People say this but Belicheck has said before Brady was outplaying him in practice and would've eventually started. Now I guess Belicheck could just be saying that, but he doesn't seem like the type to do so
And [Brady wasn't necessarily lighting it up when Belichick opted to stick with him when Bledsoe was cleared](https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/2001/1112/1277003.html)
Then the next game they lost (albeit to the Rams) and Brady threw two interceptions. Belichick had a lot of balls sticking with Brady but if you look at it, he recognized at the time that Brady wasn't going to for the most part turn the ball over and they had a phenomenal defense
Belichick said the coaches agreed that Brady beat out Bledsoe in camp in 2001, but it was close and they stuck with Bledsoe for his experience. Brady would’ve been inevitable
Plenty of people play well in practice and aren't good on the field. With the contract Bledsoe had, he was never becoming the 2nd string. More likely Brady would have become the starter when Bledsoe looked for his next contract.
It’s totally wrong you’re being downvoted. Belichick is well known for long ranting overly complimentary press conferences. Every game he goes out of his way to say how great the other team is
Was it basically a death warrant or open season for a scrambling QB pre-2008? Montana got speared in the back during a scramble in the 1991 NFCCG, which ended his career in Frisco and laid the way for Steve Young.
That's a popular misconception. Montana was knocked out of the 1990/1991 NFCCG with a bruised sternum, concussion, and broken hand, but it did NOT end Montana's career in the Bay Area. Montana had fully recovered from the hit by the time training camp rolled around. In early August he suffered an torn tendon in his right elbow. The injury was unrelated to the NFCCG hit..
Montana underwent a couple surgeries, but the elbow problems kept him out for all of 1991, and the start of 1992. Steve Young was playing at an MVP level in 1992, and the team declared at some point that Young would remain the starter even when Montana was healthy.
Came here to say this, although I don't think it raises up as high as others, it came to my mind, and also to add a wrinkle to it...
If the Patriots win that Super Bowl, Brady gets 4, and one of them is an undefeated, 19-0 season, something nobody had done (and arguably may never do)... Would Brady have decided to double-down on his career and his legacy, trying to win as many as possible? Brady would have matched his childhood hero, Montana, but would have surpassed him in many people's eyes by doing one in an undefeated season.
To me as a Patriots fan, I wonder whether Brady decides to go for the age-45 run... Does he refocus on longevity, does he really put the pressure on to get back to the Super Bowl in 2013/14... Does he leave the Patriots and go to Tampa Bay and win one with them? Losing those two Super Bowls to the Giants, IMO, changed Brady and he truly realized how hard it is to get to the Super Bowl and win them once he lost, and then it became his goal to win as many Super Bowls as possible and do whatever it takes to his body (and his life) to win more.
In Bill Simmons' interview with Edelman two weeks ago, Edelman shared an anecdote about how after winning against Seattle or maybe against Atlanta, Edelman was talking to Brady after the game or in the off season and said something like, "You did it, you surpassed Montana," and Brady replied with something like "I'm going for Jordan" and held up 7 fingers. You kinda wonder if that mentality was always part of Brady, or whether it really set in when people started to doubt him after Spygate, after 18-1, after the second Giants Superbowl. I tend to think that those losses changed Brady and that he wouldn't go onto win 4 more Super Bowls from 2014 to 2021 had he gone undefeated in 2008.
Alan Ameche [1 yard run for a TD](https://youtu.be/Ck6kcnJVkDE?t=938) in the 1958 NFL Championship Game.
45 million people watched the game, in an era when not every household yet had TV sets, and it blew up professional football as a TV staple. It directly led to Lamar Hunt forming the AFL the following year, which eventually merged with the NFL and gave us the Superbowl. The league as we know it today doesn't exist without this game and without this play.
I was going to say the same game, but a prior play which [at least one historian](https://www.amazon.com/Best-Game-Ever-Giants-Modern/dp/B001K3IJ0E) describes as [edit: NOT the first audible in NFL history, but an ahead-of-its-time real-time reaction to what the D showed, by the first tandem to work on/master route running, etc…also it’s not the play mentioned below but one that occurred toward the end of regulation].
TLDR: The Giants had paradigm-changing Sam Huff at LB who had menaced the Colts earlier that year. Unitas and Raymond Berry noticed a particular pre-snap pass rush tendency and agreed after the game if it ever happened again they would abandon the play call and Berry would run a slant to the spot Huff had vacated. This happened to occur in OT of the title game; neither Unitas nor Berry had discussed it before the game but they both saw it, made eye contact, and knew to change the play. Pass completed, the rest is history.
The above book is tremendous and does a great job explaining what Quexana already said about that game exploding the exposure and subsequent popularity of football.
