2001 AFC Divisional Playoff:
January 19, 2002
Oakland Raiders vs
New England Patriots
Foxboro Stadium,
Foxborough, MA
Weather: 19 °F (−7
°C), heavy snow
It’s hard to imagine a time when
the New England Patriots were an underdog that everyone was cheering for, but
that’s exactly what they were in 2001. For years the Patriots had been a bad
team. After their surprising Super Bowl appearance in 1985, they sunk back into
mediocrity and were horrible for another decade before head coach Bill Parcells
and quarterback Drew Bledsoe came along. A second Super Bowl appearance
happened in 1996, but then they became a group of underachievers after Parcells
left following the Super Bowl in 1996.
Enter Bill Belichick, who became
the head coach in 2000, and the rest is history. But two games into the 2001
season, it appeared the Patriots season would be history when Bledsoe was
seriously injured against the New York Jets and a relatively unknown
quarterback who went to college in heavily run-oriented Michigan and was
drafted in the sixth round in 2000 stepped in. The quarterback, of course was Tom Brady,
and he led the Patriots to an 11-5 record, the AFC East title and a bye into
the divisional playoff game.
The Oakland Raiders had won the
AFC West with a 10-6 record and had defeated the Jets in the Wild Card game the
previous week by a score of 38-24. The Raiders were led on offense by
quarterback Rich Gannon and on defense by cornerback, Rod Woodson, who had been
a teammate of Brady’s on the 1997 Michigan team that had won the National
Championship. Brady had been the back-up quarterback to Brian Griese and
Woodson had won the Heisman Trophy.
Heavy snow would have an impact
all throughout the game. Snowy games always make for great games, if you’re a
fan, and this one was no exception. After a scoreless first quarter, the
Raiders were the first to hit the scoreboard in the second quarter when Gannon
threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to receiver James Jett. The weather made it
difficult for both teams to do much else and they combined for as many punts as
first downs (11).
The Patriots abandoned their
running game as the third quarter began and put the game in the hands of Brady.
Their first drive ended with a 23-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri and the
Raider lead was cut to 7-3. But before the quarter ended, the Raiders kicked
two field goals and the game entered the fourth quarter with Oakland ahead
13-3.
In the fourth, the Patriots
scored their first touchdown of the game when Brady led the offense downfield
on a 67-yard, 10-play drive that he himself finished when he scrambled into the
end zone for a six-yard run. After the extra point, the gap was three points at
13-10. With time winding down and the Patriots still trailing and in possession
of the ball, the most controversial play of the game occurred.
As Brady looked to pass, he was
sacked by Woodson and the ball was free. Oakland linebacker Greg Biekert recovered the
fumble and the Raiders took possession with 1:47 left to play. Or so we
thought. An instant replay review led to the play being reversed, due to the
infamous “Tuck Rule.” As Brady was about to be hit by Woodson, his arm started
to move forward in a throwing motion. Even though he didn’t release the ball
and instead fumbled when he began to tuck it towards his body, the rule
indicated that if any throwing motion occurred while being tackled, it was not
a fumble, and therefore ruled an incomplete pass.
With another chance, Brady took
advantage and moved the Pats inside the Raider thirty-yard line, where
Vinatieri hit his second field goal of the game, this time from 45 yards way
and into the heavy snow storm. The game was tied at 13 and headed to overtime.
The Patriots won the coin toss
and drove down the field, on an eight-minute drive, to the six-yard line, where
Vinatieri hit his third field goal of the game and the Patriots had the win,
16-13. While some may have thought the Raiders got robbed because of the fumble
that was, but wasn’t, the rules were clear and according to those rules, the
play was an incomplete pass. (The rule has since been changed.) At any rate,
Oakland was out and the Pats were on their way to Pittsburgh for the AFC
Championship.
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