process
NFL owners awarded Super Bowl XXXV to Tampa during their October 31, 1996, meeting in New Orleans. A total of five cities submitted bids: Miami, Atlanta, Tampa, Phoenix/Tempe, and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles host committee originally was going to partner with Pasadena, but switched their plans to the Coliseum after a renovation plan was announced. However, the Los Angeles bid was dismissed when their delegation failed to convince the owners that planned stadium renovations would be completed in time.Tampa became a favorite after voters passed a ballot measure in September 1996 to fund the construction of a new stadium. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue threw his support behind Tampa based on the new stadium plans. Owners initially planned on selecting only two hosts, but decided to name three after strong showings by the respective delegations. Miami, Atlanta, and Tampa were selected to host XXXIII, XXXIV, and XXXV, respectively. Tampa became the fourth metropolitan area to host the game at least three times, joining New Orleans, Miami, and Los Angeles.
The Tampa contingent expected to win the vote for XXXIV, but unexpectedly lost out to Atlanta. The Georgia Dome garnered a sympathy vote as Falcons owner Rankin Smith was terminally ill. Due to logistical conflicts, Atlanta would not be able to host the Super Bowl again until 2005, and some NFL owners desired to award the game to the city before Smith died. Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer protested afterwards, feeling that he had been promised the game after securing funding for a new stadium. As a result, XXXV was added to agenda, and Tampa was selected.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens entered the game with the second-best defense in allowing yards in the league, with the fewest points allowed and the fewest rushing yards allowed during the regular season. At the time, they were the only team to hold the opposition to under 1,000 yards rushing in a season since the NFL adopted a 16-game schedule in 1978. The Ravens' 165 points allowed broke the record set by the 1986 Chicago Bears, who had given up 187 points. The Ravens' defense had held their opponents to ten or fewer points in eleven games, including four shutouts.The defense was led by a trio of outstanding linebackers: Peter Boulware, Jamie Sharper, and Ray Lewis. During the regular season, Boulware recorded 7 sacks, while Sharper forced five fumbles and made one interception. Lewis was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by recording three sacks, making 138 tackles, and intercepting two passes. Pro Bowl defensive tackle Sam Adams and veteran Tony Siragusa anchored the defensive line, along with defensive ends Rob Burnett and Pro Bowler Michael McCrary. Baltimore also had an outstanding corps of defensive backs led by Pro Bowl veteran safety Rod Woodson, who along with Kim Herring, Duane Starks, and Chris McAlister combined for 17 interceptions.
On offense, the Ravens' main strength was rushing, led by rookie Jamal Lewis and Priest Holmes. Also, tight end Shannon Sharpe recorded 67 receptions for 810 yards and five touchdowns. Receiver Qadry Ismail added 49 receptions for 655 yards and four touchdowns. The offensive line was anchored by tackle Jonathan Ogden, who was named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth consecutive season. On special teams, Jermaine Lewis ranked second in the NFL with 36 punt returns for 578 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching nineteen passes for 161 yards and another score. Kicker Matt Stover led the NFL in field goals made and attempted, while ranking seventh in field goal percentage and second in scoring.
However, the Ravens' offense was mediocre, ranking only thirteenth in the league in scoring, sixteenth in total yards, and 23rd in passing yards. The team had a lot of trouble scoring, and at one point they went through five games without scoring an offensive touchdown. But they managed to regroup, as head coach Brian Billick forbade anyone to use the "P-word" until the team actually played in it. The Ravens' outspoken defensive lineman, Tony Siragusa, did utter the word "playoffs" on two occasions and was fined $500. Since the fine were clearly symbolic and playful, Billick explained himself by saying, "He got a $400 fine for doing it on national television and $100 for doing it on his radio show. The reason being because no one listens to his show anyway." In place of the "P-word", the word "Festivus" was used, the December 23 secular holiday featured in an episode of the popular American television sitcom Seinfeld. The Super Bowl was thereafter referred to as "Festivus Maximus."
Midway through the season, with the team at 5–3, Billick benched starting quarterback Tony Banks and replaced him with Trent Dilfer. Although his statistics were hardly distinguished, and the team lost in his first game as a starter, Dilfer led them to victory in their last seven regular season games to finish in second place in the AFC Central with a 12–4 record and entered the playoffs as a wild-card team.
New York Giants
The Giants advanced to Super Bowl XXXV after posting a 7–9 record in the previous year. Their big draft acquisition during the off-season was running back Ron Dayne, the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner. The plan was to have his power running style complement running back Tiki Barber's speed and pass-catching ability. The two would be called the Giants' "Thunder and Lightning" backfield. Although Dayne had a solid rookie year by rushing for 770 yards, the breakout star during the regular season was Barber. Barber had 1,006 rushing yards in 213 attempts, caught seventy passes for 719 yards, and scored ten touchdowns. He also returned 44 punts for 506 yards and gained 266 yards returning kickoffs, giving him 2,495 total yards.Kerry Collins entered the season as the Giants' unquestioned starting quarterback. Although he helped lead the Carolina Panthers to the 1996 NFC Championship Game, he endured a mediocre season in 1997. In 1998, he quit part way through the season after the team opened the campaign with a four-game losing streak. After spending the remainder of the 1998 season with the New Orleans Saints, Collins was signed in 1999 as the Giants' second-string quarterback, but soon claimed the starting job. In leading the Giants to Super Bowl XXXV, Collins completed 311 out of 529 passes for 3,610 yards and 22 touchdowns during the regular season. His favorite targets, in addition to Barber, were wide receivers Amani Toomer, and Ike Hilliard, along with fullback Greg Comella. The Giants offensive line featured guard Ron Stone, the team's only Pro Bowl selection from the offense.
The Giants also had a powerful defense, led by Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan, who recorded 9.5 sacks, and defensive tackle Keith Hamilton who recorded ten. Defensive backs Jason Sehorn, Emmanuel McDaniel, Reggie Stephens, and Shaun Williams combined for fourteen interceptions. Pro Bowl linebacker Jesse Armstead led the team in total tackles with 102, while also recording five sacks and an interception.
The Giants lost just four games that season, having won six of their first eight games before a subsequent two-game losing streak put them at 7–4 with five games to go. In what would be his defining moment, head coach Jim Fassel, at a press conference following the Giants' loss to the Detroit Lions, guaranteed that his team would make the playoffs. The Giants responded by winning their last five regular season games to reach 12–4 and win the NFC East for the first time in three years.