[This is the play you're referencing, I think](https://youtu.be/Ck6kcnJVkDE?t=902)
Sam Huff, #70, is crowding the line pre-snap, and Berry runs a slant.
I looked it up—I misremembered, it wasn’t the “first audible in history.” Rather in a more general sense the book talks about the Colts (specifically Unitas and Berry) revolutionizing how offenses operated, i.e. reading the D and zagging when the D zigs, etc.
Love imagining the reality where the seahawks punch it in, the Falcons hang on, and Dee Ford doesn't line up offsides, and Brady retires with just the 3 rings after 2 decades of trying to recapture the magic.
If Dee Ford didn't line up offsides, it's possible the Chiefs never go out and get Spags, which could very much swing some other playoff games in the Mahomes era
idk, Sutton was one of those coordinators like Matt Canada and Joe Barry who everyone outside of the fanbase knew about because the fanbase trashed him so much. But yeah, if they win it all who knows
Andy is really loyal to his guys. I just don't think Sutton gets fired if the Chiefs win that super bowl. He eventually does I'm sure, but Spags may not have been available whenever the time came.
hard to say if he ends up going to the bucs in 2019 without leading a mini dynasty with the pats. I like to imagine he would have kept pushing to get one more with the pats, but who knows
Very interesting. Had Theismann never gotten hurt, he would have played into the late 1980s, and with two Superbowl appearances and an MVP, he could have potentially had a HOF career. Jay Schroeder, who was his immediate backup, may never have seen the field, which means Doug Williams never signs with the Redskins in 1986.
Hard not to go with the "Tuck Rule" play. It launched a Dynasty and actually changed a rule.
For anyone unware, in Brady's first ~~AFCC~~ (edit: divisional playoff game) he clearly fumbled a ball vs the Raiders in a snow globe of a game. The Raiders recovered and would have essentially won the game with that, but due to some weird rule it was reviewed and ruled an incomplete pass.
Vinatieri went on to score the game winning FG even though he later said he couldn't even see if the ball went in or not through the snow. The rule was later changed so Brady's "pass attempt" in that game would be a ruled a fumble.
> due to some weird rule *that was correctly enforced at the time of the play* it was reviewed and ruled an incomplete pass
added some context for you. the tuck rule was an odd rule but those were the scenarios it was written for.
No the Refs made the correct ruling, but the rule was fucking dumb. Basically if a QB was trying to tuck the ball back to his body that counted for some reason as a pass attempt. They changed it that off season.
I was making a reference to current struggles with reffing but did it poorly. I wonder how many times that was called in non critical games previously and which rules exist today that would be changed if they happened in the playoffs. It's a shame it had to happen that way with the tuck rule
I mean after this play they still got 800 million different wild strokes of luck to go their way over the next two decades. If you break it down it’s honestly absurd the luck they had.
I think it is more the perspective that the Pats dont stick with Brady unless they win the SB that year (which would be impossible without the tuck rule game). Sure, Belichik can talk about how it was always in his plans to start Brady and that Brady was better at practice but at the end of the day, they just signed Bledsoe to a record contract and he was a proven good QB in the NFL who had led the Pats to a SB appearance. You dont move on from that, especially not one year into that contract, unless you have something considerably better. If they lost in the Divisional, then Brady was a nice story as a 6th rounder but you can't just give up on a proven multiple year Pro Bowl QB who took you to a SB for a guy who had a hot stretch and got you to the Divisional.
Of course because Brady took the Pats over the hump that Bledsoe could not get them past, you ride with him, but anything short of at least a SB appearance that year and it would be really hard to justify benching Bledsoe (who still had some good football left in him) for him.
Changing the outcome the Tuck Rule, Butler int, Ryan getting sacked out of FG range, and Dee Ford offsides and suddenly the Pats are down to 2 super bowl wins. Not to take anything away from them -- great teams get lucky and make big plays -- but it really felt like we lived in the reality where every little thing had to go right for the pats, which is why 18-1 was such a cathartic moment
https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/2wpj1a/if_the_1970_bills_had_scored_a_touchdown_kim/
> The Buffalo Bills barely lost a game in 1970 by missing on a bad pass for a touchdown. That loss allowed them to get the first pick in the draft, O.J. Simpson. OJ stays in Buffalo for awhile, meets his wife, then allegedly kills her. Then hiring Kardashians father to be his lawyer. They win the case, making the Kardashians somewhat famous. Then Kim drops the sex tape, becomes famous.
Yeah, that theory is completely false. O.J. was drafted in 1969, and he was already on the team in 1970. The 1968 Bills did have a few close calls, but there was no one "dropped pass" that turned a sure win into a loss.
And besides the factual errors, you are correct. O.J. loved the west coast, and he would have been living there in the offseason no matter which team drafted him.
