Los Angeles Rams Codexery

Super Bowl XXXIV

The only Super Bowl where both teams sought their first title.

Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Tennessee Titans 23–16 to claim their first Super Bowl win and first NFL championship since 1951. It is the only NFL championship in which both teams were seeking their first Super Bowl title.

Quick Facts

Coach
Dick Vermeil
Key play
Mike Jones' tackle of Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line, famously known as 'The Tackle'

Lore & Background

Both teams were returning to the postseason after struggles and relocation. Led by The Greatest Show on Turf offense, the Rams entered their second Super Bowl appearance with an NFC-best 13–3 regular-season record. Their season marked the franchise's first playoff run since 1989 and first since moving from Los Angeles to St. Louis. The Titans also finished the regular season with a 13–3 record and advanced to their Super Bowl debut as a wild card. In their first season after retiring the franchise's Oilers name, the Titans were making their first playoff run since 1993 and first since moving from Houston to Tennessee.

Reader's Guide

The Rams scored three field goals by halftime and added a third-quarter touchdown to take a 16–0 lead. The Titans responded with 16 straight points to tie the game near the end of regulation, the first time a Super Bowl team had erased a deficit of more than 10 points. On their ensuing drive, the Rams regained the lead with wide receiver Isaac Bruce's 73-yard touchdown. Super Bowl XXXIV is best remembered for its final play, in which the Titans reached the Rams' 10-yard line with six seconds remaining, but linebacker Mike Jones tackled wide receiver Kevin Dyson one yard short of the goal line to prevent a touchdown that could have forced overtime or won the game for the Titans.

The play became known as 'One Yard Short' and 'The Tackle'. Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, the first undrafted quarterback to win a Super Bowl, was named Super Bowl MVP after setting Super Bowl records for passing yards (414) and pass attempts without an interception (45). Warner became the sixth player to win Super Bowl MVP and NFL MVP in a single season, a feat that would go unrepeated for 23 seasons.

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