NFL Old School Game of the Week: Ravens Overcome 17-Point Deficit to Knock off Jaguars in Shootout

 

Ravens quarterback Tony Banks threw for five touchdown passes to lead the Ravens back from a 17-point deficit against the Jaguars in 2000.

When it comes to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, they think of the tenacious defense led by linebacker Ray Lewis that allowed only 10.3 points per game during the 2000 season.

But in Week 2 of the 2000 NFL season, it would be the Ravens' offense that would lead them to victory.

The Ravens entered the 2000 season under a cloud of controversy as Lewis, who had made the Pro Bowl the previous three seasons, was charged with double murder outside an Atlanta nightclub the night after Super Bowl XXXIV was played there.

Lewis would strike a plea bargain on June 5 as he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in exchange for testimony against the two other accomplices that he had been charged with.(The trial would end in a not guilty verdict for the other two individuals).

Lewis would be fined $250,000 by the NFL but would serve any suspension as he hoped to lead the Ravens to the playoffs after an 8-8 season the year before, the best record since the franchise moved from Cleveland in 1996.

Second year head coach Brian Billick hoped to improve the offense with quarterback Tony Banks, running back Priest Holmes, and free agent signee Shannon Sharpe at tight end in hopes of leading the Ravens to the playoffs for the first time in team history(The history and records of the Browns remained in Cleveland as the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999).

While the Ravens were just hoping to get to the playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars were trying to get back there for the fifth season in a row as they had made the playoffs the previous four years, including two trips to the AFC Championship Game.

The year before, the Jaguars had finished with the best record in the league at 14-2 but were stunned by the Tennessee Titans 33-14 in the AFC Championship Game.

With the nucleus of quarterback Mark Brunell, wide receivers Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith, plus head coach Tom Coughlin, the Jaguars were hoping 2000 would be the year they finally made it to the Super Bowl.

The Jaguars and Ravens both won their Week 1 games to set up their AFC Central showdown(both teams were in the same division until the NFL's realignment in 2002)in Baltimore where one of the wildest games in Ravens history would take place.

The Jaguars got the ball to start the game where it took them just one play to drive into Ravens territory as Brunell hit Smith for a 26-yard gain to give Jacksonville a 1st down at the Baltimore 39-yard-line.

But later in the drive, Brunell would overthrow a wide open Smith in the end zone, forcing the Jaguars to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Mike Hollis to give Jacksonville a 3-0 lead with 11:15 left in the first quarter.

After forcing a three-and-out from the Ravens and a 20-yard-punt that gave the Jaguars the ball in Ravens territory, Brunell would fire a deep pass down the right sideline for Smith who made the catch in stride for a 45-yard touchdown to increase the Jacksonville lead to 10-0 with 7:49  left in the first quarter.

The Jaguars would force another three-and-out on the Ravens' ensuing possession to get the ball back at their 23-yard-line where it took them five plays to drive to the Baltimore 43-yard-line when Brunell again threw deep for Smith who again made the catch for the 43-yard touchdown to push the Jacksonville lead to 17-0 with 2:32 to go in the opening quarter.

Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith would catch 15 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns.

It looked like it was going to be a long day for the Ravens especially after they went three-and-out again on their next possession to punt the ball back to the Jaguars as the first quarter came to an end with Baltimore down 17-0.

But the Ravens' defense would make their presence felt on the first play of the second quarter when defensive end Rob Burnett jarred the ball loose from Jaguars running back Chris Howard, leading to a fumble that was recovered by cornerback Duane Starks at the Jacksonville 14-yard-line.

It would only take the Ravens one play to get into the end zone as Banks fired a 14-yard strike to Travis Taylor to cut the Jaguars' lead to 17-7 just 12 seconds into the second quarter.

