The Eagles of 2024 were touted as one of the best teams to play in the NFL last season, but Hall of Famer Sharpe thinks they would be in for a contest against one of his old teams, the 2000 Ravens. The 2000 Ravens made a name for themselves with a defense that was considered historically dominant in the NFL. They became the franchise's first Super Bowl champions, and Sharpe believes they would win over the Eagles against all the other recent champions.
Sharpe’s Bold Claim: The 2000 Ravens Defense Would Dominate
After CBS Sports had just ranked all Super Bowl winners from 2000 onward, Sharpe declared, The 2000 Ravens defense would totally have shut down the first 13 on that list. If they let us play by the rules that they played by, I guarantee you, none of those offenses score on that Ravens defense. They won't get more than 14 points."
Sharpe drew the picture of Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, the third rushing champion ever to win the Super Bowl this year, as one who would have lost turf to Baltimore defense. Barkley, who was so restricted that he gained only 57 yards in Philadelphia's Super Bowl win over the Chiefs, contributed by catching six passes for 40 yards, including a 22-yard reception that extended Philadelphia's lead to 27-0 late in the third quarter. But against the Ravens, Sharpe had no doubts, saying, "He'd have 37 against (the Ravens') defense. You're not running, because you've got Sam (Adams) and Goose (Tony Siragusa) and Ray (Lewis) running free. Ray's hunting."
The 2000 Ravens Defense: A Historic Unit
The 2000 Ravens' defense is universally regarded as among the finest in NFL history. They relinquished an astonishing 165 points during the seventeen-game regular season, out of which a whopping 36 points were scored by the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. They were more than just great in the 4 playoff games, giving away just 16 points en route to a 34-7 triumph of the New York Giants at Super Bowl XXXV.
On the secondary side, Sharpe recognized the hard hits delivered by the defense, and in front of hall of famer Rod Woodson, he extolled their great special teams unit, pointing to returner Jermaine Lewis and kicker Matt Stover. These Ravens could beat you in so many ways.
The Ravens' Offensive Limitations
The 2000 Ravens defense is in the Super Bowl chants, while the offense, instead, is on the other side. In CBS Sports' ranking of offenses of Super Bowl champions since 2000, the Ravens offense came in 24th and was the kind of group that was monotonous for most of the season. The unit included Hall of Famers Shannon Sharpe and offensive lineman Jonathan Ogden, rookie Jamal Lewis, and speedy Qadry Ismail. And yet the offense went five weeks during the regular season without scoring a single touchdown.
The most glaring weakness would be quarterback Trent Dilfer, who went 11-1 as the starter that year. He threw for a total of 12 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in regular season play. In the playoffs, he completed less than 48% of his passes, with completion percentages of 31.3%, 50%, and 48% in his last three games. While Dilfer managed the game well and threw just one interception during all playoff games, his glaring statistical shortcomings were hard to overlook while comparing the 2000 Ravens against other Super Bowl champions.
How the 2024 Eagles Stack Up
The Eagles of 2024 might boast double-interception of Patrick Mahomes and six-sack defense in Super Bowl win over the Chiefs. This was a unit that would certainly present a host of problems to the 2000 Ravens' offense whose game plan was run-dominated under a still sporadic passer in Dilfer.
As for Barkley, we can assume he'd take a low-yarded game against the Ravens-as long as it produced a Super Bowl for the Eagles. With the edge in defensive talent to the Eagles and disadvantages for the Ravens on the offensive side, the game could take similar shapes to Super Bowl LIX, where Philadelphia's defense could dictate the outcome.
A Hypothetical Showdown
In the end: Does the 2000 Ravens beat the 2024 Eagles? Sharpe said yes, especially with the early 2000s rule set on hand. On the flipside, the discontinuity of a potent Ravens aerial game facing an opportunistic Eagles defense could rival the very disadvantage. Thus, while the 2000 Ravens' defense shall ever be in the glorified pantheon, this possible match-up is a riveting discussion, given that the Eagles are about as balanced a team as ever by the eyes of defensive might.