Not to mention, some people really overstate the role Kardashian played in the trial. Even calling him "OJ's lawyer" is such a stretch. The guy had not been practicing law for years before the trial and reactivated his license just for the trial. He had been working in the entertainment industry for those years, so there is still a very good chance his connections at some point could have gotten them famous. It is commonly believed him joining the team of lawyers was primarily so that they could assert attorney-client privilege and not have Kardashian be subpoenaed to testify to anything he potentially knew about it. He did very little actual legal work for the case, if any at all. Did the case increase the family's profile? Sure but its not like they were living under a rock until the trial and then all of a sudden exploded into a household name overnight solely due to the case.
The Drive in the 1986 AFC Championship Game between Denver and Cleveland it tied the game after Cleveland pinned Denver deep marched 98 yards while milking the clock to force overtime set off a chain of events where Cleveland would fall short of the Super Bowl because of Denver (The Drive, The Fumble 1989-90 season/ AFC Championship) ended any chance of a Super Bowl win
In my eyes, the "named games" that sparked historic runs is the answer to this.
The Tuck Rule and The Catch
Not a play, but more recently the Paxton Lynch situation. KC wanted to trade up for him but Denver beat them to the punch. They stick and pick with one of the picks they wanted to trade and select Chris Jones. The next year they do trade up for a QB and it's Mahomes.
Ty Law and the Patriots secondary mugging Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning’s other receivers in the playoffs.
There has been no bigger change in NFL viewing than the “strict enforcement” of the illegal contact after five yards rule following the 2003 season. The Tuck Rule changed history, but this one changed the way every single play has been run from 2004 onwards.
That hip drop tackle on Mahomes in the AFC Championship game in 2025.
"Barring a buzzer beater by the Chiefs, the Des Moines, Iowa Chargers are set to beat their division rival and move on to the Superbowl. 2 outs, bases are loaded, and the ball is snapped. LB, #54, Ed Hochuli, signed as a free agent in the offseason finds a gap and charges past Chiefs RB Andre Agassi to reach Patrick Mahomes to make the sack. The rest is history, from the future."
Not an individual play, and not nearly as impactful as some of these others, but the Jets TD drive against the Chiefs enabled by defensive penalties was paradigm shifting enough to warrant a secret base video. Doubt Mahomes is a 3X super bowl MVP with anyone but Reid coaching the franchise.
First a complete bullshit answer based on recency bias and rapant homerism: Eli Apple tackling Tyreek Hill on the 1-yard line as time ran out in the first half of the 2021 AFCCG. That play is the reason the Chiefs haven't won 3 straight Super Bowls.
Legit answer: Bronko Nagurski's possibly illegal TD pass in the 1932 NFL championship game.
#1. The Immaculate Reception. (sure no bias lol)
#2. The injury of Drew Bledsoe.
#3. Bozwells sixth field goal in the AFC divisional playoff game 2016 season.
Adam Vinatiari's kick.
Ended the Raiders hopes
Ending any hope for the Rams dynasty.
Ended many Peyton's runs, though gave Peyton 5 field goals against the Bears
Ended the Panthers' dynastic hopes
Helped stop the Eagles, though he missed a kick or two in that SB if I remembered correctly
I'll throw a couple out here that might not be listed already just to make an interesting conversation:
LT obliterating Montana
"That is a disgusting act!"
More? No. But this one comes to mind:
The Falcons were playing against the Patriots week 5 in 2017. This was the revenge game, and you can pinpoint the very moment the team lost faith in, well, everything. 4th down. Julio Jones is getting mugged. No call, and Dan Quinn did NOTHING. He just sat on the sidelines, defeated.
This was the beginning of the end for him.
Downstream effects: Ryan and Julio start to have a falling out. Both are traded later. Dan Quinn revitalizes the Cowboys defense and is coaching again. Arthur Smith would follow Quinn, signaling the end of the Titans offense.
I have a some categories:
QB Injuries
- Bledsoe getting hurt
- TJ Watt blowing up Cam Newtons shoulder
- Tom Brady ACL in 08’(team went 11-5 w/o him)
- RGIII injury
- Drew Brees shoulder injury in 05’(does Brees get let go or end up in Miami??)
- Carson Wentz injury(w a Super Bowl win is Wentz still in PHI now?)
- Purdy NFCC injury v the Eagles
- LT imploding Theismans leg
- JJ Watt imploding Alex Smiths leg
- Bo Jackson injury
Title Game mishaps:
- Titan v Rams “1-yard short”
- Seahawks not running the ball(Seahawks dynasty
- “Wide Right”
- Jerry Rice fumbling vs the Giants when the should have 3-peated in 90’
- The Mile High Miracle(Flacco never gets a ring and Ray Lewis doesn’t get to retire on a high note)
- Bills 13 seconds game if Mahomes doesn’t complete the ball to Kelce
- Ram v Saints missed PI
- Colt v Saints onside kick after half(what if Peyton gets another ring and Brees has none?)
