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Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2000 season. The Ravens defeated the Giants by a score of 34–7, tied for the seventh largest Super Bowl margin of victory with Super Bowl XXXVII. The game was played on January 28, 2001, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, making it the first time Raymond James Stadium has held a Super Bowl.
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnovers through hard tackles, interceptions, and deflecting forward passes.
Desmond Kevin Howard is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Michigan, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected fourth overall in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. Howard spent most of his career on special teams as a return specialist and holds the NFL single season record for punt return yardage. With the Green Bay Packers, Howard was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXI after returning a kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown, the longest return in Super Bowl history at the time. To date, he is the only special teams player to receive the award. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
The National Football League playoffs for the 2000 season began on December 30, 2000. The postseason tournament concluded with the Baltimore Ravens defeating the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, 34–7, on January 28, 2001, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Robert Yale Lary Sr. was an American professional football player, businessman, and politician. He played for 11 seasons as a safety, punter and return specialist for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and was also selected for the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team.
A punter (P) in gridiron football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts (kicks) the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a third down in Canadian football. Punters may also occasionally take part in fake punts in those same situations, when they throw or run the football instead of punting.
Jermaine Edward Lewis is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, who he played for until 2001. With the Ravens, he won Super Bowl XXXV over the New York Giants. He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins.
In American football, a gunner, also known as a shooter, flyer, headhunter, or kamikaze, is a player on kickoffs and punts who specializes in running down the sideline very quickly in an attempt to tackle the kick or punt returner. Gunners must have several techniques in order to break away or "shed" blockers, and have good agility in order to change their running direction quickly. Gunners on the punt team also must be able to block or catch.
Darrien Jamal Gordon is a former professional American Football player who played cornerback for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) (1993–2002). He was drafted by the Chargers in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft. During his NFL career, he played for 5 different teams and in 4 Super Bowls. Before his NFL career, Gordon played for Stanford University, where he intercepted 9 passes in three seasons. Since the NFL Scouting Combine began in 1985, he is one of three players who have been drafted in the first round after not being invited to the combine.
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitutions", meaning that they may change any number of players during any "dead ball" situation. This has resulted in the development of three task-specific "platoons" of players within any single team: the offense, the defense, and the so-called 'special teams'. Within these three separate "platoons", various positions exist depending on the jobs that the players are doing.
Devin Devorris Hester Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is regarded as one of the greatest return specialists in NFL history. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Miami, where he was the first player in the university's recent history to play in all three phases of American football: offense, defense and special teams. In addition to Chicago, Hester also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks over his 11-season NFL career. He is also the first and only player to return the opening kick of a Super Bowl for a touchdown.
The 2004 Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2003 season. The game was played on February 8, 2004, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was NFC 55, AFC 52, the most points scored in a Pro Bowl game. Marc Bulger of the St. Louis Rams was the game's MVP.
Johnnie Lee Higgins is a former professional American football wide receiver. Higgins played college football for the University of Texas at El Paso. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round in the 2007 NFL Draft, and has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Return yards is a gridiron football statistical measure that takes several forms. In American and Canadian football, progress is measured by advancing the football towards the opposing team's goal line. Progress can be made during play by the offensive team by advancing the ball from its point of progress at the start of play known as the line of scrimmage or by the defensive team after taking possession of the football via a change of possession. When the defensive team advances the ball during play after a change in possession, yardage is credited from the point of the change of possession. Return specialists are commonly monitored statistically for their totals and averages. However, other types of return yardage such as interception return yards are also measured because the point on the field where a change in possession occurs is marked.
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position such as wide receiver, defensive back, or running back. The special teams counterpart of a return specialist is a kicking specialist.
The 2003 Baltimore Ravens season was the team's eighth season in the NFL. They improved upon their previous output of 7–9, winning 10 games and making the third playoff appearance in franchise history. This marked the first season when the Ravens won their division. One memorable moment came in week 2, when Jamal Lewis set the NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game, rushing for 295 yards against the Cleveland Browns. Lewis went on to rush for 2,066 yards on the season and was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year. In addition, Ray Lewis was named Defensive Player of the Year and 2003 first round pick Terrell Suggs was named Defensive Rookie of the Year.
In gridiron football, a punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The most common use of this tactic is to punt the ball downfield to the opposing team, usually on the final down, with the hope of giving the receiving team a field position that is more advantageous to the kicking team when possession changes. The result of a typical punt, barring any penalties or extraordinary circumstances, is a first down for the receiving team. A punt is not to be confused with a drop kick, a kick after the ball hits the ground, now rare in both American and Canadian football.
Jamal Agnew is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Diego. On September 26, 2021, he tied the NFL record for the longest play with a 109 yard return off a missed field goal.
Jamal Morrow is a professional Canadian football running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).