The New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders history is more than just the 2002 ‘Tuck Rule Game’, and they’ll add another chapter on Sunday.
The New England Patriots and Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders have a very long NFL history.18-5-1
In all, the teams have faced off 34 times since 1960. The Patriots lead the series 18-15-1. They have had plenty of fun regular season matchups, but the best seem to come in the playoffs. The teams have played each other three teams in the playoffs, and while the Raiders took home a win in 1976, the Patriots have won the last two. Of course, the ‘Tuck Rule Game’ is what you immediately think of when you hear Patriots-Raiders, but there’s so much more.
This article provides some more insight into this intriguing matchup ahead of the game in Mexico City. There is a lot to take in, so buckle up, read up, and get pumped up for this Sunday’s Patriots game. The newest chapter in the history of these two teams can only hope to provide as much drama as the games in the past.
September 24, 1978: Patriots 21, Raiders 14
Oakland got out to a quick start against the Patriots with a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. Ken Stabler tossed a 13-yard pass to Dave Casper and Art Whittington ran one in. Luckily, had some heart, and grit, and they stormed back with three unanswered scores.
In the second quarter, New England got on the board with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Steve Grogan to Russ Francis. They added two more scores, one in each of the next two quarters. Horace Ivory and Sam Cunningham both marched into the end zone to give the Patriots the win. Overall, this was a very sloppy game.
Overall, this was a very sloppy game. Ken Stabler and Steve Grogan were both sacked three times, and they both threw three interceptions. The Patriots controlled the game on the ground though, out-rushing the Raiders 207 yards to 83.
January 5, 1986: Patriots 27, Raiders 20
The Los Angeles Raiders and New England Patriots met in the divisional round of the playoffs, and a lot was on the line. One team would be playing in the AFC Championship game next week.
New England scored early on a Lin Dawson pass from Tony Eason, who was in to replace the injured Steve Grogan. Los Angeles added a first-quarter field goal to trim the Patriots lead though. In the second, the Raiders took a 17-7 after touchdowns from Jessie Hester and Marcus Allen. New England responded with a Craig James rushing touchdown and field goal off the foot of Tony Franklin. A Raiders field goal gave them a 20-17 lead heading into halftime.
The second half was a lot stronger for the defenses. New England scored 10-points in the third, with the touchdown coming on a fumble recovery in the Raiders end zone. The final quarter was scoreless, and the Patriots made a march all the way to the Super Bowl.
November 1, 1987: Patriots 26, Raiders 23
New England and Los Angeles played an extremely fun, close game on the first day of November in 1987. It was an extremely low scoring game, with the Patriots in the lead 10-6 at halftime. The only touchdown of the game came on a 15-yard pass from running back and special teams ace Mosi Tatupu to Tony Collins. The Patriots added two more field goals in the third quarter to take a commanding 16-6 lead. In the fourth, they pushed their lead to 23-6 following a Steve Grogan pass to Irving Fryar.
Los Angeles came storming back in the fourth quarter though. They scored 17 points, on a pass to Todd Christensen, a run from Marcus Allen, and a Chris Bahr field goal. The Patriots were on the brink of collapsing and losing the game, but Tony Collins hit a game-winning field goal with just one second left to push New England to 4-3.
November 26, 1989: Raiders 24, Patriots 21
The New England Patriots were just 4-7 heading into this game with the Los Angeles Raiders. Luckily, the Raiders were just 5-6 themselves. LA opened the scoring in the first quarter with a Steve Beuerlein pass to Mike Alexander. New England didn’t get on the board until midway through the second quarter on a Steve Grogan TD pass. Grogan then gave the Patriots the lead on a 49-yarder to Irving Fryar.
Beuerlein tossed another touchdown in the second quarter and the game was tied at 14 at halftime. Los Angeles scored early in the second half, but Grogan threw his third touchdown pass of the game to tie things up at 21. Both defenses fought hard for the rest of the half though, and the only score was a Raiders field goal in the fourth. New England, unfortunately, lost this heartbreaker, in part due to Steve Grogan’s 3 interceptions. The Patriots won just 5 games in the 1989 season and failed to make the playoffs.
October 9, 1994: Raiders 21, Patriots 17
Drew Bledsoe got his first, and only, crack at the Raiders in 1994. He played well enough to keep New England in the game, but he threw 3 interceptions to help Los Angeles seal the deal.
In the first quarter, both teams were held scoreless. The second quarter had most of the game’s action. Matt Bahr opened the scoring with a field goal for the Patriots, but just 2 minutes later Terry McDaniel picked off Bledsoe and returned it for a touchdown and a 7-3 lead. Bledsoe redeemed himself with touchdown passes to Kevin Turner and Leroy Thompson. Those scores put the Patriots ahead 17-7. Jeff Hostetler tossed a pass to Harvey Williams for a score though, and at halftime, it was a 17-14 game.
