Referee Walt Coleman reviewed the play for what felt like an eternity even though it was just three minutes, and came out of the hood announcing his decision. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble. When player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. NFL Rule 3, Section 22, Article 2, Note 2 had something else in mind, however. Brady lost the football and the ensuing scramble resulted in Oakland’s Greg Biekert falling on it to secure his team’s victory. On 1st-and-10, Brady stood in the pocket when former college teammate Charles Woodson hit him from his blindside. What followed next is one of the most famous plays in NFL history. A 7-yard pass to Kevin Faulk was followed by the two-minute warning and a 5-yard scramble that set New England up at the Raiders’ 42-yard line. With 2:06 left in the fourth quarter, Brady and the offense took over. They would need at least a field goal now to keep their season going. The Patriots scored a touchdown after that first fumble. It was not the first time that had happened in the game, actually: earlier in the fourth quarter, Brown lost the ball on an 11-yard return with Izzo falling on top of it. There, he fumbled the ball and Izzo was able to jump onto it. Troy Brown and Larry Izzo are but footnotes when the Tuck Rule game is discussed, but they had as big a role in it as the main actors.īrown fielded the Raiders’ punt after the third down stop, returning it 27 yards to the New England 46-yard line. The Raiders punted, giving New England and its young QB a final chance to salvage their season. What followed, however, was Tedy Bruschi and Ty Law teaming up to stop the rushing attempt short of the sticks. A conversion would quite possibly ice the game in the visitors’ favor. 2, and set up a crucial 3rd-and-1 at the Oakland 44. A 2-yard run was followed by Patriots timeout No. A 7-yard run was followed by Patriots timeout No. The Raiders had taken over at their 35-yard line with 2:41 left. The second - after the offense failed to capitalize on it - was even more important. The first ended an Oakland possession at the New England 45-yard line. Down 13-10, it was time for the defense to manufacture a stop. Brady capped a 10-play drive by scrambling into the end zone from 6 yards out. That’s when the Patriots started to fight back.įirst, their second-year quarterback scored a touchdown to cut the deficit to three points. Despite that disadvantage, however, Oakland still jumped to a 13-3 lead entering the fourth quarter. The weather was a big reason for that: snow had been falling all game long and helped New England slow down the Raiders’ potent offensive attack. This, in turn, set the organization up with a meeting with a 10-6 Raiders team that boasted one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses.ĭespite that, the divisional round game between the two clubs turned into a grudge match. Tom Brady never looked back and helped lead the Patriots to an 11-5 record and the second postseason seed in the AFC. Bledsoe going down paved the way for a little-known backup quarterback to move into the starting role. One they did not have to worry about was at the quarterback position: Drew Bledsoe had just signed a massive 10-year, $103 million contract and was locked into the QB1 spot.īledsoe, however, was knocked out in Week 2 and would have to miss multiple weeks. The Patriots entered the 2001 season, the second under head coach Bill Belichick, with plenty of questions after going just 5-11 the previous year. Not only did it spark two decades worth of discussions, it also changed the trajectory of two franchises for years to come.Īll because of one play on the snowy Foxboro Stadium turf on January 19, 2002. One of those stands out above the rest, and two words are all that is needed to trigger an immediate reaction from NFL fans across the country: Tuck Rule.Ģ0 years after that divisional round game between the Patriots and the visiting Oakland Raiders, it is still one of the biggest and most polarizing moments in league history. The New England Patriots did go a respectable 137-105 throughout the years, but they hosted only five playoff games. Foxboro Stadium did not see a lot of memorable games between its opening in 1971 and its demolition 31 years later.
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