After both teams punted on their next possessions, the Jaguars got the ball at their 10-yard-line when they put together their longest drive of the game: a 14-play, 63-yard drive that took up nearly seven minutes as Brunell completed three passes to Smith for 43 yards on the drive to set up Hollis' 45-yard field goal which increased Jacksonville's lead to 20-7 with 3:36 left in the second quarter.

Following a three-and-out by the Ravens, the Jaguars got the ball at their 42-yard-line where Brunell completed four of six passes for 30 yards to set up another Hollis field goal, this one from 48 yards out to make it 23-7 in favor of Jacksonville with 44 seconds left before halftime.

The Ravens would get one more chance to put points on the board before halftime but could not as Banks threw an interception on the last play of the half as Baltimore went into the locker room trailing 23-7 but would get the ball to start the second half.

If the Ravens were to get back in this game, they would need to get some sort of score on this drive.

Starting at his 32-yard-line, Banks would hit Travis Taylor for 40 yards on the first play of the second half to give the Ravens at the Jaguars' 28-yard-line.

After two plays gained five yards, Banks would connect with Taylor again, this time for a 23-yard touchdown to make it a 23-13 game.

Billick decided to go for two to try and make it an one-score game which he got as Banks found Coates in the end zone for the two-point conversion to cut the Jaguars' lead to eight points at 23-15 just 89 seconds into the third quarter.

It looked that the touchdown had given Baltimore the momentum especially after the defense forced a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 39-yard-line.

But on 3rd & 11, Banks was picked off by Jaguars free safety Reyna Stewart, whose 24-yard return gave the Jaguars the ball at the Ravens' 41-yard-line.

The Jaguars would drive to the Ravens' 18-yard-line until an offensive pass interference penalty and a sack by Burnett of Brunell pushed Jacksonville back 15 yards for 2nd & 25.

The Jaguars would get 17 of the yards back before sending in Hollis to kick a 34-yard field goal to increase the Jacksonville lead to 26-15 with 6:47 to go in the third quarter.

Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell completed 28 of 50 passes for 386 yards and threw three touchdowns.

The Ravens would begin their next possession at their 24-yard-line when Holmes after being held in check for most of the game made his presence felt as he would lead the Ravens down the field.

First, Holmes would run for 17 yards on 2nd & 4 from the Baltimore 30-yard-line to give the Ravens a 1st down at their 47-yard-line.

It looked like the Ravens were going to have punt when Banks threw an incomplete pass on 3rd & 6, only to have Jaguars defensive end Joel Smeege be called for holding which drew a five-yard penalty and an automatic 1st down.

Holmes would strike again on 2nd & 3 from the Jaguars' 37-yard-line when he ran for the three yards needed for the 1st down, then ran for 20 more on 2nd & 4 from the 28-yard-line to set up 1st & goal at the eight-yard-line.

Following a three-yard-run by Jamal Lewis on 1st down, Banks connected with fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo for a five-yard touchdown to cut it to 26-21 as Billick decided to go for two again.

It looked like the Ravens had converted the two-point conversion as Banks found Sharpe in the end zone, only to have it called back because of a pass interference penalty on Sharpe, which push the Ravens back 10 yards and forced them to go for the extra point which they got to make it 26-22 with 1:02 left in the third quarter.

Following an exchange of punts, the Jaguars had the ball at their 12-yard-line when the Ravens forced their second turnover of the game as linebacker Jamie Sharper knocked the ball loose from Jaguars running back Stacey Mack and recovered it at the 12-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass to Holmes on 1st down, Banks found Jermaine Lewis in the end zone for the 12-yard touchdown to give the Ravens their first lead of the game at 29-26 with exactly 10 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

The Jaguars would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line where they picked up 23 yards on the first two plays of the drive until Ravens safety Corey Harris deflected a Brunell pass that landed in the hands of strong safety Kim Herring for an interception.

