The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants 34-7 at the Raymond James Stadium.
Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000. It would be the last NFL season to date to start Labor Day weekend. It would also be the last time until 2015 that CBS televised the late games in Week 1, because both Week 1 of the NFL season and CBS's coverage of the U.S. Open tennis finals would take place on the same day beginning next season.
In order to cut down on group celebrations, unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and fines will be assessed for celebrations by two or more players.
Anyone wearing an eligible number (1–49 and 80–89) can play at quarterback without having to first report to the referee before a play.
This rule change resulted in the increase of trick plays teams can employ on offense.
The "Bert Emanuel" rule was implemented, stating that when making a catch and falling to the ground, the ball is allowed to touch the ground and still be considered a catch if the player maintains clear control of the ball.
New England Patriots – New uniforms. Shade of blue darkened considerably, blue pants introduced for road uniforms.
Baltimore Ravens – New Ravens Shield logo on sleeve ends.
Kansas City Chiefs – Red pants on road uniforms for first time since 1988.
New Orleans Saints – Updated logo and introduced alternative old gold logo. Returned to gold pants for road uniforms.
New York Giants – Re-adopted their 1960s logo. New uniforms; home uniforms feature blue jerseys with white block numbers while road jerseys feature red numbers with blue outlines (reversing previous design). Pants color changes to gray.
New York Jets & New York Giants – New grass field in Giants Stadium.
St. Louis Rams – New logo and new uniforms. Shades of blue and gold darkened to "New Century Blue" and "Millennium Gold."
Arizona Cardinals – Vince Tobin fired seven games into season; replaced by Dave McGinnis. McGinnis held job through the 2003 season.
Cincinnati Bengals – Dick LeBeau; replaced Bruce Coslet who was fired during the 2000 season.
Dallas Cowboys – Dave Campo; replaced Chan Gailey who was fired after the 1999 season.
Green Bay Packers – Mike Sherman; replaced Ray Rhodes who was fired after the 1999 season.
Miami Dolphins – Dave Wannstedt; replaced Jimmy Johnson who retired after the 1999 season.
New England Patriots – Bill Belichick; replaced Pete Carroll who was fired after the 1999 season.
New Orleans Saints – Jim Haslett; replaced Mike Ditka who was fired after the 1999 season.
New York Jets – Al Groh; replaced Bill Belichick who replaced Bill Parcells who retired to become the full-time General Manager after the 1999 season. Belichick was hired by the New England Patriots shortly after he resigned from the Jets.
St. Louis Rams – Mike Martz; replaced Dick Vermeil who retired after winning Super Bowl XXXIV.
Final regular season standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green. No ties occurred this year.
Green Bay finished ahead of Detroit in the NFC Central based on better division record (5–3 to Lions' 3–5).
New Orleans finished ahead of St. Louis in the NFC West based on better division record (7–1 to Rams' 5–3).
Tampa Bay was the second NFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over St. Louis (1–0).
* Indicates overtime victory
Home team in capitals
Wild-Card playoffs: Miami 23, Indianapolis 17 (OT); Baltimore 21, Denver 3
Divisional playoffs: Oakland 27, Miami 0; Baltimore 24, Tennessee 10
AFC Championship: Baltimore 16, Oakland 3 at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California, January 14, 2001
Wild-Card playoffs: New Orleans 31, St. Louis 28; Philadelphia 21, Tampa Bay 3
Divisional playoffs: Minnesota 34, New Orleans 16; N.Y. Giants 20, Philadelphia 10
NFC Championship: N.Y. Giants 41, Minnesota 0 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, January 14, 2001
Super Bowl XXXV: Baltimore (AFC) 34, N.Y. Giants (NFC) 7 at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida, January 28, 2001
The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:
