20 years ago today...

[Cabin Mirror]

I was skiing up at Jay Peak with a few friends. One of my friends lived up there (and worked at Jay and hooked me up with lift tickets for a few winters), so we were all crashing at his place which did not have a TV, damned hippy people. None of the crew I was with are football fans, but I dragged them all out to a small pub because there was no way I was missing that game. I think I had to convince the bartender/server to put the game on. By the end of the game, everyone at the pub, including my non-football fan buddies, were super into it. Pretty sure that same storm dumped some fresh powder for us the next day, but my memory is a little foggy on that.

 

[Rudy's Curve]

Yup, the 07 giants were my first thought, but no. That's it's own special kind of run (3 straight when the opponent is favored by a touchdown or more), but not the same. My second thought was the 10 Jets, who beat the Colts before taking down the 10 Pats (for my money, that was the best Pats team to not make the Super Bowl), but they were just 2 point dogs to Indy and 9.5 to the Pats.

As far as I can tell, the only double-digit upsets of the last 19+ years are SB 42, Cards-Panthers ‘08, Saints-Seahawks ‘10 (at home!) and Titans-Ravens ‘19.

Edit: forgot Chargers-Colts ‘07 referenced below.

 

[Brand Name]

Beating Oakland was certainly plausible, the Pats were favored (just by 3, but still). They were massive underdogs against Pittsburgh (10) and St. Louis (14). I'd love to know how many teams have won back to back playoff games when they were 10+ underdogs in each game.

Only team with multiple period across all franchise years, let alone the same season, of known lines. The others: 1968 Jets, 1969 Chiefs, 1987 Vikings, 1996 Jaguars, 1997 Broncos, 1998 Falcons, 2007 Chargers, 2007 Giants, 2008 Cardinals, 2010 Seahawks, and 2019 Titans.

 

[Euclis20]

Only team with multiple period across all franchise years, let alone the same season, of known lines. The others: 1968 Jets, 1969 Chiefs, 1987 Vikings, 1996 Jaguars, 1997 Broncos, 1998 Falcons, 2007 Chargers, 2007 Giants, 2008 Cardinals, 2010 Seahawks, and 2019 Titans.

There you go. What a run.

 

[Fisks Of Fury]

This is in my Home Office

I see it every time I get out of my chair

View attachment 48569

This is in mine:

 

[dirtynine]

It was my 24th birthday. I had gone to see Spalding Gray perform a monologue at Sanders Theater, Harvard with a long-term girlfriend. The performance concluded and we hustled through the snow over to Charlie’s Kitchen to watch the rest of the game, not expecting much. What an incredible scene. That relationship ended soon after. Spalding Gray died not long after that. The Pats have sustained me for 20 years. Just turned 44. Damn. But Brady’s still older…

 

[tims4wins]

You know who is the unsung hero of this game? Larry fucking Izzo. He recovered not one but two Troy Brown fumbles on punt returns, including one on the final drive of regulation. He literally saved the season.

 

[BaseballJones]

In retrospect it’s incredible they won that title. In isolation beating Oakland, Pittsburgh, or the Rams was plausible if not probable; but to beat all three was a damn miracle.

Team rankings that year:

Oak (10-6): #4 scoring offense, #19 scoring defense
Pit (13-3): #3 yardage offense, #1 yardage defense
StL (14-2): #1 scoring and yardage offense, #1 scoring defense

Also...
- Rich Gannon was a pro-bowl QB.
- Kurt Warner was the league MVP, and his second in three years. First team all-pro.
- Marshall Faulk was first team all-pro.
- The Steelers had six pro-bowlers, including two all-pros.
- The Raiders had four pro-bowlers.
- The Rams had seven pro-bowlers, including four all-pros.

Those opponents were awesome, loaded with talent. For the Pats to win all three games against them was nothing short of miraculous. I mean, in fact, the way they beat the Steelers can only be described as miraculous in football terms. They had two special teams TDs that day. That's ridiculous. Pittsburgh out gained them and had 8 more first downs on the day. Also, crazy stat: NE had *12* penalties for 87 yards that day. But it was Pittsburgh's 4 turnovers and NE's 2 special teams TDs that won the day.

Crazy.

But I will say...talk about clutch defense. The Pats held those three juggernauts to 13, 17, and 17 points in those three games. That's pretty amazing. They gave up lots of yards, but not many points.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

That Raiders offense was very very good, and the Pats were exceedingly lucky to get a blizzard to slow them down and hold them to 13.

 

[tims4wins]

That Raiders offense was very very good, and the Pats were exceedingly lucky to get a blizzard to slow them down and hold them to 13.

Had the same thought while watching the game over the last couple days. The Pats were so lucky on so many levels to elevate to the 2 seed. The Raiders were 8-2 at one point and then they were 10-3, then lost out and finished 10-6 and the 3 seed.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Had the same thought while watching the game over the last couple days. The Pats were so lucky on so many levels to elevate to the 2 seed. The Raiders were 8-2 at one point and then they were 10-3, then lost out and finished 10-6 and the 3 seed.

Totally agreed. If that game is in Oakland they probably lose 31-20 or something like that. They got the breaks that year, big time, including Martz stubbornly refusing to run the damn ball.

 

[tims4wins]

Totally agreed. If that game is in Oakland they probably lose 31-20 or something like that. They got the breaks that year, big time, including Martz stubbornly refusing to run the damn ball.

In retrospect while the Scottish Game still hurts big time, it was basically the complete 180 from 2001, so we almost deserved that type of loss. Lot of similarities to how Josh called that Super Bowl and Martz called 2001.

 

[RG33]

That Raiders offense was very very good, and the Pats were exceedingly lucky to get a blizzard to slow them down and hold them to 13.

I remember being terrified of Charlie Garner in that game. He only ended up with 17 carries for 64 yards and 4 catches for 32 yards in the snow, but that Raiders offense was legit with Gannon always making the right decision and being accurate, Garner being a legit threat, and Brown and Rice on the outside both being still pretty dangerous and very reliable.

 

[Was (Not Wasdin)]

Had the same thought while watching the game over the last couple days. The Pats were so lucky on so many levels to elevate to the 2 seed. The Raiders were 8-2 at one point and then they were 10-3, then lost out and finished 10-6 and the 3 seed.

A bunch of us had flown to Charlotte to see the Pats final game, against the 1-14 Panthers. No one expected much resistance from them, they were terrible, but the key game was the 4pm Jets Raiders game. Raiders had the tiebreaker over the pats if the won. The jets, for once, came through, so the Pats got the bye and home field (and the Jets and raiders had a rematch in the WC the following week).

we were on the plane back home that evening when someone announced that the Jets had won. The entire plane was packed with Pats fans and everyone went crazy. It was only four months after 9/11, and the pilots came on the intercom and basically told everyone on the plane to STFU and that everyone was confined to their seats for the remainder of the flight. I can’t really blame him, it was insanely loud.

 

[tims4wins]

A bunch of us had flown to Charlotte to see the Pats final game, against the 1-14 Panthers. No one expected much resistance from them, they were terrible, but the key game was the 4pm Jets Raiders game. Raiders had the tiebreaker over the pats if the won. The jets, for once, came through, so the Pats got the bye and home field (and the Jets and raiders had a rematch in the WC the following week).

we were on the plane back home that evening when someone announced that the Jets had won. The entire plane was packed with Pats fans and everyone went crazy. It was only four months after 9/11, and the pilots came on the intercom and basically told everyone on the plane to STFU and that everyone was confined to their seats for the remainder of the flight. I can’t really blame him, it was insanely loud.

I remember watching the game live. Doug Brien with the game winning FG.

Edit: d'oh! It was John Hall

 

[Mystic Merlin]

I remember watching the game live. Doug Brien with the game winning FG.

Edit: d'oh! It was John Hall

Brien was the guy who missed a game winning FG in the ‘04 division round in PIT against the 15-1 Steelers, so you had the right idea.

 

[Rudy's Curve]

If I remember correctly, Raiders TE Roland Williams dropped a pretty catchable ball that would’ve sealed the Jets game.

 

[loshjott]

A bunch of us had flown to Charlotte to see the Pats final game, against the 1-14 Panthers. No one expected much resistance from them, they were terrible, but the key game was the 4pm Jets Raiders game. Raiders had the tiebreaker over the pats if the won. The jets, for once, came through, so the Pats got the bye and home field (and the Jets and raiders had a rematch in the WC the following week).

we were on the plane back home that evening when someone announced that the Jets had won. The entire plane was packed with Pats fans and everyone went crazy. It was only four months after 9/11, and the pilots came on the intercom and basically told everyone on the plane to STFU and that everyone was confined to their seats for the remainder of the flight. I can’t really blame him, it was insanely loud.

Funny thing about that game is that my son who was six years old at the time felt bad for the Panthers after getting beat so bad that he started rooting for them. And he’s been a Panthers fan ever since.

 

[tims4wins]

Funny thing about that game is that my son who was six years old at the time felt bad for the Panthers after getting beat so bad that he started rooting for them. And he’s been a Panthers fan ever since.

Including SB38?

 

[loshjott]

Including SB38?

I don’t think so, actually. He’s now more of a fan of his fantasy teams than anything else.

 

[tims4wins]

I've told this story before around here, but I was sitting almost on the 50 yard line, about 20 rows up during the Snow Bowl. When Brady "fumbled," everyone started heading towards the exits. I stayed in my seat, screaming at the top of my lungs that it was reviewable. I was out of my mind, because I knew the rule. I was like "Someone get me a phone to Belichick." A full couple minutes went by (maybe a commercial break) and then all of a sudden, the PA announcer said "the play is under review." At this point, I'm one of a handful of people left in my section, just screaming. Everyone else is in the aisles, where they just stopped. When the call was overturned, almost nobody went back to their seats, and folks just watched the remainder of the game wherever they were in the stadium.

To this day, that game and entire day was a top 5 sports moment for me.

A few observations:
- Coleman announced the play was under the review within about 30-45 seconds of the play ending. It definitely wasn't minutes
- Simms was all over the call. He couldn't remember the name of the rule, and he thought Brady's arm had stopped moving forward so he was slightly off on the interpretation, but he knew there was definitely a possibility of an overturn
- After recovering the incomplete pass, Greg Biekert picked up the ball and punted it off into the stratosphere. Should this have been a dead ball, enforceable unsportsmanlike or delay of game call? Would it still apply since the call on the field was overturned? It should, since it would have been a dead ball foul, right? I think the Pats should have had 1st and 10 from the 27 instead of 2nd and 10 from the 42. @CFB_Rules ??

 

[Deathofthebambino]

A few observations:
- Coleman announced the play was under the review within about 30-45 seconds of the play ending. It definitely wasn't minutes
- Simms was all over the call. He couldn't remember the name of the rule, and he thought Brady's arm had stopped moving forward so he was slightly off on the interpretation, but he knew there was definitely a possibility of an overturn
- After recovering the incomplete pass, Greg Biekert picked up the ball and punted it off into the stratosphere. Should this have been a dead ball, enforceable unsportsmanlike or delay of game call? Would it still apply since the call on the field was overturned? It should, since it would have been a dead ball foul, right? I think the Pats should have had 1st and 10 from the 27 instead of 2nd and 10 from the 42. @CFB_Rules ??

You might be right, but it certainly felt like a couple of minutes in the state we were in at the time.

 

[tims4wins]

You might be right, but it certainly felt like a couple of minutes in the state we were in at the time.

Link to the tuck rule play.

Play ends at 1:56:25 or so. Coleman announces play under review at 1:57:03 or so. So ~38 seconds.

View: https://youtu.be/UkSi2JK98pM?t=6972

 

[Deathofthebambino]

Link to the tuck rule play.

Play ends at 1:56:25 or so. Coleman announces play under review at 1:57:03 or so. So ~38 seconds.

View: https://youtu.be/UkSi2JK98pM?t=6972

Never would have guessed it, with the way people just immediately started heading for the exits. Felt like forever at the time, at least for those of us that knew what the tuck rule was...