Herring's 30-yard return set up Baltimore at the Jacksonville 35-yard-line but the Ravens could not pick up a 1st down and had to settle for a 44-yard field goal by Matt Stover which increased their lead to 32-26 with exactly seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

The Jaguars would begin its next possession at their 20-yard-line when the Brunell-to-Smith connection struck again as Brunell connected with Smith for a 33-yard gain that would lead to a 48-yard field goal by Hollis to cut the Ravens' lead in half to 32-29 with 3:53 left in regulation.

The Jaguars needed a defensive stop in hopes of at least tying the game and they would get that as they forced the Ravens to go three-and-out on their next possession to get the ball back at their 39-yard-line with 2:42 left on the clock.

The drive began with a 17-yard completion by Brunell to McCardell to give the Jaguars a 1st down at the Ravens' 44-yard-line.

Then, Brunell connected with Smith for four yards and then was dropped for no gain by Ravens defensive back James Trapp setting up 3rd & 6 from the Baltimore 40-yard-line.

That is when Brunell fired a pass that bounced off the hands of McCardell, only to land in the hands of Smith, who then broke a tackle at the 10-yard-line and ran in for a shocking 40-yard touchdown to give Jacksonville a 36-32 lead with 1:45 left in the game.

The Ravens would get one more shot as they took over at their 25-yard-line with 1:42 left and two timeouts in their pocket, needing a touchdown to win.

After Banks threw an incomplete pass intended for Sharpe, Banks found Billy Davis for 19 yards and a 1st down at the Baltimore 44-yard-line.

Following another incomplete pass, Banks connected with Davis again, this time for 15 yards and another Ravens 1st down at the Jacksonville 41-yard-line as Baltimore called timeout with 65 seconds left.

Banks would then hit Ayanbadejo for 12 yards and another 1st down at the Jacksonville 29-yard-line when Banks spiked the ball to stop the clock with 48 seconds left setting up 2nd & 10.

That is when Banks fired a pass for Sharpe, who made the catch at the two-yard-line, and then fell into the end zone for the 29-yard touchdown to give the Ravens a 39-36 lead with 41 seconds left.

Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe(82) celebrates after his game-winning touchdown catch.

The Jaguars would get the ball back at their 28-yard-line but could do nothing with it as time ran out with the Ravens winning the game 39-36 in a game where both quarterbacks combined for 648 yards and eight touchdown passes.

The Jaguars would bounce back with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals the following week, but then went on a five-game losing streak to which they never recovered from as they finished the season with a 7-9 record to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

Little did anybody know it but the 2000 season was the beginning of the end of the Jaguars' run as one of the elite in the AFC as they would go 6-10 in 2001 + 2002, which lead to the firing of Coughlin at head coach after eight seasons in Jacksonville.

Meanwhile, the Ravens would get off to their best start in franchise history as they won five of their first six games to start the season with 5-1 record.

But the Ravens would hit a rough patch as they went the entire month of October without scoring an offensive touchdown in five games, leading to the benching of Banks in favor of veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer.

The Ravens would break their offensive dry spell in the team's tenth game of the season as Dilfer would threw three touchdown passes in a 27-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals to begin a seven-game winning streak to clinch the first playoff berth in Baltimore history as they finished with a 12-4 record.

From there, the Ravens' defense would take over as they allowed only 23 points in the playoffs as Baltimore defeated the Denver Broncos 21-3 in the Wild Card Round, then beat the Tennessee Titans 24-10 in the Divisional Round, followed by a 16-3 win over the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship Game, and then a 34-7 rout of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV for the team's first Super Bowl title in franchise history.

As for Banks, he would be released by the Ravens in the offseason and signed with the Dallas Cowboys, only to be released in the preseason, leading him to sign with the Washington Redskins, where he was named the team's starting quarterback as the 2001 season began.

Banks would lead the Redskins out of a 0-5 hole to finish the season with a 8-8 record, but again he would be released and would sign with the Houston Texans where he served as David Carr's backup for the next four years until his retirement following the 2005 season.