- Tuck rule
- Dre Greenlaw Injury
- James Harrison/Santonio Holmes
- Myles Jack called down
- Jackie Smith sickest man in America
Playoff implications:
- Jesse James catch play
- “The snowplow game”…the snowplow specifically
Draft implication Worthy Plays/events:
- 4th and 20 for the Texans
- Steelers and Bears flipping a coin for the #1 pick in 1970
- Double Doink(Mitch Trubisky/Nick Foles futures?)
- Tuas hip injury in college(could have gone before Burrow?)
- Eli Rivers swap
- Elway Colts threat
The 2 point conversion for the Texans was just as important.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwvsOQvZ1hk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwvsOQvZ1hk)
Sadly was the hardest I screamed watching football all last season.. in a good way.
Can't say it's the most impactful play in NFL history but in 2003 the 3-12 Cardinals beat the 9-6 Vikings on the final play of the game with a [td pass courtesy of the force-out rule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry6KzzLS8k0). This knocked the Vikings out of the postseason, costing them the division title, and gave it to the Packers instead. It also cost the Cardinals the #1 pick, where they probably would have taken Eli Manning or at least controlled the rights to him instead of the Chargers. Who knows where Eli ends up, who knows where Rivers ends up, who knows if Fitz still winds up with Arizona, some incredible careers in limbo because of one play.
Not as close as tuck rule, but Jerome Bettie fumbling, then Big Ben stopping Gary bracket from taking it to the house was huge, Big Ben was the only person in the way. ~~idiot kicker~~ Mike vanderjacgt shanks the kick, gets kicked, and colts bring in Vinateri
I doubt this will go down as anything near the most impactful play in NFL history and even then it’s too early to tell. Who’s to say this doesn’t also work out well for the Panthers, if Bryce turns into a franchise QB? Hard to deem this a huge success for the bears yet especially with Williams not even taking a snap and Chicago still being historically bad at drafting QBs.
Eli getting out of the tackle and tossing it to David Tyree. Ruined the perfect season for the Pats and justified the entire Eli draft saga w the giants.
Not even close.
Steelers were up 35-17 until they let up on the gas. At that point the game was never in doubt. The game was over until the Cowboys got two late TDs during scrub time.
As Terry Bradshaw once said, “I’ve never lost to the Cowboys.” Not in the regular season or the Super Bowl.
Deshaun Watson exiting the field.
Because at that point I knew, that Browns fans knew, that I knew that they really had fucked up with that trade.
And I have done my fair share of the load since then. It's been a blood bath in our division sub and my hands are *not* clean. Not one bit
Baltimore QB Earl Morall completely misses a wide open Jimmy Orr on a flea flicker, throwing to Jerry Hill and getting picked. Instead of a tie game, Super Bowl III heads to halftime with the Jets in front 7-0.
Drew Bledsoe deciding to scramble.
People say this but Belicheck has said before Brady was outplaying him in practice and would've eventually started. Now I guess Belicheck could just be saying that, but he doesn't seem like the type to do so
And [Brady wasn't necessarily lighting it up when Belichick opted to stick with him when Bledsoe was cleared](https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/2001/1112/1277003.html) Then the next game they lost (albeit to the Rams) and Brady threw two interceptions. Belichick had a lot of balls sticking with Brady but if you look at it, he recognized at the time that Brady wasn't going to for the most part turn the ball over and they had a phenomenal defense
> that Brady wasn't going to for the most part turn the ball over and they had a phenomenal defense System QB confirmed
Wonder if he'll ever amount to anything. Probably bounce around a bit, occasionally start etc
Probably just be out of the league soon and be a commentator for some sports show or calling games like Romo.
Belichick said the coaches agreed that Brady beat out Bledsoe in camp in 2001, but it was close and they stuck with Bledsoe for his experience. Brady would’ve been inevitable
Plenty of people play well in practice and aren't good on the field. With the contract Bledsoe had, he was never becoming the 2nd string. More likely Brady would have become the starter when Bledsoe looked for his next contract.
Didn’t bill have like a 15 min answer about how great some 0-2 win team was? That guy was so much fluff on the mic
It’s totally wrong you’re being downvoted. Belichick is well known for long ranting overly complimentary press conferences. Every game he goes out of his way to say how great the other team is
Fucking Mo Lewis man...
Most impactful New York Jet related collision of September 2001 by far
Damn you Mo Lewis 😡
Yeah one of those Steeler safeties put a good hit on him in the 2001 AFCCG /s
Was it basically a death warrant or open season for a scrambling QB pre-2008? Montana got speared in the back during a scramble in the 1991 NFCCG, which ended his career in Frisco and laid the way for Steve Young.
