Ravens Won Their First Super Bowl 15 Year Ago Today
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- 15 years ago today, Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens won their first Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXXV was a showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants. Baltimore entered the game on a 10-game winning streak and New York came in riding a seven-game streak. The Ravens defeated the Giants by the score of 34–7 on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
The Ravens' first touchdown was one of the more memorable moments in this game. Halfway through the first quarter, Trent Dilfer hit Brandon Stokley for a 38-yard touchdown pass to break the 0-0 score. After that, the Ravens never looked back.
Baltimore allowed only 152 yards of offense by New York, which was the third-lowest total ever in a Super Bowl, recorded 4 sacks, and forced 5 turnovers. New York's single touchdown, a 97-yard kickoff return, was quickly answered by Baltimore on an 84-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff. The Giants were the first team since the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII to not score an offensive touchdown. The 2000 Ravens would go down as one of the most dominant defenses in NFL history.
Baltimore's Ray Lewis, a native of Lakeland, Florida, less than an hour from Super Bowl hosting city of Tampa, became the second linebacker to be named Super Bowl MVP after Chuck Howley in Super Bowl V.
This was the first time the city of Baltimore had earned a Super Bowl title since the Baltimore Colts' thirty years prior.
