To be absolutely clear, I'm not saying that the 2024 Raiders will win the Super Bowl, that their defense will be the best in history, or that we will even talk about this team again after the season is over. Nonetheless, I am acknowledging that there exist undeniable similarities between the Baltimore Ravens of 2000 and the Las Vegas Raiders of 2024.
These connections extend from the previous season of each team to the front office staff and all points in between. Allow me to walk you through these strange coincidences these two teams share.
Eerie similarities between the 2024 Raiders and the 2000 Ravens
Defense/Offseason Moves
Since everyone thinks of the defense first when the 2000 Baltimore Ravens are mentioned, we'll start there. Now, let's remember and keep in mind that before the 2000 season, no one anticipated the Raven defense to rank among the best in history.
Going into that season they were just a pretty good defense with a star. The Ravens team finished the regular season in the bottom half of the league in terms of points allowed (26th) and in the top ten in overall defense (6th). They had a solid defense, led by a superstar (Ray Lewis), and signed a very good defensive tackle (Sam Jones) in free agency.
This sounds a lot like the Raiders defense, which ended last season among the bottom half in points allowed (19th) but were in the top ten in overall defense (9th). Much like the Ravens, the Raiders are a solid group led by a superstar (Maxx Crosby) who recently signed a very good defensive tackle (Christian Watkins) in free agency.
The Baltimore Ravens defense of 2000 will be remembered as one of, if not the best, in NFL history, and for valid reason.