Tuck Rule Game

2001 AFC divisional playoff game

Oakland Raiders (10–6) New England Patriots (11–5) 13 16 Head coach: Jon Gruden Head coach: Bill Belichick
1 2 3 4 OT Total OAK 0 7 6 0 0 13 NE 0 0 3 10 3 16
Date	January 19, 2002
Stadium	Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Referee	Walt Coleman
Attendance	60,292
TV in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms

The 2001 AFC divisional playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders, also known as the Tuck Rule Game and the Snow Bowl, took place on January 19, 2002, at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the former home stadium of the Patriots. This was also the final game ever played at Foxboro Stadium, and was played under a heavy snowfall. The Patriots moved to Gillette Stadium the following season.

The name "Tuck Rule Game" originates from the controversial game-changing play. In the play, Raiders' cornerback Charles Woodson sacked Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, which in turn, initially appeared to cause a fumble that was eventually recovered by Raiders' linebacker Greg Biekert, and, if it was a fumble, would have almost certainly sealed the game. Officials reviewed the play, and eventually determined that even though Brady had seemingly halted his passing motion and was attempting to "tuck" the ball back into his body, it was an incomplete pass and not a fumble under the then-effective NFL rules. As a result, the original call was overturned, and the ball was given back to the Patriots, who subsequently moved the ball into field goal range.

With under a minute remaining in regulation, Patriots' placekicker Adam Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the game at 13, which sent the game into overtime. In the subsequent overtime, Vinatieri kicked a 23-yard field goal to win the game for the Patriots. New England went on to win Super Bowl XXXVI.

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