5 greatest what-ifs in NFL history

2. What if there was no ‘Tuck Rule’?

The ‘Tuck Rule” game between the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders in the AFC Divisional Round of the 2001 season might be the most infamous NFL game of the last two decades. 

With minutes left in the game and the Patriots trailing by two against Jon Gruden’s rising Raiders, young quarterback Tom Brady dropped back to pass and was hit by legendary defensive back Charles Woodson. The ball fell out of Brady’s hands and was recovered by a Raiders linebacker, essentially dooming the Pats to a loss.

But after reviewing the play carefully, NFL officials ruled that Brady did not, in fact, fumble the football, stating that Brady stopped the forward passing motion to “tuck” the ball against his body. And thus, the “Tuck Rule” was invoked, saving the Patriots. The legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri would then send the game to overtime with a last-gasp field goal, and the Pats would go on to win in overtime from another Vinatieri field goal.

Weeks later, the Patriots picked up their first Super Bowl of the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick dynasty, defeating the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” via yet another winning Vinatieri kick – a common theme over the next handful of years.

The “Tuck Rule” is still a bitter topic for Raiders fans. Not only did this rule kickstart the Patriots dynasty, but it led to the demise of the Raiders, who have been one of the NFL’s most luckless franchises since. The run of misfortune started here. Because while the Raiders made it to the Super Bowl in the next season behind Rich Gannon’s excellence, former head coach Jon Gruden dismantled Oakland in the ensuing Super Bowl, knowing the playbook and system he created. It was a cruel Super Bowl loss, and the Raiders spiraled afterward.

Worse yet for Raiders fans, the “Tuck Rule” was removed in 2013, having only been used twice after the Patriots’ win over Oakland.

Yet there’s one layer of the “Tuck Rule” that often gets ignored. It was first used earlier in the 2001-02 season against the Patriots when star defensive end Richard Seymour seemingly forced a Vinny Testaverde fumble. The fumble was overturned due to the “Tuck Rule”, and the Jets would go on to beat their biggest rivals. In that same game, Drew Bledsoe was injured, and the Tom Brady era began in New England. So in a sense, one of the NFL’s greatest “what-ifs” had an eery prelude with another “what-if” (Bledsoe’s injury) embedded.