 

[Nator]

20 Years ago today...
Sheryl Crow sang her new single "Soak up the Sun" to 70,000 freezing, stunned, and confused Steelers fans during halftime of the AFCCG at Heinz Field.

It was macabre.

 

[CFB_Rules]

A few observations:
- Coleman announced the play was under the review within about 30-45 seconds of the play ending. It definitely wasn't minutes
- Simms was all over the call. He couldn't remember the name of the rule, and he thought Brady's arm had stopped moving forward so he was slightly off on the interpretation, but he knew there was definitely a possibility of an overturn
- After recovering the incomplete pass, Greg Biekert picked up the ball and punted it off into the stratosphere. Should this have been a dead ball, enforceable unsportsmanlike or delay of game call? Would it still apply since the call on the field was overturned? It should, since it would have been a dead ball foul, right? I think the Pats should have had 1st and 10 from the 27 instead of 2nd and 10 from the 42. @CFB_Rules ??

Heavy grain of salt because rules have obviously changed a lot since 2001. But yeah I'd make that a UNS, and DBPF and UNS don't go away just because a play is overturned (other fouls like holding DO go away). So yeah it would be dead ball enforced from the previous spot.

 

[Hendu for Kutch]

20 Years ago today...
Sheryl Crow sang her new single "Soak up the Sun" to 70,000 freezing, stunned, and confused Steelers fans during halftime of the AFCCG at Heinz Field.

It was macabre.

That will always be one of my favorite memories of that season. The Steelers fans looked like they wanted to murder her.

 

[tims4wins]

Heavy grain of salt because rules have obviously changed a lot since 2001. But yeah I'd make that a UNS, and DBPF and UNS don't go away just because a play is overturned (other fouls like holding DO go away). So yeah it would be dead ball enforced from the previous spot.

Thanks, I appreciate the response.

 

[grsharky7]

I was a freshman at WVU during the 2001 title run. WVU is a unique NFL landscape because there is a confluence of tons of NFL fans due to a lot of out of state kids who go to school there. The Steelers are the most popular team on campus though, north central WV is Steeler territory and lots of western PA kids on campus, Anyway, everyone thought the Steelers were going to run roughshod over the Pats that day, and when you could feel the upset brewing the dorms became electric with shit talk from kids from Ohio who were Browns and Bengals fans, eastern PA Eagles fans, and lots of Marylander Raven fans (who lost in Pittsburgh the week before). Everyone was pulling for the Pats because they were the spunky underdog, its weird to think about now. When that game was over I remember the catatonic look on the Steelers fans faces, amazing.

 

[caminante11]

View: https://twitter.com/patstimemachine/status/1486809488460075015?s=21

 

[grsharky7]

View: https://twitter.com/patstimemachine/status/1486809488460075015?s=21

Watching those highlights, forgot that Joey Porter was that close to a pick six in the 4th qtr.

 

[Cotillion]

I had forgotten Bledsoe took another hellish hit on a run that looked almost exactly the same as the Mo Lewis hit...

 

[Ralphwiggum]

Belichick hoisting one of his current assistants in celebration at the end is something.

 

[Reverend]

In honor of The Tuck Rule Game™, I believe announcers should be required to refer to all incidents of officiating in like manner.

“Up, that’s The Holding Rule right there…”
“Pass Interference Rule; this one’s coming back.”
“THE TOUCHDOWN RULE!!”

So that nobody ever, ever forgets.

 

[kenneycb]

Better than whatever-gate

 

[Ed Hillel]

That Pitt game was the single worst officiated game I remember the Patriots playing in. That was Hochuli's rookie year and he literally got 4 of the 5 or 6 REVIEWS wrong. It was a giant mess.

 

[tims4wins]

That Pitt game was the single worst officiated game I remember the Patriots playing in. That was Hochuli's rookie year and he literally got 4 of the 5 or 6 REVIEWS wrong. It was a giant mess.

So true. Watching again today. We complain about the officiating a ton today. But if this game happened in 2021 there would be an endless discussion about it. Just a complete unmitigated disaster.

 

[Kliq]

Damn, Kordell Stewart was really bad.

The Troy Brown lateral to Antwan Harris was really something.

