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 in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. They led the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

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. Running back

Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

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 Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Lou ...

, 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 "The Greatest Show on Turf" was a nickname for the record-breaking offense of the St. Louis Rams during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 National Football League seasons. The offense was designed by attack-oriented offensive coordinator (during the 1999 ...

" continued its offensive dominance, scoring 33.7 points per game. Statistically,

Football Outsiders Football Outsiders (FO) is a website started in July 2003 which focuses on advanced statistical analysis of the NFL. The site is run by a staff of regular writers, who produce a series of weekly columns using both the site's in-house statistics ...

calculates that the 2000 Rams had the most efficient rushing attack of any single-season NFL team from 1993–2010. 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 other two are the 1948 49ers and the 2011 Packers 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 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.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Staff

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 5: vs. San Diego Chargers

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

Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs

Standings

Postseason

Game summaries

NFC Wildcard Game: vs. 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 (three interceptions and a fumble), while running back

, 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, (achieved on November 5)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, , p. 439 * Kurt Warner, 441 passing yards vs. the Denver Broncos, (achieved on September 4)

Statistics

*Led NFL, average yards per play (7.0)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, , p. 215 *NFL record, combined net yards gained (7,075) *NFL record, passing yards, (5,232) *Led NFL, first downs, passing (247) *Led NFL, passes completed (380) *Led NFL, passing offense *Led NFL, passing touchdowns (37) *Led NFL, percentage of passes completed (64.7%) *Led NFL, rushing touchdowns (26) *Led NFL, third down efficiency (47.5%) *Led NFL, total offense *Led NFL, total touchdowns (67) *Led NFL, two-point conversions (4, tied) *Led NFL, yards gained per completed pass (14.5)

Roster

Awards and records

* Marshall Faulk, NFL MVP * Marshall Faulk, Associated Press MVP * Marshall Faulk, Associated Press All-Pro *

, All-NFL Team (as selected by the Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, and the Pro Football Writers of America) NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, , p. 202 *

, Associated Press Most Valuable Player NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, , p. 201 *Marshall Faulk, Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year * Marshall Faulk, Daniel F. Reeves Memorial Award *Marshall Faulk,

Football Digest ''Football Digest'' was a sports magazine for fans interested in professional American football, with in-depth coverage of the National Football League (NFL). The magazine modeled the ''Reader's Digest'' idea, to bring the best in football journali ...

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 The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

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, (101.8 rating) *

Az-Zahir Hakim Az-Zahir Ali Hakim (born June 3, 1977) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who played nine seasons in the National Football League. He played college football at San Diego State. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the f ...

, All-NFL Team (as selected by the Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, and the Pro Football Writers of America) *Az-Zahir Hakim, NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, week 9 *Az-Zahir Hakim, PFW/PFWA All-Pro Team NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, , p. 203 *Kurt Warner, NFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 5 *Kurt Warner, NFC Offensive Player of the Month, September

Notes

References

*http://www.nfl.com/teams/schedule?team=STL&season=2000&seasonType=REG *http://www.nfl.com/teams/schedule?team=STL&season=2000&seasonType=PRE *http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/2000.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:2000 St. Louis Rams Season St. Louis Rams St. Louis Rams seasons St Louis