It was an impressive offseason, and Rams fans were optimistic for the first time in a long time. In fact, local pro football fans had known nothing but poor teams: the organization had least reached the postseason in 1989, six years before it moved from Los Angeles to St. Louis . Before that, the Cardinals, who played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1988, routinely fielded second-rate teams.
Then, boom! The optimism appeared to go right down the drain: Green suffered a season-ending knee injury on a hit by Rodney Harrison in a preseason game.
Instead of signing a veteran quarterback to start, head coach Dick Vermeil made one of the gutsiest coaching decisions in NFL history, choosing unproven no-name 27-year-old Warner as his starter.
The rest, as you know, is history: Warner responded with one of the single greatest individual seasons in the history of the National Football League.
He threw 41 touchdown passes, joining Dan Marino as the only players in NFL history to throw 40 in a season. His 4,353 passing yards ranked second in the NFL and stood as the 14th highest single-season total ever. His 109.2 passer rating? Third highest ever.
Warner led the NFL in yards per attempt (8.7) and completion percentage (65.1), and earned Most Valuable Player honors.
Marshall Faulk also had a season for the ages: He became just the second player in history (Roger Craig) to top 1,000 yards rushing (1,381) and receiving (1,048), setting a new NFL record for yards from scrimmage (2,429). He finished second to Warner in NFL MVP voting.
The Rams won 13 games for the first time in franchise history, courtesy of their top-ranked offense and fourth-ranked defense.
In the Super Bowl, the Rams opened up a 16-0 lead against the Tennessee Titans, only to see the game tied 16-16 with 2:12 left in the game.
Enter Warner. Warner tossed a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce, and after a dramatic tackle by St. Louis linebacker Mike Jones on the one-yard line on the game's last play, the Rams were world champions – 4-12 to 13-3 and Super bowl champs in the space of a single season.
Warner captured Super Bowl MVP honors, thanks to a Super Bowl record 414 passing yards, capping off a thrilling season that ESPN considered "to be the greatest one-year wonder in the history of the National Football League." (Of course, ESPN fails to acknowledge the greatness of Bart Starr, so take their opinion for what it's worth.)
The Rams set a modern single-season record in point differential, at +284, and according to a 2008 WhatIfSports simulation, the Rams are the most dominant team in NFL history, winning 77.1 percent of their games against the other 41 Super Bowl champions.
After the season, Dick Vermeil retired from coaching and Mike Martz was named the team's new head coach.
2000: the defensive meltdown
The St. Louis offense continued its dominant ways in the 2000 season, scoring 540 points, the third highest single-season total in NFL history.
Reigning MVP Warner proved that his 1999 season was no fluke, throwing for 300 yards in each of the first six games of the season. Then disaster seemed to strike, as Warner broke his hand and missed five starts.
Trent Green finally had a chance to show the Rams what he could do and he didn't disappoint, throwing 16 touchdowns and only five interceptions. The combination of Warner and Green helped the Rams set an NFL single-season record with 7,335 total yards, including a record 5,492 through the air.
Faulk turned in arguably the greatest season by a running back in the last half-century. He rushed 253 times for 1359 yards (5.37 YPA) and 18 touchdowns. He caught 81 passes for 830 yards and eight touchdowns. His 26 touchdowns set a new NFL single-season record and he did not fumble once despite his heavy workload. Faulk's 160 points scored (including two two-point conversions) were one fewer than the entire Bengals offense scored that season.
Faulk ran away with the Most Valuable Player award and earned his second consecutive Offensive Player of the Year award.
Holt, the second-year receiver, caught 82 passes for 1,635 yards, the ninth highest single-season total in NFL history. Isaac Bruce caught 87 passes for 1,471 yards and nine touchdowns. Even kicker Jeff Wilkins posted a career year, converting all 17 field goal tries.
It was during the 2000 season that the St. Louis offense earned the nickname "The Greatest Show On Turf" by ESPN analyst Chris Berman. (Yes, folks, we're giving Boomer credit for one of his nicknames.)
The defense, however, was absolutely dreadful. The Rams ranked dead last in the NFL in points allowed, with 471.
Despite starting the season 6-0, the Rams struggled to reach the postseason, barely securing a wild-card berth.
In the postseason, the Rams faced the Saints. Kurt Warner threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. The Rams still managed 28 points, but lost 31-28 in overtime.
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