Raiders Were 'Tucked' by Patriots in 2002

The Las Vegas Raiders (2-3) host the New England Patriots (1-4) on Sunday, but make no mistake; Raider Nation remembers being "tucked" by the NFL against the Patriots.

The Boston, now New England Patriots, and the Oakland, now Las Vegas Raiders, were charter members of the American Football League when it was founded in 1960.

The teams will meet for the 38th time in 64 years on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, doing so for the second consecutive season, as last year the Raiders broke a six-game losing streak against the Patriots, who lead the all-time series, 20-16-1.

The Patriots won seven of the teams' first nine games, as the Raiders were an AFL doormat in the first three seasons with records of 6-8, 2-12, and 1-13 before Al Davis came to Oakland in 1963 and turned the franchise around.

After going 5-9 in their first season, the Patriots went 9-5-1 in the next two years but were routed by the San Diego Chargers, 51-10, in the 1963 AFL Championship Game at Jack Murphy Stadium.

However, these teams became two of the greatest franchises in NFL history later on, with the Raiders winning three Super Bowls in eight years during the 1970s and ’80s, while the Patriots outdid everybody by winning a record six Super Bowls under Coach Bill Belichick from 2001-18 with the great Tom Brady at quarterback.

However, the Patriots have reached the post-season only once since Brady, who is about to become a part-owner of the Raiders at the behest of Mark Davis, left them in 2020 and they have started this season 1-4, while the Raiders are 2-3.

The most famous -- or infamous if you are a longtime fan of Raider Nation -- was “The Tuck Rule Game.”

The Raiders and Patriots were playing in a 2001 American Football Conference Divisional Playoff game at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., when the Silver and Black held a 13-10 lead late in the fourth quarter as Brady was ready to throw a pass but pulled the ball back down and had both hands on it.

Hall of Fame cornerback Charles Woodson knocked the ball out of Brady’s hands and linebacker Greg Biekert recovered, essentially clinching the victory for the Raiders. Brady ran off the field without any dispute because he knew he had fumbled.

The Raiders were celebrating, while not one of the Patriots, including Belichick, was appealing to the officials that it was an incomplete pass.

However, after a lengthy discussion, the officials declared it was not a fumble but an incomplete pass because of something obscure known as “The Tuck Rule,” even though Brady had no intention of throwing the ball when Woodson hit him.

“It’ was B.S,” said Woodson, who maintains that it was a fumble to this day. “I thought it was a B.S. call. It never should have been overturned. Unbelievable that [referee Walt] Coleman could sit there and look at it several times and still get the call wrong.”

Soon after, the NFL took “The Tuck Rule” off the books.

Adam Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal in the snow with 27 seconds left in regulation to tie the score. He added a 23-yard field goal in overtime for a 16-13 victory, which sent the Patriots on their way to capturing their first Super Bowl, 20-17, over the St. Louis Rams on Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

Despite “The Tuck Rule,” Brady definitely had the Raiders’ number with a 5-1 record against them in his career, winning the last five games in a row after losing, 27-20, the first time he played against them at the Oakland Coliseum in 2002.

Brady was pretty mum about “The Tuck Rule” for quite a while, but years later, he admitted that he fumbled the ball.

In an interview with another great quarterback, Peyton Manning, on ESPN, Brady said: “Oh, yeah. I thought (the) game’s over. For the record, I was pulling (the ball) down.”

Despite trailing in the series, the Raiders defeated the Patriots the first time the teams played, 27-14, at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco when quarterback Tom Flores passed for two touchdowns, and the last time a year ago, when Derek Carr passed for three scores in a 30-24 victory over the Patriots at Allegiant Stadium.

However, the Silver and Black will never forget how they got “Tucked” in 2002.

The Silver and Black will stay home at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to play the New England Patriots on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 4:05 p.m. EDT/1:05 p.m. PDT.

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