Another year of surprises in the NFL

Rams win Super Bowl, then barely make playoffs

 On the final play of the first Super Bowl of the new milennium, Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson a yard short of the goal line, giving the St. Louis Rams a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. It was the franchise's first win in the NFL's biggest game.

 On the final day of the 2000 season, the Rams got a chance to defend their title only because Chicago rookie Paul Edinger kicked a 54-yard field goal to knock out Detroit and let the Rams in. Had the Lions beaten the 5-11 Bears, they would have been in and the Rams would have gone home.

 It was that kind of season in the NFL.

 New Orleans, a 3-13 team a year ago under Mike Ditka, improved to 10-6 under new coach Jim Haslett and won the NFC West title over the Rams, who lost six of their last 10 games after a 6-0 start.

 Philadelphia, 8-24 the past two seasons, finished 11-5 and made the playoffs as a wild-card team in the NFC East behind the New York Giants, who improved from 7-9 to 12-4 and got home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs when Minnesota faded.

 The Washington Redskins went the other way after entering the season as one of the Super Bowl favorites. Daniel Snyder, their new owner, spent $100 million to sign the likes of Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders and Jeff George. Snyder fired coach Norv Turner with three games left after a home loss to the Giants and Washington finished 8-8 and in disarray.

 About the only team that lived up to its notices was Tennessee, last year's AFC champion. The Titans, with Eddie George running for 1,509 yards, finished 13-3 and entered the playoffs as a solid favorite get to the Super Bowl.

 This was the second straight season in which teams came from nowhere to challenge for playoff spots.

 The Rams themselves won the title last season after finish 4-12 in 1998. And the Titans had been a .500 team until last season, when they finally settled in their new home in Nashville after wandering through Tennessee after leaving Houston.

 But that's the way of the NFL these days.

 "The salary cap and free agency are the system now and they promote leveling," says general manager Ernie Accorsi of the Giants, whose success came both from the lack of serious injuries and a relatively easy schedule. "The old system is gone."

 Also gone were high-profile coaches Ditka, Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells. Only Parcells remained in the NFL as chief of football operations for the New York Jets, who had a record four first-round draft picks in April.

 The season itself had its brilliant moments, often on Monday nights, with a bunch of last-minute finishes and two classic games.

 One was a 40-37 overtime victory by the Jets over Miami -- the Jets trailed 30-7 after three quarters. The other was a 38-35 win by Tampa Bay over the Rams on the next-to-last week that seemed to be a death blow to St. Louis' playoff hopes.

 Those two memorable games didn't help ABC's ratings, however. Nor did adding comedian Dennis Miller and analyst Dan Fouts to Al Michaels in the broadcast booth as ratings sank to an all-time low of 12.7, down 7 percent.

 Corey Dillon of the otherwise awful Bengals set a single-game rushing record with 278 yards, breaking the mark of 275 by Walter Payton. Terrell Owens of the 49ers had 20 receptions against Chicago to set another single-game mark.

 On one weekend, four players ran for more than 200 yards in a game -- Dillon (a second time), Denver rookie Mike Anderson, Tampa Bay's Warrick Dunn and Curtis Martin of the Jets. That's double the number to ever do that in a single weekend.

 Owens' 20 receptions against Chicago, breaking a 50-year-old record, came on the day that Jerry Rice, who holds every receiving record, probably played his last game as a 49er in San Francisco. Because of the salary cap, he is likely to finish his career elsewhere.

 San Francisco quarterback Steve Young's stellar career ended when he retired in June following yet another concussion suffered during the '99 season. And Cowboys QB Troy Aikman's future was in doubt after he suffered two more concussions this season.

 The Rams' Marshall Faulk set a record with with 26 touchdowns in a season -- 11 in the last three games -- to break Emmitt Smith's mark of 25 and earn MVP honors.

 Two more fabled but antiquated stadiums closed: Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, home to the "Steel Curtain" Steelers who won four Super Bowls during the 1970s, and Mile High Stadium in Denver, home to John Elway and five Super Bowl teams.

 The on-field highlights made up for a dismal offseason.

 As the year ended, Rae Carruth, the former Carolina wide receiver, was on trial for the murder of the mother of his infant son.

 And Ray Lewis of Baltimore, one of the year's defensive standouts, was arrested on murder charges stemming from a stabbing at a night club following the Super Bowl in Atlanta. He ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing justice and was able to play the season after being fined $250,000 by the NFL.

 The season was reflected in the playoffs, probably the most wide open in more than a decade.

 For the first time since 1986, no team made it with a record worse than 10-6 (two 8-8 teams made it a year ago). And at least two-thirds of the 12 teams seemed to have a legitimate Super Bowl shot, including the Rams and Colts, the sixth and last-seeded teams in each conference.

 In the AFC, Tennessee (13-3) had home-field advantage throughout, followed by Oakland (12-4), which had the other first-round bye. The matchups for the first weekend were No. 6 Indianapolis (10-6) at No. 3 Miami (11-5) and No. 5 Denver (11-5) at No. 4 Baltimore (12-4).

 The Ravens set a record for stinginess this year, allowing an NFL-record 165 points, breaking the mark of 187 by the 1986 Bears.

 In the NFC, the Giants were seeded first and Minnesota (11-5) second. The Vikings seemed a lock for No. 1, but lost their last three games. The No. 6 Rams (10-6) opened at No 3 New Orleans (10-6), while No. 5 Tampa Bay (10-6) was at No. 4 Philadelphia (11-5).

 But the Rams entered as a favorite to get back to the Super Bowl, which will be played in Tampa.

 Their problem this year was defense. Most of the same players who allowed just 242 points last season gave up 471. But the defense played well when it had to -- in the 26-21 win in New Orleans that got the Rams the playoff spot.

 "I don't think anyone wants to see the Rams on the Rams' best day," end Kevin Carter, one of the defensive underachievers, said after St. Louis inched into the playoffs. "Because on the Rams' best day, I don't think there's anyone who can beat us."

 The question will be whether they can have their best days in three straight road games.