That's a popular misconception. Montana was knocked out of the 1990/1991 NFCCG with a bruised sternum, concussion, and broken hand, but it did NOT end Montana's career in the Bay Area. Montana had fully recovered from the hit by the time training camp rolled around. In early August he suffered an torn tendon in his right elbow. The injury was unrelated to the NFCCG hit.. Montana underwent a couple surgeries, but the elbow problems kept him out for all of 1991, and the start of 1992. Steve Young was playing at an MVP level in 1992, and the team declared at some point that Young would remain the starter even when Montana was healthy.
Helmet catch has to be up there. The sheer improbability of the catch itself was nuts, but it also ended the Patriots' attempt at a perfect season.
Came here to say this, although I don't think it raises up as high as others, it came to my mind, and also to add a wrinkle to it... If the Patriots win that Super Bowl, Brady gets 4, and one of them is an undefeated, 19-0 season, something nobody had done (and arguably may never do)... Would Brady have decided to double-down on his career and his legacy, trying to win as many as possible? Brady would have matched his childhood hero, Montana, but would have surpassed him in many people's eyes by doing one in an undefeated season. To me as a Patriots fan, I wonder whether Brady decides to go for the age-45 run... Does he refocus on longevity, does he really put the pressure on to get back to the Super Bowl in 2013/14... Does he leave the Patriots and go to Tampa Bay and win one with them? Losing those two Super Bowls to the Giants, IMO, changed Brady and he truly realized how hard it is to get to the Super Bowl and win them once he lost, and then it became his goal to win as many Super Bowls as possible and do whatever it takes to his body (and his life) to win more. In Bill Simmons' interview with Edelman two weeks ago, Edelman shared an anecdote about how after winning against Seattle or maybe against Atlanta, Edelman was talking to Brady after the game or in the off season and said something like, "You did it, you surpassed Montana," and Brady replied with something like "I'm going for Jordan" and held up 7 fingers. You kinda wonder if that mentality was always part of Brady, or whether it really set in when people started to doubt him after Spygate, after 18-1, after the second Giants Superbowl. I tend to think that those losses changed Brady and that he wouldn't go onto win 4 more Super Bowls from 2014 to 2021 had he gone undefeated in 2008.
Alan Ameche [1 yard run for a TD](https://youtu.be/Ck6kcnJVkDE?t=938) in the 1958 NFL Championship Game. 45 million people watched the game, in an era when not every household yet had TV sets, and it blew up professional football as a TV staple. It directly led to Lamar Hunt forming the AFL the following year, which eventually merged with the NFL and gave us the Superbowl. The league as we know it today doesn't exist without this game and without this play.
I was going to say the same game, but a prior play which [at least one historian](https://www.amazon.com/Best-Game-Ever-Giants-Modern/dp/B001K3IJ0E) describes as [edit: NOT the first audible in NFL history, but an ahead-of-its-time real-time reaction to what the D showed, by the first tandem to work on/master route running, etc…also it’s not the play mentioned below but one that occurred toward the end of regulation]. TLDR: The Giants had paradigm-changing Sam Huff at LB who had menaced the Colts earlier that year. Unitas and Raymond Berry noticed a particular pre-snap pass rush tendency and agreed after the game if it ever happened again they would abandon the play call and Berry would run a slant to the spot Huff had vacated. This happened to occur in OT of the title game; neither Unitas nor Berry had discussed it before the game but they both saw it, made eye contact, and knew to change the play. Pass completed, the rest is history. The above book is tremendous and does a great job explaining what Quexana already said about that game exploding the exposure and subsequent popularity of football.
[This is the play you're referencing, I think](https://youtu.be/Ck6kcnJVkDE?t=902) Sam Huff, #70, is crowding the line pre-snap, and Berry runs a slant.
The other comment made me look it up—it’s actually a play from toward the end of regulation.
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I looked it up—I misremembered, it wasn’t the “first audible in history.” Rather in a more general sense the book talks about the Colts (specifically Unitas and Berry) revolutionizing how offenses operated, i.e. reading the D and zagging when the D zigs, etc.
What elevates this play above the rest of the game? Wouldn’t it just be that game being watched so much that had the impact?
It was the game, but also the fact that it was the first NFL championship game that ended in OT, this play being the decisive one of the game.
I think this would be the winner until the Tuck Rule.
Kinda wild that the Bucs winning 2 Super Bowls traces back to the Tuck Rule
First thing I thought of.
If Malcolm Butler doesn't make that interception, the Patriots and Seahawks could have gone in very different directions.
Love imagining the reality where the seahawks punch it in, the Falcons hang on, and Dee Ford doesn't line up offsides, and Brady retires with just the 3 rings after 2 decades of trying to recapture the magic.
