2001 St. Louis Rams season

2001 St. Louis Rams season
2001 St. Louis Rams season
Owner	Georgia Frontiere
General manager	Mike Martz and Charley Armey
Head coach	Mike Martz
Offensive coordinator	Bobby Jackson
Defensive coordinator	Lovie Smith
Home field	Trans World Dome
Results
Record	14–2
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs; (vs. Packers) 45–17; Won NFC Championship; (vs. Eagles) 29–24; Lost Super Bowl XXXVI; (vs. Patriots) 17–20
Pro Bowlers	QB Kurt Warner; RB Marshall Faulk; WR Isaac Bruce; WR Torry Holt; T Orlando Pace; G Adam Timmerman; CB Aeneas Williams
AP All-Pros	QB Kurt Warner (1st team); RB Marshall Faulk (1st team); TE Ernie Conwell (2nd team); OT Orlando Pace (1st team); G Adam Timmerman (2nd team); CB Aeneas Williams (1st team)
	← 2000; Rams seasons; 2002 →;

The 2001 season was the St. Louis Rams' 65th in the National Football League (NFL), their seventh in St. Louis and their second under head coach Mike Martz. The Rams improved on their 10–6 record from last year, and finished 14–2. The St. Louis Rams in 2001 set a franchise record for wins in a season (14), while also going a perfect 8–0 on the road. Quarterback Kurt Warner would go on to win his second league MVP award. Along with Warner's 1999 MVP award and Marshall Faulk's 2000 award, the Rams had amassed the last three NFL MVP awards.

The Rams also became the first team in NFL history to open three consecutive seasons with six straight wins and the first to score 500 or more points in three consecutive seasons.

The Rams returned to the Super Bowl for a second time after winning their first title two years earlier, but this time against the 11–5 New England Patriots, led by second-year head coach Bill Belichick and by a young Tom Brady. The Rams were expected by many to win their 2nd Super Bowl title, but lost 20–17 after Patriots placekicker Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-clinching field goal. This was the Rams' last Super Bowl appearance until the 2018 season, when they controversially defeated the New Orleans Saints 26–23 in the NFC Championship game, and would meet the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI, but lost to them again 13–3. By that time the Rams would be based in Los Angeles after relocating from St. Louis in 2016. The Rams, however, would win Super Bowl LVI, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals.

This was also the final season with the Rams as "The Greatest Show on Turf" as Kurt Warner struggled the following two seasons with the team. He was then replaced by Marc Bulger.