Tom Brady and Charles Woodson are former college teammates at the University of Michigan who also happen to be two of the greatest talents at their respective positions in NFL history.
Woodson, the longtime cornerback who played in Oakland and Green Bay, and Brady, who played in New England and Tampa Bay, also have shared history for another reason entirely: they both had prominent roles in January 19, 2002’s “Tuck Rule” game between Brady’s Patriots and Woodson’s Raiders.
The play, still highly controversial, happened in the closing moments of the fourth quarter of a divisional playoff game in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Brady, Woodson Reenact “Tuck Rule” Play Over Light-hearted Trash Talk
While both Woodson and Brady are diehard Wolverines for life, you can sense the tension in the short video below as they reenact the controversial play.
Brady is adamant that it was correctly called, while Woodson does his best to accept his explanation as he knocks the ball out of Brady’s hands one last time for the camera’s sake.
According to Brady, the ball would have been much tougher to knock out of his hands if he had been able to tuck it.
Fumble! pic.twitter.com/euUOPh9Mz3
— MVictors (@MVictors) February 7, 2022
During the actual play the Patriots, trailing by three points, called a pass play that resulted in Brady dropping back and having the ball knocked out of his hands by a blitzing Woodson.
Brady had appeared to stop his throwing motion prior to the ball being knocked out of his hands, but the play was ruled an incomplete pass by referee Walt Coleman.
Tuck Rule No Longer Applies in Today’s NFL
In March 2013, the Tuck Rule took a permanent hiatus, after the NFL’s competition committee proposed that league owners consider its elimination and a vote was taken at the league’s 2013 annual meeting on March 20, 2013. The final vote was recorded at 29-1, with only the Pittsburgh Steelers voting in favor and Patriots owner Robert Kraft deciding to abstain. The then-Washington Redskins also did not vote.
On Sunday, February 6, ESPN revived the controversy all over again with the documentary ’30 for 30: The Tuck Rule,’ which aired on ESPN+ and revealed even more of the full story behind the game, which was won 16-13 by the Patriots, the eventual Super Bowl winners.
If you don’t have ESPN+, you can watch it on Amazon for $2.99.
