2000 Ravens Disrespected in Super Bowl Winner Rankings

The 2000 Baltimore Ravens remain the most memorable team in franchise history.

The Baltimore Ravens have seen plenty of great teams over the years, but it’s hard to say the 2000 Super Bowl XXXV-winning team wasn’t the best in franchise history.

Sure, the 2012 team also won the Super Bowl, and many would consider that the greatest Ravens team ever. However, the 2000 team boasted one of the best defenses the NFL has ever seen, allowing a mere 10.3 points per game and shutting out four different opponents throughout the season.

The Ravens capped off the season with a dominant 34-7 win over the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, holding them to just 152 total yards and no offensive touchdowns.

The offense may have been pedestrian, but the defense ensures this team will be arguably the most memorable in Ravens history, and among the most memorable in NFL history.

At least, that’s what many belive. CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo ranked every Super Bowl champion of the 21st Century, and controversially placed the 2000 Ravens at No. 24, only ahead of the 2001 New England Patriots.

“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,” DeArdo wrote. “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.”

Perhaps those are valid points, but it still feels wrong to place a team with one of the greatest defenses ever so low. With the amount of talent on that unit, it’s hard to imagine any potential opponent faring well against them.

The 2012 Ravens came in at No. 13, the exact midpoint of the list. That team stumbled in the final stretch of the regular season, but pulled it together to go on one of the most impressive playoff runs ever, with Joe Flacco playing some elite football and Ray Lewis and Ed Reed leaving Baltimore as champions.

The 2024 Philadelphia Eagles claimed the No. 1 spot, so perhaps there is some recency bias in this list. Not to say the Eagles don’t deserve that spot, but it’s just a theory.