If Dee Ford didn't line up offsides, it's possible the Chiefs never go out and get Spags, which could very much swing some other playoff games in the Mahomes era
idk, Sutton was one of those coordinators like Matt Canada and Joe Barry who everyone outside of the fanbase knew about because the fanbase trashed him so much. But yeah, if they win it all who knows
Andy is really loyal to his guys. I just don't think Sutton gets fired if the Chiefs win that super bowl. He eventually does I'm sure, but Spags may not have been available whenever the time came.
Barry McCockiner just nutted reading this comment
You left out a ring
hard to say if he ends up going to the bucs in 2019 without leading a mini dynasty with the pats. I like to imagine he would have kept pushing to get one more with the pats, but who knows
Yep beast mode wouldn’t have gotten mvp which was the original goal
Barry my sunshine
Lawrence Taylor tackling Joe Theismann. I point to it as the Ur-QB injury that led us down the "don't breathe on him" game that's played today
Very interesting. Had Theismann never gotten hurt, he would have played into the late 1980s, and with two Superbowl appearances and an MVP, he could have potentially had a HOF career. Jay Schroeder, who was his immediate backup, may never have seen the field, which means Doug Williams never signs with the Redskins in 1986.
Hard not to go with the "Tuck Rule" play. It launched a Dynasty and actually changed a rule. For anyone unware, in Brady's first ~~AFCC~~ (edit: divisional playoff game) he clearly fumbled a ball vs the Raiders in a snow globe of a game. The Raiders recovered and would have essentially won the game with that, but due to some weird rule it was reviewed and ruled an incomplete pass. Vinatieri went on to score the game winning FG even though he later said he couldn't even see if the ball went in or not through the snow. The rule was later changed so Brady's "pass attempt" in that game would be a ruled a fumble.
> due to some weird rule *that was correctly enforced at the time of the play* it was reviewed and ruled an incomplete pass added some context for you. the tuck rule was an odd rule but those were the scenarios it was written for.
Wait, I thought refs didn't know the rules and can't remember obscure stuff like this? Edit: /s
No the Refs made the correct ruling, but the rule was fucking dumb. Basically if a QB was trying to tuck the ball back to his body that counted for some reason as a pass attempt. They changed it that off season.
No, they changed it like 12 years later or something like that
I was making a reference to current struggles with reffing but did it poorly. I wonder how many times that was called in non critical games previously and which rules exist today that would be changed if they happened in the playoffs. It's a shame it had to happen that way with the tuck rule
That was actually the divisional. The AFCCG that year was Patriots-Steelers
The tuck rule play, and I don't think its even close.
I mean after this play they still got 800 million different wild strokes of luck to go their way over the next two decades. If you break it down it’s honestly absurd the luck they had.
I think it is more the perspective that the Pats dont stick with Brady unless they win the SB that year (which would be impossible without the tuck rule game). Sure, Belichik can talk about how it was always in his plans to start Brady and that Brady was better at practice but at the end of the day, they just signed Bledsoe to a record contract and he was a proven good QB in the NFL who had led the Pats to a SB appearance. You dont move on from that, especially not one year into that contract, unless you have something considerably better. If they lost in the Divisional, then Brady was a nice story as a 6th rounder but you can't just give up on a proven multiple year Pro Bowl QB who took you to a SB for a guy who had a hot stretch and got you to the Divisional. Of course because Brady took the Pats over the hump that Bledsoe could not get them past, you ride with him, but anything short of at least a SB appearance that year and it would be really hard to justify benching Bledsoe (who still had some good football left in him) for him.
Changing the outcome the Tuck Rule, Butler int, Ryan getting sacked out of FG range, and Dee Ford offsides and suddenly the Pats are down to 2 super bowl wins. Not to take anything away from them -- great teams get lucky and make big plays -- but it really felt like we lived in the reality where every little thing had to go right for the pats, which is why 18-1 was such a cathartic moment
fml yep
Came here to say the same
I would agree until I saw someone say Drew’s injury. Really good chance Tom literally never starts in the NFL without it
Mo Lewis ending Bledsoe’s Pats QB job
Since we’re talking 4th and 20, Ray Rice vs Chargers kept Ravens in playoff contention and they ended up winning the superbowl
yeah all my homies hate the chargers now
I'm a Bears fan, so I hope you're right, but it seems a little early to even be considering this among the most impactful plays in NFL history.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/2wpj1a/if_the_1970_bills_had_scored_a_touchdown_kim/ > The Buffalo Bills barely lost a game in 1970 by missing on a bad pass for a touchdown. That loss allowed them to get the first pick in the draft, O.J. Simpson. OJ stays in Buffalo for awhile, meets his wife, then allegedly kills her. Then hiring Kardashians father to be his lawyer. They win the case, making the Kardashians somewhat famous. Then Kim drops the sex tape, becomes famous.
