Tom Brady admits 'it might have been a fumble' in infamous Tuck Rule game

Tom Brady is no longer retired, but he's still having his fun in the offseason.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback admitted the obvious in a cheeky social media post Thursday morning. Following a "tell me something honest" prompt from Justin Bieber, Brady said what Las Vegas Raiders fans have been screaming for the last 20 years:

"The Tuck Rule Game against the Raiders ... it might have been a fumble."

That admission will be no comfort for Raiders fans who have spent decades stewing over a play that should have sealed a 2001 season AFC divisional playoff game against Brady's New England Patriots. 

With less than two minutes left and down 13-10, Brady, then a rookie, appeared to fumble on a sack by Charles Woodson, only for the ruling to be overturned on replay review because Brady was "tucking" the ball back into his body after pump-faking a pass. The Patriots would go on to win in overtime and capture their first Super Bowl.

It remains one of the most controversial officiating decisions in sports history, and one that led to the eventual demise of the rule in 2013. Brady admitted the surreality of the situation in 2020, calling it a "fluke call" and saying he understood the hard feelings in Oakland:

“That was just an unbelievable game. I still see it today and it’s a great part of my football history and it’s probably a very sour part of their football history, but that’s the way it goes. We had that in ’07 when we played against the Giants in the Super Bowl, and in ’11 and in ’17 — one team wins and one team loses. It’s a fluke call, one ball bounces your way or one goes the opposite way. I’ll always feel I have some type of strong feeling or emotion toward the Raiders.”

Again, not much comfort for the Raiders and their fans.

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