Tom Brady Admits He Likely Wouldn’t Have Been Patriots’ QB If “Tuck Rule” Game Went Differently

What if Tom Brady hadn’t won the Super Bowl during his rookie season in 2001?

Obviously, that would lead to a whole ripple affect, and who knows if he would have been considered the GOAT if things went a different way during his first postseason run. Specifically, if the “tuck rule” would have gone differently.

On Sunday night, ESPN aired an entire “30 for 30” on the “Tuck Rule” game from the 2001 AFC Divisional Round between the Raiders and Patriots. During the Pats’ final drive, Raiders’ star defensive back Charles Woodson appeared to seal the game by getting a strip sack from a young Tom Brady.

But during one of the most controversial moments ever, referee Walt Coleman ruled that it was a forward pass — being as Brady never actually tucked the ball away following a pump.

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Retired 30-year veteran referee Walt Coleman refers to the #TuckRule play as an "easy" ruling to make once he saw it in replay. Here, he explains the correct call he made very clearly, but he worked 261 more NFL games before his 2018 retirement, none involved the Raiders pic.twitter.com/8JiJRZ7GGc

— Fᴏᴏᴛʙᴀʟʟ Zᴇʙʀᴀs🇺🇦 (@footballzebras) February 7, 2022

During the “30 for 30″, Tom Brady admitted that it was possible that Bill Belichick would have named Drew Bledsoe the QB for the 2002 season if the ruling had been a fumble.

“I’m probably the backup QB going into 2002. I’m not the starter if we lose that game,” he said.

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Tom Brady admits in “Tuck Rule” 30 for 30 that he’s “probably the backup quarterback heading into 2002” for the #Patriots if the play was called a fumble against the Raiders. “I’m not the starter if we lose that game.”

— Andy Hart (@JumboHart) February 7, 2022

Tom Brady would go on to talk about how the narrative around the game would’ve centered around his “rookie mistake” of not seeing Charles Woodson coming on the blitz. A mistake that simply wouldn’t have been made if Bledsoe was under center.

Obviously, Brady would go on to lead a game-winning drive after being given a second chance. And would win the first Super Bowl of his career later against the Rams.

There’s no telling what would have came from Tom Brady if he wasn’t the Patriots starting quarterback in 2002. But something tells me he would still have been given a chance at some point, and was likely destined for a Hall of Fame career regardless. It gives us some food for thought, though.

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