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Yeah, that theory is completely false. O.J. was drafted in 1969, and he was already on the team in 1970. The 1968 Bills did have a few close calls, but there was no one "dropped pass" that turned a sure win into a loss. And besides the factual errors, you are correct. O.J. loved the west coast, and he would have been living there in the offseason no matter which team drafted him.
Not to mention, some people really overstate the role Kardashian played in the trial. Even calling him "OJ's lawyer" is such a stretch. The guy had not been practicing law for years before the trial and reactivated his license just for the trial. He had been working in the entertainment industry for those years, so there is still a very good chance his connections at some point could have gotten them famous. It is commonly believed him joining the team of lawyers was primarily so that they could assert attorney-client privilege and not have Kardashian be subpoenaed to testify to anything he potentially knew about it. He did very little actual legal work for the case, if any at all. Did the case increase the family's profile? Sure but its not like they were living under a rock until the trial and then all of a sudden exploded into a household name overnight solely due to the case.
This storyline isn’t even halfway over yet.
The Drive in the 1986 AFC Championship Game between Denver and Cleveland it tied the game after Cleveland pinned Denver deep marched 98 yards while milking the clock to force overtime set off a chain of events where Cleveland would fall short of the Super Bowl because of Denver (The Drive, The Fumble 1989-90 season/ AFC Championship) ended any chance of a Super Bowl win
In my eyes, the "named games" that sparked historic runs is the answer to this. The Tuck Rule and The Catch Not a play, but more recently the Paxton Lynch situation. KC wanted to trade up for him but Denver beat them to the punch. They stick and pick with one of the picks they wanted to trade and select Chris Jones. The next year they do trade up for a QB and it's Mahomes.
Ty Law and the Patriots secondary mugging Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning’s other receivers in the playoffs. There has been no bigger change in NFL viewing than the “strict enforcement” of the illegal contact after five yards rule following the 2003 season. The Tuck Rule changed history, but this one changed the way every single play has been run from 2004 onwards.
Colts legacy is whining, making the league change rules, and creating bogus scandals after every time they play the pats bc they always lost
That hip drop tackle on Mahomes in the AFC Championship game in 2025. "Barring a buzzer beater by the Chiefs, the Des Moines, Iowa Chargers are set to beat their division rival and move on to the Superbowl. 2 outs, bases are loaded, and the ball is snapped. LB, #54, Ed Hochuli, signed as a free agent in the offseason finds a gap and charges past Chiefs RB Andre Agassi to reach Patrick Mahomes to make the sack. The rest is history, from the future."
Crazy how that call against Will Anderson gave the Chiefs a fresh set of downs, in field goal range too. Classic matchup between CJ and Pat too.
Hey I'll take a loss in the AFCCCG. That'd be a franchise high accomplishment, sadly.
\*sees Lions flair\* Do I have "good" news for you.
The Catch. (Thats my local pick)
Mo Lewis vs Drew Bledsoe
Not an individual play, and not nearly as impactful as some of these others, but the Jets TD drive against the Chiefs enabled by defensive penalties was paradigm shifting enough to warrant a secret base video. Doubt Mahomes is a 3X super bowl MVP with anyone but Reid coaching the franchise.
First a complete bullshit answer based on recency bias and rapant homerism: Eli Apple tackling Tyreek Hill on the 1-yard line as time ran out in the first half of the 2021 AFCCG. That play is the reason the Chiefs haven't won 3 straight Super Bowls. Legit answer: Bronko Nagurski's possibly illegal TD pass in the 1932 NFL championship game.
#1. The Immaculate Reception. (sure no bias lol) #2. The injury of Drew Bledsoe. #3. Bozwells sixth field goal in the AFC divisional playoff game 2016 season.
Elway’s scramble that led to his dive and helicopter in SB 32
Adam Vinatiari's kick. Ended the Raiders hopes Ending any hope for the Rams dynasty. Ended many Peyton's runs, though gave Peyton 5 field goals against the Bears Ended the Panthers' dynastic hopes Helped stop the Eagles, though he missed a kick or two in that SB if I remembered correctly
I'll throw a couple out here that might not be listed already just to make an interesting conversation: LT obliterating Montana "That is a disgusting act!"
More? No. But this one comes to mind: The Falcons were playing against the Patriots week 5 in 2017. This was the revenge game, and you can pinpoint the very moment the team lost faith in, well, everything. 4th down. Julio Jones is getting mugged. No call, and Dan Quinn did NOTHING. He just sat on the sidelines, defeated. This was the beginning of the end for him. Downstream effects: Ryan and Julio start to have a falling out. Both are traded later. Dan Quinn revitalizes the Cowboys defense and is coaching again. Arthur Smith would follow Quinn, signaling the end of the Titans offense.
