| Team: | St. Louis Rams |
| Year: | 2000 |
| Record: | 10–6 |
| Division Place: | 2nd NFC West |
| Coach: | Mike Martz |
| Off Coach: | Bobby Jackson |
| Def Coach: | Peter Giunta |
| General Manager: | Mike Martz and Charley Armey |
| Owner: | Georgia Frontiere |
| Stadium: | Trans World Dome |
| Playoffs: | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Saints) 28–31 |
| Pro Bowlers: | QB Kurt Warner RB Marshall Faulk WR Isaac Bruce WR Torry Holt OT Orlando Pace |
| Uniform: | File:NFCW-Uniform-jersey -STL2000-2007.png --> |
| Shortnavlink: | Rams seasons |
| Ap All-Pros: | RB Marshall Faulk (1st team) OT Orlando Pace (2nd team) PR Az-Zahir Hakim (1st team) |
The 2000 season was the St. Louis Rams' 63rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their sixth in St. Louis. For the first time in franchise history, the Rams entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions. 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.[1]
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 33.7 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.[2] The 2000 Rams are one of only three teams in NFL history to score 35 points or more nine times in a single season.[3] [4] 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.[5] 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 add a new color scheme of navy and gold, replacing blue and yellow, donning new uniforms in the process. The Rams' new logo consisted of a charging blue ram outlined in gold with a matching gold outline. It would be their logo for 16 years.
| Additions | Subtractions | |
|---|---|---|
| C Steve Everitt (Eagles) | C Mike Gruttadauria (Cardinals) | |
| QB Paul Justin (Cowboys) | ||
| T Fred Miller (Titans) | ||
| LB Charlie Clemons (Saints) | ||
| DE Jay Williams (Panthers) | ||
| S Billy Jenkins (Broncos) | ||
| T Matt Willig (49ers) |
See main article: article and 2000 NFL Draft. [6]
| Mark Chicarelli | Running back | Northern Colorado | |
| Derek Fox | Safety | Penn State | |
| Alex Hass | Tight end | Minnesota | |
| Bill Marsaut | Tackle | Iowa State | |
| Corte McGuffey | Quarterback | Northern Colorado |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | W 31–17 | 1–0 | Trans World Dome | Recap | |||
| 2 | L 3–30 | 1–1 | Recap | ||||
| 3 | L 27–31 | 1–2 | Trans World Dome | Recap | |||
| 4 | W 24–17 | 2–2 | Recap |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Broncos | W 41–36 | 1–0 | Recap | ||||
| 2 | September 10 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 37–34 | 2–0 | Husky Stadium | Recap | ||
| 3 | September 17 | San Francisco 49ers | W 41–24 | 3–0 | Trans World Dome | Recap | ||
| 4 | September 24 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 41–20 | 4–0 | Georgia Dome | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 1 | San Diego Chargers | W 57–31 | 5–0 | Trans World Dome | Recap | ||
| 6 | Bye | |||||||
| 7 | October 15 | Atlanta Falcons | W 45–29 | 6–0 | Trans World Dome | Recap | ||
| 8 | October 22 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 34–54 | 6–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap | ||
| 9 | October 29 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 34–24 | 7–1 | 3Com Park | Recap | ||
| 10 | November 5 | Carolina Panthers | L 24–27 | 7–2 | Trans World Dome | Recap | ||
| 11 | November 12 | at New York Giants | W 38–24 | 8–2 | Giants Stadium | Recap | ||
| 12 | Washington Redskins | L 20–33 | 8–3 | Trans World Dome | Recap | |||
| 13 | November 26 | New Orleans Saints | L 24–31 | 8–4 | Trans World Dome | Recap | ||
| 14 | December 3 | at Carolina Panthers | L 3–16 | 8–5 | Ericsson Stadium | Recap | ||
| 15 | December 10 | Minnesota Vikings | W 40–29 | 9–5 | Trans World Dome | Recap | ||
| 16 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 35–38 | 9–6 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap | |||
| 17 | December 24 | at New Orleans Saints | W 26–21 | 10–6 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||
The Rams opened their offense with Kurt Warner throwing 14 consecutive passes.
See main article: 2000–01 NFL playoffs.
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 (three interceptions and a fumble), 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.