Tom Brady’s 20-year NFL career was replete with memorable playoff moments. And well, it should be. After all, the legendary quarterback played an astonishing 48 games in the postseason. That’s three full seasons of playoff football when implementing the previous 16-game season.
What’s interesting is that one of the most iconic moments in Brady’s historic career came in his first-ever playoff start against the then-Oakland Raiders. It was January 2002 and Brady, then a surprising second-year sensation for the New England Patriots, was gearing up for what would ultimately prove to be the first of a great many playoff runs.
What ensued will live in the annals of NFL history forever.
Looking Back at the Snow Bowl
The Divisional Round playoff contest pitted a stout New England defense against a high-flying Oakland offense. The Raiders thrived on the back of an explosive passing game that season, led by quarterback Rich Gannon and two legendary wide receivers in Tim Brown and Jerry Rice.
Opposing them was a Pats defense led by names like Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest, Lawyer Milloy, and Ty Law.
The great equalizer, as you’d likely expect in a game known as the “Snow Bowl,” was the weather. According to the National Weather Service, eastern Massachusetts got about four inches of snow on that chilly January evening. Temps were balmy, mostly hovering in the 20s. The wind was steady as well, with gusts between 10 and 20 miles per hour throughout the night. Conveniently, the heaviest snowfall began right around kickoff.
Former Patriots offensive lineman Damien Woody admitted, via the team’s website, that he wasn’t prepared for just how significant an impact the weather would have.
“I knew there was going to be some type of weather, but I didn’t know it was going to be anything close to that,” said Woody. “It all just seems like it came out of a fairy tale.”
As is often the case in cold weather games, points were at a premium. Both teams traded punts, save for one turnover on downs, throughout the entire first quarter. Oakland drew first blood early in the second quarter with Gannon’s scoring strike to James Jett. The Raiders would carry their 7-0 lead into the break.
At the conclusion of the first half, the two sides had combined for 12 punts, two turnovers, one kneel-down, and one touchdown.
Comparatively speaking, the second half was a veritable shootout. New England received the opening kick and marched into scoring position on the back of two Brady completions to fullback Marc Edwards and one big-gainer to David Patten. The drive would stall out at the Oakland 5-yard line, however, forcing New England to settle for three from Adam Vinatieri.
The Raiders’ offense began to heat up on their next two possessions. Gannon connected with his reliable veteran receivers, Rice and Brown, numerous times on each drive to set a little-known, 23-year-old kicker by the name of Sebastian Janikowski up for two field goals and a 13-3 Oakland lead at the end of the third.
The Patriots made it into Oakland territory on their next possession, getting as far as the 35-yard line before Brady got dumped for a sack and a loss of eight on third down.
At that point, it started to seem like the writing was on the wall for a New England offense that hadn’t done much of anything all day.
Of course, those familiar with the story know now that Brady had other plans. This was one of the first games where Tom Terrific’s late-game heroics were put on display for all the world to see. Even if it came with something of a controversial assist from the refs.
Brady and the Patriots drew to within three when the former Michigan QB punctuated a 10-play drive, one in which he completed nine consecutive passes at that, with a six-yard touchdown run.
He punctuated that scoring jaunt with a celebratory spike that would later become iconic (skip to the 2:45 mark in the clip above).
The Tuck Rule
After a few more punts from each side, the Patriots found themselves with one more chance down three in the waning moments of regulation. While the game’s unofficial title — The Snow Bowl — is derived from the inclement weather it was played in, the game itself is known for one play above all others: The Tuck Rule.
The now-infamous play seemed destined to dash New England’s Super Bowl dreams. Brady dropped back to pass, just outside of midfield, and was broadsided by Oakland legend Charles Woodson as he attempted to throw. He tried to tuck (key word) the ball into his body in an effort to protect it. No such luck. Ball out. Oakland recovers. Season over.
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Not so fast. To the surprise of many in attendance, the officials announced that the play would be subject to review.
“After reviewing the play, the quarterback’s arm was going forward. It is an incomplete pass,” Walt Coleman stunningly announced to a rejoicing crowd.
The explanation supplied later on invoked a once little-known section of the rulebook covering the aforementioned tuck rule.
It essentially states that once a quarterback moves his arm forward in a throwing motion, his release of the ball will constitute an incomplete pass, regardless of outside factors altering his arm trajectory.
A convoluted rule to be sure, but one that the officials got right by the letter of the law. Suffice to say, Charles Woodson feels otherwise:
Much to Woodson’s chagrin, the NFL would eliminate the rule years later. But back in 2002, Brady and company had to capitalize on their good fortune.
And that they did. Brady made a crucial throw to Patten on the following play to move the sticks and set Vinatieri up for a game-tying 45-yard field goal in the driving snow. His teammates were trying their best to clear the snow off his spot in the lead-up to the play. Nothing outside of the visual really does justice to how challenging the kick truly was.
But Vinatieri drained it.
“I mean, I just can’t even comprehend how much snow and the thickness of the snow, that he kicked that ball from,” said Mike Vrabel.
From there, it was academic. Brady’s Pats took the ball first in overtime, and just like he’d go on to do so many times in his storied career, he led them on a surgical drive to salt the game away.
Brady went on a run of eight straight completions to break into Oakland’s red zone. Vinatieri would trot out for the 23-yard game-winner and it was predictably academic. A few weeks later, he’d do the same in the Super Bowl.
He and Brady would go on to warm New England hearts and break those across the rest of the nation for seemingly another thousand years. But this one stands out because it may truly mark the beginning of the league’s all-time greatest dynasty.
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Several ex-Pats will acknowledge now that this game could have easily gone the other way. But they’d go on to prove in the following weeks — and years — that they were a championship-caliber team. Not to mention something of a charmed one.
“You know, we caught a break along the way,” said running back Antowain Smith. “And once that call was overturned, it was our sense that this is meant for us… And I think that just really propelled us, gave us really the confidence that man, this is our year.”
Turns out it would be more like their 20 years.
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