There was only one more score in the game, and it came in the third quarter. Hostetler ran a touchdown in himself, and the Raiders never gave up the lead. Drew Bledsoe had just one chance to beat the Raiders with Patriots, and he couldn’t get it done.
January 19, 2002: Patriots 16, Raiders 13 OT
This is the game you’ve been waiting for. This is the game that got the New England Patriots dynasty started. A young Tom Brady earned his first career playoff win, and the rest is history.
In a blanket of snow, this game was a lot of fun. The first quarter was scoreless, but Rich Gannon got the Raiders on the board with a 13-yard pass to James Jett in the second quarter. That’s where the score remained at halftime.
Seabass added a pair of field goals for the Raiders in the third quarter, and Adam Vinatieri made one to draw the score to 13-3 Oakland heading into the fourth. Things got crazy in the final quarter.
New England was led down the field by Tom Brady and with just under 8 minutes to play in the game, he ran the ball in for a 6-yard score. New England was still down 3, but they got the ball back and had a chance. Late in the quarter, we got the ‘Tuck Play’. With just 1:50 left to play in the game, Brady dropped back to pass. He did not have a single open receiver. While pumping the ball, he was hit by Raiders cornerback, and former Michigan Wolverines teammate, Charles Woodson. On the play, the referees ruled a fumble, as it appeared Brady had pulled the ball back in. The play went under review at that point.
After review, Walt Coleman reversed the call. He cited what has now become known as the tuck rule. At the time, this is what that rule was.
"NFL Rule 3, Section 22, Article 2, Note 2. 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."
The play was ruled as an incomplete pass, and the Patriots retained possession of the ball. In 2012, Coleman revealed that since he did not clearly see the play initially, he ruled the play a fumble so that he could review it. He said it was an “easy call” once he saw the replay. In 2013, the rule was abolished in a 29-1 vote. Pittsburgh was the only team to vote to keep the tuck rule, while New England and Washington both abstained.
A few plays later, Adam Vinatieri came in to attempt a game-tying 45-yard field goal in the snow. Of course, he made the kick. It is one of the greatest plays in NFL and Patriots history. The game went to overtime and New England won the coin toss.
The Patriots chose to receive and they drove down the field. On a 4th and 4 from the Oakland 28, Brady hit David Patten for a first down. A few plays later, Brady ran a keeper to center the ball at the Raiders 5-yard line. Vinatieri then took the field once again. Vinatieri and holder Ken Walter began to clear the snow from where the hold would be. Raiders coach Jon Gruden called a timeout to attempt to ice the kicker, but it just gave the Patriots more time to clear the snow. Vinatieri then nailed the game0winning kick to send the Patriots to the AFC Championship Game.
New England, with help from now backup Drew Bledsoe, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers the next week to earn their spot in the Super Bowl. Adam Vinatieri won the Super Bowl with a kickoff as well, and the Patriots dynasty was born.
November 17, 2002: Raiders 27, Patriots 20
The season after the ‘Tuck Rule Game’, the Oakland Raiders got their revenge. Now, it may not really be revenge to win a regular season game instead of a playoff game, but Oakland fans were really proud of this one.
Adam Vinatieri and Sebastian Janikowski swapped first-quarter field goals and it was a 3-3 game heading into the second quarter. Oakland owned that quarter. Zack Crockett punched a score in on the goal line, as did Rich Gannon right before the half. In between those two scores, Vinatieri added another 3 points, and it was 17-6 Oakland at the break.
In the third quarter, Crockett scored once again, and the Raiders had built up a 24-6 commanding lead. New England’s offense could not get anything done all day long. Thankfully, the Patriots defense came up big as linebacker Tedy Bruschi intercepted Gannon and returned the ball 48-yards for a score.
Janikowski added a field goal late in the fourth quarter, and Oakland lead 27-13 with just over 1 minute to play. Kevin Faulk returned the ensuing kickoff 86-yards for a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough. The Raiders took down the Patriots 27-20 as Tom Brady was to 172-yards passing and no touchdowns.
September 21, 2014: Patriots 16, Raiders 9
New England and Oakland did not meet in the regular season or the playoffs from 2002 to 2014. That September, the Raiders finally returned to Foxboro.
A lot had changed on both teams, but defense once again dominated this matchup. There was only one touchdown in the game, from Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski. It was the difference maker though, as Sebastian Janikowski and Stephen Gostkowski each held their own with 3 field goals apiece. Brady was sacked twice in the game, and the offense never really got into a groove. New England’s defense picked off a young Derek Carr though, and they were able to hold serve.
Next: New England Patriots Legends: K Adam Vinatieri
The New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders will meet once again this Sunday in Mexico City. The game will kickoff at 4:25 PM EST and will be broadcast on CBS. As always, the Chowder and Champions game preview will come out this weekend before the game.