2000 New Orleans Saints season NFL team season
The 2000 season was the New Orleans Saints ' 34th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 25th playing home games at the Louisiana Superdome . The Saints were looking to improve on their 3–13 finish from a year earlier under new head coach Jim Haslett .[ 1] Not only did the Saints do so, but they finished with a 10–6 record to win the NFC West and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1992 . They also won their first ever playoff game in franchise history by defeating the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams in the wild-card round. The Saints went no further, though, as they lost to the Minnesota Vikings in the next round.
This was the only time the Saints made the playoffs under Haslett. For the next four seasons, the Saints fell out of contention. They would not return to the playoffs until 2006 .
Offseason
NFL Draft
[ 2]
Undrafted free agents
Personnel
Staff
2000 New Orleans Saints staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Special teams – Al Everest
Special teams assistant – Joe Baker
Strength and conditioning
Strength and conditioning – Rock Gullickson
Assistant strength and conditioning – Evan Marcus
Roster
[ 3]
Preseason
Regular season
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
1
September 3
Detroit Lions
L 10–14
0–1
Louisiana Superdome
64,900
2
September 10
at San Diego Chargers
W 28–27
1–1
Qualcomm Stadium
51,300
3
September 17
at Seattle Seahawks
L 10–20
1–2
Husky Stadium
59,513
4
September 24
Philadelphia Eagles
L 7–21
1–3
Louisiana Superdome
64,900
5
Bye
6
October 8
at Chicago Bears
W 31–10
2–3
Soldier Field
66,944
7
October 15
Carolina Panthers
W 24–6
3–3
Louisiana Superdome
50,015
8
October 22
at Atlanta Falcons
W 21–19
4–3
Georgia Dome
56,508
9
October 29
at Arizona Cardinals
W 21–10
5–3
Sun Devil Stadium
35,016
10
November 5
San Francisco 49ers
W 31–15
6–3
Louisiana Superdome
64,900
11
November 12
at Carolina Panthers
W 20–10
7–3
Ericsson Stadium
72,981
12
November 19
Oakland Raiders
L 22–31
7–4
Louisiana Superdome
64,900
13
November 26
at St. Louis Rams
W 31–24
8–4
Trans World Dome
66,064
14
December 3
Denver Broncos
L 23–38
8–5
Louisiana Superdome
64,900
15
December 10
at San Francisco 49ers
W 31–27
9–5
3Com Park
67,892
16
December 17
Atlanta Falcons
W 23–7
10–5
Louisiana Superdome
64,900
17
December 24
St. Louis Rams
L 21–26
10–6
Louisiana Superdome
64,900
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Playoffs
Schedule
Game summaries
NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (6) St. Louis Rams
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
NO – Robert Wilson 12-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (Doug Brien kick), 14:56. Tied 7–7. Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 6:02.
NO – Doug Brien 33-yard field goal, 1:30. Saints 10–7. Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 0:51.
Third quarter
NO – Willie Jackson 10-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (Doug Brien kick), 8:40. Saints 17–7. Drive: 7 plays, 45 yards, 3:23.
Fourth quarter
NO – Willie Jackson 49-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (Doug Brien kick), 13:22. Saints 24–7. Drive: 5 plays, 74 yards, 2:55.
NO – Willie Jackson 16-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (Doug Brien kick), 11:57. Saints 31–7. Drive: 1 play, 16 yards, 0:05.
STL – Ricky Proehl 17-yard pass from Kurt Warner (Jeff Wilkins kick), 9:36. Saints 31–14. Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 2:21.
STL – Marshall Faulk 25-yard pass from Kurt Warner (Jeff Wilkins kick), 3:52. Saints 31–21. Drive: 3 plays, 62 yards, 0:48.
STL – Kurt Warner 5-yard run (Jeff Wilkins kick), 2:36. Saints 31–28. Drive: 5 plays, 47 yards, 1:07.
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (2) Minnesota Vikings
Game information
First quarter
MIN – Randy Moss 57-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Gary Anderson kick), 11:57. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 3 plays, 64 yards, 1:20.
NO – Doug Brien 33-yard field goal, 7:46. Vikings 7–3. Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 4:11.
MIN – Gary Anderson 24-yard field goal, 1:36. Vikings 10–3. Drive: 12 plays, 67 yards, 6:10.
Second quarter
MIN – Cris Carter 17-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Gary Anderson kick), 1:29. Vikings 17–3. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 3:40.
Third quarter
MIN – Randy Moss 68-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Gary Anderson kick), 13:33. Vikings 24–3. Drive: 3 plays, 77 yards, 1:27.
NO – Dave Stachelski 2-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (Doug Brien kick), 9:33. Vikings 24–10. Drive: 8 plays, 83 yards, 4:00.
MIN – Gary Anderson 44-yard field goal, 4:31. Vikings 27–10. Drive: 10 plays, 50 yards, 5:02.
Fourth quarter
MIN – Robert Smith 2-yard run (Gary Anderson kick), 10:46. Vikings 34–10. Drive: 8 plays, 29 yards, 4:32.
NO – Willie Jackson 48-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (pass failed), 2:19. Vikings 34–16. Drive: 3 plays, 66 yards, 0:58.
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Player stats
Passing
Player
Completions
Attempts
Percentage
Yards
TD
Int
Rating
Jeff Blake
184
302
60.9
2,025
13
9
82.7
Aaron Brooks
113
194
58.2
1,514
9
6
85.7
Rushing
Player
Attempts
Yards
Avg Yards
Long
Touchdowns
Ricky Williams
248
1000
4.0
26
8
Jeff Blake
57
243
4.3
20
1
Terry Allen
46
179
3.9
18
2
Aaron Brooks
41
170
4.1
29
2
[ 4]
Receiving
Player
Attempts
Yards
Avg Yards
Long
Touchdowns
Joe Horn
94
1340
14.3
52
8
Ricky Williams
44
409
9.3
24
1
Willie Jackson
37
523
14.1
53
6
Chad Morton
30
213
7.1
35
0
Keith Poole
21
293
14.0
49
1
Andrew Glover
21
281
13.4
39
4
[ 4]
Defense
Sacks
Player
Number
La'Roi Glover
17
Joe Johnson
12
Darren Howard
11
Keith Mitchell
6.5
Willie Whitehead
5.5
[ 4]
Interceptions
Player
Number
Yards
Avg Yards
Long
Touchdowns
Sammy Knight
5
68
13.6
37
2
Alex Molden
3
24
8.0
24
0
Darren Perry
3
3
1.0
3
0
[ 4]
Awards and records
Jim Haslett, AP Coach of the Year,[ 5]
Jim Haslett, College and Pro Football Newsweekly Coach of the Year,[ 5]
Jim Haslett, Football Digest Coach of the Year,[ 5]
Jim Haslett, Football News Coach of the Year,[ 5]
Jim Haslett, Pro Football Writers Association Coach of the Year,[ 5]
Jim Haslett, Sports Illustrated Coach of the Year [ 6]
Jim Haslett, USA Today NFC Coach of the Year,[ 5]
Milestones
Ricky Williams, 1st 1000 rushing yards season
References
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2 , p.129
^ "2000 New Orleans Saints Draftees" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved January 5, 2014 .
^ "2000 New Orleans Saints starters and roster" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved November 5, 2014 .
^ a b c d NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2 , p. 127
^ a b c d e f NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2 , p. 201
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2 , p. 202
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Wild card berths (5) Division championships (9) Conference championships (1) League championships (1) Retired numbers Ring of Honor Current league affiliations