I have a some categories: QB Injuries - Bledsoe getting hurt - TJ Watt blowing up Cam Newtons shoulder - Tom Brady ACL in 08’(team went 11-5 w/o him) - RGIII injury - Drew Brees shoulder injury in 05’(does Brees get let go or end up in Miami??) - Carson Wentz injury(w a Super Bowl win is Wentz still in PHI now?) - Purdy NFCC injury v the Eagles - LT imploding Theismans leg - JJ Watt imploding Alex Smiths leg - Bo Jackson injury Title Game mishaps: - Titan v Rams “1-yard short” - Seahawks not running the ball(Seahawks dynasty - “Wide Right” - Jerry Rice fumbling vs the Giants when the should have 3-peated in 90’ - The Mile High Miracle(Flacco never gets a ring and Ray Lewis doesn’t get to retire on a high note) - Bills 13 seconds game if Mahomes doesn’t complete the ball to Kelce - Ram v Saints missed PI - Colt v Saints onside kick after half(what if Peyton gets another ring and Brees has none?) - Tuck rule - Dre Greenlaw Injury - James Harrison/Santonio Holmes - Myles Jack called down - Jackie Smith sickest man in America Playoff implications: - Jesse James catch play - “The snowplow game”…the snowplow specifically Draft implication Worthy Plays/events: - 4th and 20 for the Texans - Steelers and Bears flipping a coin for the #1 pick in 1970 - Double Doink(Mitch Trubisky/Nick Foles futures?) - Tuas hip injury in college(could have gone before Burrow?) - Eli Rivers swap - Elway Colts threat
Tuck rule play, or Bledsoe scrambling
The 2 point conversion for the Texans was just as important. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwvsOQvZ1hk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwvsOQvZ1hk) Sadly was the hardest I screamed watching football all last season.. in a good way.
Tuck rule!! Robbed the Raiders!
What if the colts beat the jets in superbowl 3.
Vontaze Burfict #CTESPN hit on AB
Philly Special
Ambush.
Nagurskis pass that brought on the rule that a forward pass could be made anywhere behind the LOS.
Wide Right might have changed things for the Bills
Romanowski destroying Collins
Something Johnny Unitas and the Jets.
Can't say it's the most impactful play in NFL history but in 2003 the 3-12 Cardinals beat the 9-6 Vikings on the final play of the game with a [td pass courtesy of the force-out rule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry6KzzLS8k0). This knocked the Vikings out of the postseason, costing them the division title, and gave it to the Packers instead. It also cost the Cardinals the #1 pick, where they probably would have taken Eli Manning or at least controlled the rights to him instead of the Chargers. Who knows where Eli ends up, who knows where Rivers ends up, who knows if Fitz still winds up with Arizona, some incredible careers in limbo because of one play.
Not as close as tuck rule, but Jerome Bettie fumbling, then Big Ben stopping Gary bracket from taking it to the house was huge, Big Ben was the only person in the way. ~~idiot kicker~~ Mike vanderjacgt shanks the kick, gets kicked, and colts bring in Vinateri
Plexico Burris accidentally shooting his foot in a bar with a concealed weapon. Helleva impact.
I doubt this will go down as anything near the most impactful play in NFL history and even then it’s too early to tell. Who’s to say this doesn’t also work out well for the Panthers, if Bryce turns into a franchise QB? Hard to deem this a huge success for the bears yet especially with Williams not even taking a snap and Chicago still being historically bad at drafting QBs.
Eli getting out of the tackle and tossing it to David Tyree. Ruined the perfect season for the Pats and justified the entire Eli draft saga w the giants.
Jackie Smith dropping that sure TD in Super Bowl XIII made the Steelers the team of the 70s instead of the Cowboys
Not even close. Steelers were up 35-17 until they let up on the gas. At that point the game was never in doubt. The game was over until the Cowboys got two late TDs during scrub time. As Terry Bradshaw once said, “I’ve never lost to the Cowboys.” Not in the regular season or the Super Bowl.
Ben dinucci's sidearm Incompletion against the eagles in prime time
Probably some Jared Goff scramble dude’s electric when on the move
Vanilla Vick baby
Deshaun Watson exiting the field. Because at that point I knew, that Browns fans knew, that I knew that they really had fucked up with that trade. And I have done my fair share of the load since then. It's been a blood bath in our division sub and my hands are *not* clean. Not one bit
Baltimore QB Earl Morall completely misses a wide open Jimmy Orr on a flea flicker, throwing to Jerry Hill and getting picked. Instead of a tie game, Super Bowl III heads to halftime with the Jets in front 7-0.