Newly acquired Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was only ten years old when the infamous tuck rule incident took place on January 19, 2002. However, that didn’t dissuade him from having a say on the matter. Having once been a backup quarterback for the New England Patriots, Jimmy G is now taking a stand against his former teammate and leader, Tom Brady, as he seeks to win over the hearts of the black and silver fans.

The tuck rule changed the course of not only Brady’s career but the shape of the NFL and the road it would embark on for the next two decades. There might have never been a New England Patriots dynasty if not for the snowy night 21 years ago.

Jimmy Garoppolo calls it a fumble

To set the stage for the former San Francisco 49ers signal-caller’s thoughts on the matter, let’s quickly recap the ‘tuck rule’ saga. It was the 2001 divisional round playoff clash between the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots, also called The Snow Bowl, because of the conditions in Foxborough, and later was infamously nicknamed the ‘Tuck-Rule game’.

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A rookie Tom Brady received the ball from the snap late in the fourth quarter, with Oakland leading 13-10. After preparing a pass, TB12 moved his hand in the forward motion before bringing it back to his body. That is when Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson sacked Brady, and the ball came loose for Oakland to take possession. Although it was initially called a fumble, the officials reviewed the play and declared it an incomplete pass, allowing the Patriots another three attempts to reach the field goal attempt and eventually win the game in overtime.

Brady went on to win the first of his seven rings that season. However, his former backup QB Jimmy G jumped ships and recently voted for the Raiders bank, calling the infamous play unfair. “That was a fumble. That was a fumble,” he said while taking a tour of the Raiders facility.

What did Tom Brady have to say about the incident?

The recently retired Tampa Bay Buccaneers icon discussed the controversial tuck rule play in an exclusive one-on-one interview with the very guy who sacked him; Charles Woodson. And Brady even accidentally admitted that the play, in fact, was a fumble. “Freeze it on that,” Woodson said with his ‘gotcha’ smile.

The official NFL rule book said, “when an offensive player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble.“

First the Immaculate Reception and the controversy back in the seventies. Then, the tuck rule game and the controversy. The Raiders just can’t seem to escape the misfortunes. However, it’s a thing of the past, as the NFL abolished the ‘tuck rule’ in 2013. And Jimmy G has one less hurdle on the way to regaining some of that old black and silver glory. Garopollo’s comments might’ve just resurrected the question that haunted everyone then: was it a fumble? What do you think?

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