Jimmy Smith’s Epic Week 2 vs. 2000 Ravens: A Historic Outlier Against the NFL’s Greatest Statistical Defense of All Time
The 2000 Baltimore Ravens are etched in NFL history as perhaps the greatest statistical defense the league has ever seen. That season, they allowed a jaw-droppingly low 10.3 points per game across a 16-game schedule, setting a modern-era record that still stands. They gave up just 2,997 net passing yards—less than 187 yards per game—and only 11 passing touchdowns the entire season. Their smothering defense was suffocating, relentless, and often demoralizing to even the most elite offenses. Yet in the early weeks of that remarkable year, one man managed to momentarily shatter that armor. His name: Jimmy Smith.
In Week 2 of the 2000 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars traveled to Baltimore and nearly pulled off what would have been a high-scoring upset. At the center of their offensive eruption stood wide receiver Jimmy Smith, who delivered what many now view as one of the most anomalous and awe-inspiring performances ever recorded against a truly legendary defense. Smith caught 15 passes for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns—all from quarterback Mark Brunell—and came within inches of spoiling what would become a championship campaign for the Ravens.
To fully grasp the enormity of Smith’s performance, one has to understand just how dominant that Baltimore defense was. Over 16 games, they allowed fewer than 3,000 passing yards. Smith alone accounted for 291 of those yards in just one afternoon—9.7% of the Ravens’ entire season total. Of the 11 passing touchdowns allowed that season, Smith scored three—meaning he alone was responsible for 27.3% of all the Ravens’ passing touchdowns allowed that year. And if that wasn’t mind-boggling enough, consider this: only four of those 11 touchdowns were of 40 yards or more. Jimmy Smith was responsible for three of those four, with touchdowns of 45, 43, and 40 yards, all in the same game. He didn’t just dent the Ravens’ defense—he gashed it, repeatedly, with long, devastating plays.
The context around that Week 2 showdown adds further weight to Smith’s feat. Baltimore entered the game fresh off a Week 1 victory in which they had already begun to display the defensive dominance that would define their season. With a front seven led by the likes of Ray Lewis and Tony Siragusa and a ball-hawking secondary anchored by Rod Woodson and Chris McAlister, the Ravens were more than just stout—they were vicious, opportunistic, and intelligent. No team would score more than 36 total points across five straight games against them later that season. Yet Jimmy Smith, alone, helped the Jaguars post 36 points in that single game.
There were no flukes in Smith’s performance, either. His touchdowns came on well-executed deep balls, showcasing both his elite route-running and Brunell’s timing. The Ravens had no answer. McAlister and Duane Starks alternated in coverage, and even when Rod Woodson shaded help over the top, Smith continued to get separation. His third touchdown—a 40-yarder—was perhaps the most spectacular, catching the ball in stride before breaking through a double-team and sprinting into the end zone. It wasn’t just a statistical aberration—it was an onslaught.
In hindsight, this game stands out like a glowing red dot on an otherwise impenetrable defensive radar. No other receiver came remotely close to what Smith did that day. In fact, many wideouts failed to even eclipse 100 yards against the Ravens that year, let alone 200. Smith nearly tripled that benchmark. He didn’t just produce; he dominated in a fashion so thorough that it almost felt surreal.
It’s tempting to suggest the Ravens had a rare off day, but even in that game, the rest of the defense performed reasonably well. The Jaguars’ ground game was stifled—Fred Taylor was held in check. Mark Brunell was under duress for much of the day and was even sacked multiple times. But every time he had even a sliver of time, he looked toward Smith, and Smith delivered. The Ravens adjusted, shifted coverages, and rolled safety help, yet nothing could stop the inevitable connection between Brunell and Smith that afternoon. It was the equivalent of someone running a marathon in flip-flops and winning—not supposed to happen, but it did.
And it wasn’t just statistical dominance—it was clutch, too. Every time the Jaguars needed a big play to keep pace or regain the lead, Smith delivered. It was a one-man assault that nearly changed the outcome of the game. Baltimore eventually won the game in the closing moments on a touchdown run by Shannon Sharpe, but it was the kind of contest that left the Ravens defense bruised in ways they rarely were that season. If ever there were a blemish on their 2000 defensive resume, Jimmy Smith’s name is scrawled all over it.
To place this in broader NFL historical context, very few individual performances can rival what Smith did against a defense that would go on to win the Super Bowl and be canonized as one of the greatest ever. Think about the names that tried and failed: Hall of Fame receivers like Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, and Isaac Bruce never had games like this against top-ranked defenses. Even today, with pass-happy offenses and rule changes that benefit receivers, 291 yards and 3 touchdowns is considered a once-in-a-generation type performance. Smith did it in the year 2000, in a more physical league, against one of the most punishing secondaries in NFL history.
In many ways, Jimmy Smith’s Week 2 game has aged like a fine wine—more appreciated with time as the legend of the 2000 Ravens has only grown. The more we contextualize just how suffocating that defense was for everyone else, the more spectacular his outlier performance becomes. It’s a game that doesn’t make sense on paper but remains burned in the memory of anyone who saw it live. Ravens fans remember it with a mix of respect and frustration. Jaguars fans, though the season didn’t go their way overall, remember it as the day their star receiver outshone the most feared defense in football.
Statistically, that game remains one of the greatest performances by a wide receiver in a losing effort. It’s one thing to rack up stats in garbage time against a prevent defense. Smith’s performance was surgical and explosive, from the first quarter through the final whistle. All three touchdowns were from deep passes, against full-speed defenses trying everything to stop him. In the same way that Bo Jackson’s Monday Night destruction of the Seahawks became legendary, Jimmy Smith’s Sunday afternoon eruption against Baltimore has become a touchstone for what peak performance against adversity looks like.
Looking back at the 2000 season, the Ravens allowed just 165 total points across 16 games and four playoff contests. They shut out four opponents. They allowed just one team to score more than 23 points in any game that season—Jacksonville in Week 2. That’s the company Jimmy Smith’s performance keeps: the only moment all year when the greatest defense of that era looked mortal.
It wasn’t just a fluke game. Jimmy Smith was no journeyman or one-hit wonder. By 2000, he was already a two-time Pro Bowler and widely regarded as one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL. A route technician with deep speed and strong hands, he had spent years carving up defenses despite not having the name recognition of some of his peers. That game against Baltimore, though, changed that. It forced analysts and fans alike to reevaluate just how good Smith truly was. You don’t torch the 2000 Ravens by accident.
In the pantheon of great wide receiver games, Jimmy Smith’s 291-yard, 3-touchdown masterpiece against the 2000 Baltimore Ravens isn’t just impressive—it’s mythic. It stands alone as one of the most statistically improbable and visually dominant efforts ever seen against a team built specifically to prevent such performances. Against a defense that allowed only 10.3 points per game, Smith nearly accounted for that by himself. Against a team that gave up only 11 passing touchdowns all season, he grabbed three. Against a unit that rarely gave up big plays, he delivered three long-range haymakers.
In a season defined by defensive greatness, it was Jimmy Smith who authored the most unforgettable offensive chapter.
