Through the first 11 games of the 2016 season, the Ravens defense has undoubtedly made its case as the league’s top unit. The Cardinals, Broncos, Seahawks, and Vikings are a few teams that may also have an argument. However, there’s no question that this revamped Ravens defense, which shows signs of a return to the “Ravens football” that Baltimore loves so dearly, has electrified fans throughout the city.
In 2000, when the Ray Lewis lead Ravens won their first Super Bowl, they contained what’s generally heralded as one of the top two or three NFL defenses of all time. They sit among the ranks of the greatest defensives ever to take the field, alongside units like the 1985 Bears, or 2015’s Broncos. While this year’s squad hasn’t achieved quite the same level of dominance thus far as the Ravens did 16 years ago, there’s no doubt they’ve been more than impressive. In fact, young Ravens fans probably wonder how much better that 2000 defense could have really been. For that reason, I thought I’d compare some numbers from this year’s unit through the first 11 games of the season, with those of the that highly touted Super Bowl squad from 2000.
Points Allowed Per Game (2000/2016): 10.3 / 18.3
Yards Allowed Per Game: 247.9 / 297.8
- Rushing: 60.6 / 74.9
- Passing: 187.3 / 222.9 (avg. passing ypg has increased throughout league)
Sacks: 35 / 26 through 11 games , on pace for 37.8
Interceptions: 23 / 11 through 11 games, on pace for 16
Fumbles Recovered: 26 / 8 through 11 games, on pace for 11.6
Third Down Conversions: 34% (72/211) / 34% (51/152)
Penalties On Defense: 84 / 74 through 11 games, on pace for 107.6
Yeah, the 2000 Ravens defense was THAT good.
Birds of Baltimore 