 

[jmcc5400]

I had forgotten Bledsoe took another hellish hit on a run that looked almost exactly the same as the Mo Lewis hit...

I had forgotten that Adam missed a field goal to salt it away late in the 4th. He deservedly is a legend for his money kicks, but he missed quite a few as well, including 2 relatively easy ones in SB XXXVIII.

 

[tims4wins]

I forgot that Brady had his ankle rolled up on by Jason Gildan on the drive prior to the Lee Flowers hit.

 

[Silverdude2167]

I had forgotten that Adam missed a field goal to salt it away late in the 4th. He deservedly is a legend for his money kicks, but he missed quite a few as well, including 2 relatively easy ones in SB XXXVIII.

Every time I reach the Snowbowl, I laugh before the 45-yard field to tie where it says something like "missed 4 of his last 5 from 45+". Kicking was so different back then, with a much lower make percentage beyond 40.

 

[jmcc5400]

Adam was 8-13 from 40 + that year. He was not a distance kicker at all (at least at that point) and I definitely was second guessing whether they should go for it in the Snow Bowl because i thought it was extremely unlikely he'd make it. It's also crazy that Brady essentially took a sack on the 3rd down play (maybe it was no gain or a gain of half a yard) so BB had to make the quick decision to kick with the clock running.

 

[GrandSlamPozo]

That Pitt game was the single worst officiated game I remember the Patriots playing in. That was Hochuli's rookie year and he literally got 4 of the 5 or 6 REVIEWS wrong. It was a giant mess.

The Fred Coleman 3rd down conversion that the called incomplete has always stuck in my mind. Just an unfathomably stupidly incorrect call that could have been the difference between the Pats winning and losing. I didn't remember that they reviewed the call and STILL got it wrong.

Also, after 20 years I think we can finally admit that Brown's pitch to Harris was a forward lateral and should've been called back lol.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

- After recovering the incomplete pass, Greg Biekert picked up the ball and punted it off into the stratosphere.

Damn, I never noticed that. How did I not notice that?

 

[Old Fart Tree]

That will always be one of my favorite memories of that season. The Steelers fans looked like they wanted to murder her.

Can I find this online anywhere?

 

[jmcc5400]

Can I find this online anywhere?

Couldn't find it with a quick search, but this made me laugh:

Dave Dameshek

@Dameshek

I still can't believe booking a pop star elevates the ratings of a Final 4 or NFL playoff game...but maybe I'm just bitter that when Sheryl Crow hit the halftime stage of the '01 AFC title game w the Steelers down 14-3, she asked, "How ya doin', Pittsburgh?!" READ THE ROOM, CROW!

 

[Reverend]

Can I find this online anywhere?

I’d love to see it too, but can’t find it. I did, however, find two fun facts:

1) Sheryl Crow is, herself, actually a Steelers fan and, if you one is so inclined, you can purchase 8 X 10s of this for the special Steelers fan in your life:


2) The NFC Championship game’s halftime act that day was one Robert Sylvester Kelly.

 

[Jinhocho]

I was there that night up in 326 - Skrub was always a few sections away from me. It was one of the most magical experiences of my life - right up there with when we beat the Jags in the AFC Championship and the Tedy you wanna change the rules game in 2003 or 2004 and the fog bowl against Pittsburgh.

We were on the visitors side down the end of the field where the tuck moment happened. I remember everyone around me groaning and just being disappointed. The moment when people realized it was "tuck rule" time was like a bomb going off. Something similar happened w the game tying kick. The kick was so low and we just couldn't see if it made it through with all the snow. It was the reaction of the people in the end zone that clued me in - the roar just spread around the stadium.

Bonus memory of skid hopping through the Foxboro terminals parking lot on the back of some random guys pickup. My stupid brother got loaded before the game and was basically passed out in the stands the whole game. I still give him a hard time about it.

 

[Jinhocho]

You might be right, but it certainly felt like a couple of minutes in the state we were in at the time.

I was on like the 30 or so and I remember the same thing as you describe. I do not remember so many people leaving - maybe because we were looking straight at it.

 

[tims4wins]

Patten dropped the TD pass at the end of the first half of the AFCCG.