Wow, I can’t believe it has been almost 20 years since NFL season 2001! I was an NFL fan even back then, but back then I bought paper tickets for games. It brings back so many memories thinking about it.
So, how many games were there in NFL season 2001? Well, it’s actually a really interesting question. During that season, each of the then 31 NFL teams played 16 games. That means that there were a total of 496 games during that season. Amazing right?
That doesn’t sound like a lot of games when you consider how many there are today, but back then, that was actually a lot of football!The amount of games has grown since then to fit the demand of the fans. Today, teams participate in 17 games each season.
The teams participating in the 2001 season were a lot different than the teams today. Teams that existed back then, like the Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars, are still here today. And teams like the Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers were new.
The Super Bowl for the 2001 season was between the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams. Considering the fact that the Patriots have become a household name, it’s easy to forget that this Super Bowl was only the second time they had reached the big game, and their first time winning.
The Patriots ended up winning that Super Bowl 20-17 on a last minute field goal. It was an exciting game and had the entire country watching with bated breath. For those of us who were staunch Patriots fans from the beginning, winning that Super Bowl was the beginning of a dynasty.
The Rams, on the other hand, made it to their second Super Bowl of that era. They had also won in the 1999 season against the Tennessee Titans. The Rams ended up retiring players like Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner and Isaac Bruce after that Super Bowl.
Reflecting back on NFL season 2001, it’s amazing to me how much has changed since then. Now teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers exist today because of the hard work they put in during that season. It’s also remarkable to think about all the games in one season!
And the other thing I was thinking about was how much more advanced technology was by the end of the season compared to the beginning. Teams and plays were starting to be tracked via satellite, which meant that there was room for better analysis and strategy. You see, not only did the number of games increase, but the amount of data available was increasing too.
Nowadays, teams have so much access to so much data that it’s almost a challenge to know what matters most. And back during NFL Season 2001, none of that existed. Players had to rely solely on their skill and coaching to make it happen.
I remember tuning into one game during football season 2001 where a defensive coordinator had come up with a brilliant game plan which resulted in a win. It was truly inspiring to see how players and coaches could come up with plans that worked at the time.
And overall, the NFL has been able to make such huge strides in both the scope of the game and in the technology available. Matchups have become must-watch events and the level of individual players is at an all-time high. So, it’s fun to reflect on the beginning of that journey when NFL season 2001 was in full swing.