The “Tuck” Rule

Time and time again, I seem to be turning toward these controversial sports topics that involve the New England Patriots. Well, here’s another one. On January 19^th, 2002, the Oakland Raiders geared up to play the New England Patriots in one of the most historical games in all of football. The game was played on a “perfect night” as described my coach Jon Gruden, the coach of the Oakland Raiders at the time. Heavy snow, moderately cold temperatures, and the first playoff game ever held at night all combined in the old Foxborough Stadium to generate an unbelievable atmosphere for professional football.

4^th Quarter, 1:50 remaining. Raiders 13, Patriots 10. As the New England Patriots push for a final drive in the playoff game, young player Tom Brady leads the team down the field. In fact, this was Brady’s first season as a starter, only playing about a dozen games before this moment. Brady takes the snap, steps back, starts to throw, and is immediately blindsided by a safety blitz off the

right side by Charles Woodson. When he gets hit, the football falls to the ground, and eventually recovered by the Oakland Raiders. Upon initial recovery, the Raiders began celebrating, as gaining possession of the football with the current circumstances of the game means they would be moving on to the next round of the playoffs. But all of a sudden, there was talking. Commotion by the crowd. Discussion by the referees.

Upon further review of the play, the call was overturned. It was ruled that Brady’s hand possessed the football and was moving in a forward direction, resulting in an incomplete pass. This enabled the Patriots to tie the game with a last-second field goal, and eventually go on to win the game 16 to 13 in overtime. Following this, the Patriots won two more games, including the AFC Championship game and the Super Bowl.

I think the major point of emphasize here is that the referees did not blow the game on purpose. In fact, they officiated the game perfectly, including the last possession of regulation. But the rule

at the time had never seen a case such as the one that occurred in this game. This rule will forever live on in infamy. It is the “Tuck” rule. According to the exact wording of the rule, when a quarterback goes to pass the football, his hand is considered in throwing motion until the ball is completely stopped or pulled down in attempt to begin a run. Tom Brady’s hand never reached this stopped motion before he was hit, so when he lost control of the ball, the rule clearly defined the play as an incomplete pass.

First thing to address in this controversy, it that the Patriots did not cheat, rather simply got lucky due to the odd syntax that the current rule of an incomplete pass stated. Many people believe that this was the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Patriot’s cheating history, when rather, the NFL was unprepared for a play in this manner

On the other hand, this game is often referred to as the “What If” game in NFL history. In fact, many interesting changes in NFL history could have been sparked by this one game, and resultingly, this one call. Tom Brady and the Patriots went on to win three Super Bowls in four years, sparking a dynasty that last into today’s world. Something most people do not remember is that before this, the New England Patriots were actually a very bad sports team. This shift in quality is often brought back to this very game. Also, Jon Gruden’s future was changed as well. Upon losing the game, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These changes altered the history of the National Football League forever.

Although the rule has been furthered changed away from its prior syntax, this play will forever be remembered in history. For an excellent explanation, watch this video on the “Tuck” rule!

Thank you for reading. Signing off, Woz.