Shannon Sharpe scores go-ahead
touchdown with 41 seconds left.
Head coach Brian Billick celebrates as clock runs
out
Week 2
Sunday, September 10
Baltimore 39, Jacksonville 36
Buffalo 27, Green Bay 18
Tampa Bay 41, Chicago 0
Cleveland 24, Cincinnati 7
Tennessee 17, Kansas City 14 (OT)
Minnesota 13, Miami 7
N.Y. Giants 33, Philadelphia 18
Oakland 38, Indianapolis 31
Denver 42, Atlanta 14
Carolina 38, San Francisco 22
Detroit 15, Washington 10
New Orleans 28, San Diego 27
St. Louis 37, Seattle 34
Arizona 32, Dallas 31
Monday, September 11
N.Y. Jets 20, New England 19
(Open date: Pittsburgh)
GAME STATS
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STANDINGS
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NEWS
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Ravens
arrive as contender
Win over Jaguars thrusts team into
NFL's elite class
  So how did
the Baltimore Ravens respond to the "Challenge"?
In a game that defied logic and perhaps
explanation and before a crazed, delirious crowd
of 68,000+ at PSINet Stadium, the Tony Banks-led
Baltimore Ravens came off of the mat to score an
improbable last-minute, 15th-round knockout of
perennial powerhouse Jacksonville. In an epic
matchup that will forever be known as "the
Jacksonville game", the Ravens frustrated,
angered and tantalized a raucous home crowd
before finally rewarding them with a last-minute
39-36 comeback victory. Drama? Hollywood
scriptwriters should be so fortunate. There was
Qadry Ismail, the Ravens' top receiver, falling
to injury and replaced by unproven rookie, Travis
Taylor. There was Mark Brunell, Jimmy Smith and
Keenan McCardell making a mockery of the vaunted
Raven defense, torching the fleet-footed
Baltimore secondary at will and jumping out to a
17-0 first quarter lead. There were the Ravens,
back to their old ways, committing penalty after
foolish penalty, dying a slow death, handing the
ballgame to the Jaguars. There was Tony Banks, in
the biggest game of his career, making poor
decision after poor decision. The Ravens entered
the locker room at halftime trailing 23-7 before
a stunned and utterly disappointed home crowd.
Head coach Brian Billick had these words for his
bewildered team: "Win or lose, it doesn't
matter. How we perform in the second half will
define the type of team that we are". It is
the stuff from which classic movies are made.
Something happened in that locker room, because
on Sunday, September 10th, 2000, the Baltimore
Ravens set out to and succeeded in defining
themselves: NFL Playoff contender. In a
second half of football that could rival any of
the greatest games in NFL history, the Ravens put
on a display of willpower, tenacity and
perseverance that Baltimore fans will never
forget. There was linebacker Jamie Sharper,
playing like a man possessed, wreaking havoc and
causing two costly fumbles by the Jaguars'
running backs. There was Travis Taylor, the
rookie, with nary a month of NFL training,
stepping up and making clutch catches. There was
wide receiver Billy Davis, leader of the "trash
heap", hauling in passes to keep key drives
alive. Just when it was evident that the Ravens
would complete a remarkable comeback victory in
their biggest-ever game, there was the fluke,
tipped pass from Brunell-to-McCardell-to-Smith to
give the Jaguars a heart-breaking 36-32 lead with
under two minutes to play. Finally and in keeping
with the surrealistic tone of this game, there
was quarterback Tony Banks, the man with the
reputation for failure. The quarterback more
famous for fumbles, interceptions and bonehead
plays than last minute, game winning drives. How
incredible was the ending to this battle? As if
to say, "Jaguars, Schmaguars, let's score a
touchdown", Banks set off to record a piece
of history. In a performance rivaling Unitas,
Montana, Elway and perhaps Rocky Balboa, Tony
Banks, leader, calmly, coolly and collectedly led
Baltimore on "the drive". A 75-yard,
perfectly executed march, culminating with a game-winning
touchdown pass, Banks' fifth of the day, to tight
end Shannon Sharpe with 41 ticks left on the
clock. A love affair was born. A marriage between
a team and a city was consummated. A new NFL
contender arrived and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens
were defined.
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