# Super Bowl XXXV
**Super Bowl XXXV** was the [National Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-football-league)'s championship game for the 2000 season, in which the [Baltimore Ravens](https://www.edgepedia.org/baltimore-ravens) defeated the [New York Giants](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-giants) 34-7 on January 28, 2001, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.[1](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/super-bowl/) It was the Ravens' first championship, won in the franchise's fifth season of existence, and it was decided by a defense widely ranked among the best in pro football history.[2](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/2000-ravens-look-back-super-bowl-win-twenty-years-later/) • [3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Result | Baltimore Ravens 34, New York Giants 7, January 28, 2001, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida[1](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/super-bowl/) |
| Significance | Ravens' first NFL championship, in the franchise's fifth season[2](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/2000-ravens-look-back-super-bowl-win-twenty-years-later/) |
| Most Valuable Player | Middle linebacker Ray Lewis, who was also named Defensive Player of the Year for 2000[3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv) |
| Regular-season defense | 165 points allowed, the fewest in a 16-game season, surpassing the 1986 Chicago Bears[4](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/20-ravens-relics-in-20-years-super-bowl-xxxv-program-16275660) |
| Giants' offense | Held to 149 yards of total offense[4](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/20-ravens-relics-in-20-years-super-bowl-xxxv-program-16275660) |
| Game records | Ravens tied a Super Bowl record with four interceptions, became the third team to commit no turnovers in a Super Bowl, and set a record with back-to-back kickoff return touchdowns[3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv) |
| Regular season | 12-4 record; Baltimore entered the playoffs as a wild card[5](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/ravens-roundtable-players-brian-billick-discuss-iconic-2000-season-ending-with-super-bowl-win/) • [6](https://profootballrewind.com/teams/ravens/2000) |
## The 2000 Ravens and their defense
The Ravens began the 2000 season under head coach [Brian Billick](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-billick) talking about the playoffs and ended it as champions, thanks to a defense that ranked first in the league in points allowed and second in total yards.[3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv) • [6](https://profootballrewind.com/teams/ravens/2000) Coordinator Marvin Lewis built the scheme around middle linebacker [Ray Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-lewis), with tackles [Tony Siragusa](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-siragusa) and Sam Adams occupying interior blockers and outside linebackers Jamie Sharper and Peter Boulware sealing the edges.[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/great-offenses-grab-headlines-but-defense-wins-super-bowls-09000d5d80e2f758) Over the 16-game regular season the unit allowed 165 points, the lowest total in NFL history for a 16-game season and fewer than the historic 1986 Chicago Bears.[4](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/20-ravens-relics-in-20-years-super-bowl-xxxv-program-16275660)
The offense was famously modest. [Trent Dilfer](https://www.edgepedia.org/trent-dilfer) took over as quarterback mid-season and the team scored just enough points behind a ball-control attack, going 12-4 and reaching the playoffs as a wild card.[2](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/2000-ravens-look-back-super-bowl-win-twenty-years-later/) • [5](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/ravens-roundtable-players-brian-billick-discuss-iconic-2000-season-ending-with-super-bowl-win/) The season included a five-game streak without an offensive touchdown, a drought the team weathered without fracturing.[3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv)
## The playoff run
Baltimore buzzed through the postseason, beating the [Denver Broncos](https://www.edgepedia.org/denver-broncos), the [Tennessee Titans](https://www.edgepedia.org/tennessee-titans), and the [Oakland Raiders](https://www.edgepedia.org/oakland-raiders) before facing the Giants.[5](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/ravens-roundtable-players-brian-billick-discuss-iconic-2000-season-ending-with-super-bowl-win/) The Raiders fell in the AFC Championship Game on January 14, 2001, a game in which the 300-plus-pound tackle Tony Siragusa landed on quarterback Rich Gannon.[8](https://athlore.app/nfl/stories/franchises/nfl-team-bal/2000-defense-wins-the-first-title) • [2](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/2000-ravens-look-back-super-bowl-win-twenty-years-later/) The Giants arrived on the strength of a 41-0 rout of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game, but managed only 149 total yards against Baltimore.[4](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/20-ravens-relics-in-20-years-super-bowl-xxxv-program-16275660)
## The game
Baltimore's defense was the star of a lopsided game. The Ravens recorded four sacks, and the Giants' only score came on a kickoff return.[9](https://www.samford.edu/sports-analytics/fans/2023/A-Look-Back-Legendary-Defensive-Performances-in-Super-Bowl-History) • [3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv) The Ravens tied a [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl) record with four interceptions, were only the third team in NFL history to commit no turnovers in a Super Bowl, and produced three successive scores on three seesaw plays, including back-to-back kickoff returns for touchdowns, a new Super Bowl record: after the Giants' Ron Dixon returned a kickoff for a score, Baltimore's Jermaine Lewis answered immediately with one of his own, a game-clinching play Billick said "sucked the competitive life out of the Giants."[3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv) • [2](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/2000-ravens-look-back-super-bowl-win-twenty-years-later/) Cornerback Duane Starks returned an interception for a touchdown against the Giants.[2](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/2000-ravens-look-back-super-bowl-win-twenty-years-later/)
Ray Lewis earned the game's Most Valuable Player award, adding it to the Defensive Player of the Year honor he received for the 2000 season; he became the seventh defensive player named Super Bowl MVP.[3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv) • [10](https://as.com/masdeporte/2018/01/13/nfl/1515807086_527478.html) The game drew about 84 million viewers.[11](https://time.com/6629436/best-worst-super-bowls-all-time/) The week before the game, Baltimore tight end [Shannon Sharpe](https://www.edgepedia.org/shannon-sharpe) interrupted a Ray Lewis interview session to object to questions about Lewis's 2000 arrest for double murder, a case in which Lewis later pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, keeping the arrest in the headlines through game week.[11](https://time.com/6629436/best-worst-super-bowls-all-time/) The halftime show featured [Aerosmith](https://www.edgepedia.org/aerosmith) and *NSYNC, with special guests [Britney Spears](https://www.edgepedia.org/britney-spears), Nelly, and Mary J. Blige.[12](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/they-get-back-to-me-like-you-know-theres-going-to-be-how-many-hundred-million-people-watching-this-thing-you-have-to-do-it-how-creeds-2001-half-time-show-went-from-unifying-the-nation-to-fuelling-their-resurgence) • [14](https://nflmediaarchive.nfl.net/nflmedia/News/2000news/aerosmith_and_.htm)
## Meaning for Baltimore
The victory carried weight beyond football. Baltimore had been without NFL football for more than a decade after the Colts left for [Indianapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/indianapolis) in 1984, until Art Modell moved the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore; Modell left the Browns' history in Cleveland, and the Ravens began play as an expansion-style franchise in 1996.[2](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/2000-ravens-look-back-super-bowl-win-twenty-years-later/) After the game, Modell lifted the Lombardi Trophy and told the crowd, "To the people of Baltimore City, Baltimore County and the State of Maryland, this belongs to you."[3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv) Hundreds of thousands of fans lined Baltimore's streets for a parade the next day despite an icy downpour, and the organization was received at the White House by President George W. Bush in June.[3](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv)
The championship set a standard the franchise has repeatedly matched, including a second Super Bowl title to end the 2012 season, and it established the defensive, physical identity Baltimore fans came to expect.[2](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/2000-ravens-look-back-super-bowl-win-twenty-years-later/) Billick, the first coach in Ravens history to win a Super Bowl, was later inducted into the team's Ring of Honor.[13](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/baltimore-football)
## References
1. [Super Bowl History, Pro-Football-Reference.com](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/super-bowl/)
2. [Boys to Men: Twenty Years After Super Bowl XXXV, Baltimore Magazine](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/2000-ravens-look-back-super-bowl-win-twenty-years-later/)
3. [Ravens Super Bowl XXXV, Baltimore Ravens](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/super-bowl-xxxv)
4. [20 Ravens Relics In 20 Years: Super Bowl XXXV Program, Baltimore Ravens](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/20-ravens-relics-in-20-years-super-bowl-xxxv-program-16275660)
5. [What Made the 2000 Ravens One of the Most Iconic Teams in NFL History?, Baltimore Magazine](https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/ravens-roundtable-players-brian-billick-discuss-iconic-2000-season-ending-with-super-bowl-win/)
6. [2000 Baltimore Ravens, Pro Football Rewind](https://profootballrewind.com/teams/ravens/2000)
7. [Great offenses grab headlines, but defense wins Super Bowls, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/great-offenses-grab-headlines-but-defense-wins-super-bowls-09000d5d80e2f758)
8. [Defense wins the first title: Baltimore Ravens, Athlore](https://athlore.app/nfl/stories/franchises/nfl-team-bal/2000-defense-wins-the-first-title)
9. [A Look Back: Legendary Defensive Performances in Super Bowl History, Samford University](https://www.samford.edu/sports-analytics/fans/2023/A-Look-Back-Legendary-Defensive-Performances-in-Super-Bowl-History)
10. [Keenum ayudará mucho a los Vikings, AS.com](https://as.com/masdeporte/2018/01/13/nfl/1515807086_527478.html)
11. [The Best and Worst Super Bowls of All Time, TIME](https://time.com/6629436/best-worst-super-bowls-all-time/)
12. [How Creed's 2001 half-time show went from unifying the nation to fuelling their resurgence, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/they-get-back-to-me-like-you-know-theres-going-to-be-how-many-hundred-million-people-watching-this-thing-you-have-to-do-it-how-creeds-2001-half-time-show-went-from-unifying-the-nation-to-fuelling-their-resurgence)
13. [Ravens Football History, Baltimore Ravens](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/baltimore-football)
14. [AEROSMITH AND *NSYNC TO PERFORM AT Half](https://nflmediaarchive.nfl.net/nflmedia/News/2000news/aerosmith_and_.htm)
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