Tom Brady admits 'it might have been a fumble' in infamous Tuck Rule game
Tom Brady is no longer retired, but he's still having his fun in the offseason.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback admitted the obvious in a cheeky social media post Thursday morning. Following a "tell me something honest" prompt from Justin Bieber, Brady said what Las Vegas Raiders fans have been screaming for the last 20 years:
"The Tuck Rule Game against the Raiders ... it might have been a fumble."
Everyone keep this on the down low please. pic.twitter.com/xPtrg1kXjr
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 5, 2022
That admission will be no comfort for Raiders fans who have spent decades stewing over a play that should have sealed a 2001 season AFC divisional playoff game against Brady's New England Patriots. The player on the other side of the play, Brady's college teammate Charles Woodson, even responded, as did the Raiders.
Really @TomBrady https://t.co/uC2fxVjwlF pic.twitter.com/N98wpE0Cf1
— Charles Woodson (@CharlesWoodson) May 5, 2022
With less than two minutes left and down 13-10, Brady, then in his first season as the starting QB, appeared to fumble on a sack by Woodson, only for the ruling to be overturned on replay review because Brady was "tucking" the ball back into his body after pump-faking a pass. The Patriots would go on to win in overtime and capture their first Super Bowl.
It remains one of the most controversial officiating decisions in sports history, receiving the full documentary treatment earlier this year. Brady admitted the surreality of the situation in 2020, calling it a "fluke call" and saying he understood the hard feelings in Oakland:
“That was just an unbelievable game. I still see it today and it’s a great part of my football history and it’s probably a very sour part of their football history, but that’s the way it goes. We had that in ’07 when we played against the Giants in the Super Bowl, and in ’11 and in ’17 — one team wins and one team loses. It’s a fluke call, one ball bounces your way or one goes the opposite way. I’ll always feel I have some type of strong feeling or emotion toward the Raiders.”
Again, not much comfort for the Raiders and their fans.
