Skip to main content

Leading the NFL in completions, completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns, quarterback rating, and plenty of advanced stats is quite the recipe for success, and Kurt Warner provided all the necessary ingredients during a sensational 2001 season for the St. Louis Rams.

Coming off playoff disappointment against the New Orleans Saints, Warner bounced back with aplomb even if he started off shaky with two interceptions in a Week 1 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Over the next three outings, he reminded everyone why he’d gone from grocery store clerk to one of the highest-paid athletes in professional sports, tossing 313.3 yards per game with 10 touchdowns and one lone interception — a pass intended for Ricky Proehl that wound up in the hands of San Francisco 49ers defensive back Ahmed Plummer in the second quarter of an eventual victory.

“I don’t want to tell anyone how to play us,” offensive tackle Orlando Pace said in September 2021, per ESPN‘s Len Pasquarelli. “But if you sit back and try to cover us, Kurt is going to pick you apart. And it doesn’t matter if you put a dozen defensive backs on the field. Those receivers will find some holes.”

Kurt Warner throws for the St. Louis Rams during the 2001 NFL season
Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams drops back to pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Warner’s aggressive style while targeting Torry Holt, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Proehl, and Az-Zahir Hakim did lead to a career-high 22 interceptions, but the mistakes didn’t exactly hinder the Rams’ performance. They went 14-2 while scoring a league-best 31.4 points per game and further justifying the “Greatest Show on Turf” moniker. The next-best scoring offense belonged to the Indianapolis Colts (25.8 points per game).

The 30-year-old quarterback did suffer a throat contusion in the regular-season finale that left him under doctors’ orders not to talk for seven days, but his second career MVP-winning performance helped his own cause because he was able to recover during the Rams’ bye week to open the postseason.

Three pick-sixes of Brett Favre, who tossed six interceptions during the Rams’ 45-17 blowout of the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round, helped create a low-stress outing for Warner, who had to be far sharper in an NFC Conference Championship Game against Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles. He was indeed sharper, though he was also able to lean on Faulk’s legs and only needed to record 212 yards and a single touchdown in the 29-24 victory.

Then came Super Bowl 36.

Warner went 28-of-44 for 365 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, and he sparked a 14-point comeback in the fourth quarter with a quarterback sneak for a score and then a 26-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with just 1:30 remaining. But Tom Brady Tom Brady-ed en route to his first career Super Bowl MVP, marching down the field and setting up the Adam Vinatieri game-winner that split the uprights with no time left on the clock to give the New England Patriots a 20-17 win and the title.

The Rams had entered the game as two-touchdown favorites over the Bill Belichick-led upstarts, but disappointment came instead. A game that could’ve sparked a dynastic feel — two titles in three years — instead became the beginning of the end for the Greatest Show on Turf.

Read more about Kurt Warner’s NFL career:

Kurt Warner 2001 Stats

Passing Stats

GGSCMPATTCMP%YDSTDINTSACKSRTG
161637554668.74,830362238101.4

Rushing Stats

GATTYDSTDFMB
162860010

Kurt Warner 2001 Game Log

Passing Stats

DATEWKOPPRESULTCMPATTYDSTDINTRTG
9/9/011@PHIW 20-1728423081276.3
9/23/012@SFW 30-26243532131114.1
9/30/013MIAW 42-10243132840150.3
10/8/014@DETW 35-0293729130126.5
10/14/015NYGW 15-1428463160172.4
10/21/016@NYJW 34-14182721510103.2
10/28/017NOL 34-3129473851459.3
11/11/019CARW 48-1414201441367.5
11/18/0110@NEW 24-17304240132105.4
11/26/0111TBL 24-1719392911261.0
12/2/0112@ATLW 35-6172334240155.3
12/9/0113SFW 27-1426422942188.8
12/17/0114@NOW 34-21233233840145.6
12/23/0115@CARW 38-3218232172298.7
12/30/0116INDW 42-17233035931135.3
1/6/0217ATLW 31-1325302803399.3
1/20/02DivGBW 45-1718302162190.4
1/27/02ConfPHIW 29-2422332121094.5
2/3/02SBNEL 20-1728443651278.3

Rushing Stats

DATEWKOPPRESULTATTYDSTDFMB
9/9/011@PHIW 20-170001
9/23/012@SFW 30-263901
9/30/013MIAW 42-101-101
10/8/014@DETW 35-00000
10/14/015NYGW 15-143601
10/21/016@NYJW 34-140000
10/28/017NOL 34-310000
11/11/019CARW 48-140000
11/18/0110@NEW 24-176302
11/26/0111TBL 24-171002
12/2/0112@ATLW 35-61300
12/9/0113SFW 27-1441900
12/17/0114@NOW 34-213201
12/23/0115@CARW 38-3231300
12/30/0116INDW 42-171-101
1/6/0217ATLW 31-132700
1/20/02DivGBW 45-174000
1/27/02ConfPHIW 29-242201
2/3/02SBNEL 20-173611

All stats, unless otherwise indicated, courtesy of Pro Football Reference

Related Kurt Warner Is a Member of the Elite Club of NFL Quarterbacks to Start Super Bowls For Multiple Teams

Kurt Warner Is a Member of the Elite Club of NFL Quarterbacks to Start Super Bowls For Multiple Teams

Best in NFL
Avatar photo
Managing Editor

Adam Fromal

Adam Fromal joined the Endgame360 team in 2021 and works primarily with the Sportscasting team. He comes with a wealth of sports writing knowledge, building on a career that started in 2010, and with editing experience dating back to 2016.

Adam enjoys covering all facets of the sports industry but has a particular love for basketball and the NBA. He grew up with that as a favorite and made it a career when he covered the NBA for almost a decade as a writer for Bleacher Report. During that time, he covered Denver Nuggets games and ran his own analytics website called NBA Math (a venture that he continues today).

Throughout his tenure as an editor, Adam has a few other claims to fame: He helped to provide quality control for the Emmy-nominated “Game of Zones” web series at Bleacher Report and worked as a fact-checker for The Ringer’s Mirin Fader on her debut book, Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP.

Adam earned his bachelor’s degrees from the University of Georgia in Classical Culture, Latin, and Psychology.