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Being honest: Tom Brady admits ‘It might have been a fumble’ in Tuck Rule game

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

The statute of limitations has run out, so Tom Brady can be honest.

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The seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback decided to participate in Justin Bieber’s “new trend alert” and seemingly spilled the beans about one of his most iconic plays.

Bieber asks people to “tell me something honest,” and Brady answered with a reference to the controversial “Tuck Rule Game” during the 2001 NFL playoffs, Sports Illustrated reported.

“The tuck rule game against the Raiders,” Brady says, before looking around to be sure no one is listening, “it might’ve been a fumble.”

The call late in the 2001 AFC divisional round favored the New England Patriots and was the birth of the team’s dynasty. Brady appeared to fumble while being tackled by Charles Woodson and the Oakland Raiders recovered the loose football, ESPN reported. That should have ended the Patriots’ season.

But it didn’t.

An obscure rule stated that even though Brady appeared to be tucking the ball into his chest, it was still technically a passing motion, ESPN reported. The play was ruled an incomplete pass.

That enabled the Patriots to tie the game and eventually win in overtime.

The victory in snowy Foxborough, Massachusetts, catapulted the Patriots toward their first Super Bowl championship several weeks later against the St. Louis Rams.

Woodson, Brady’s college teammate at the University of Michigan who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, did not seem amused with Brady’s admission.

“This what we doin’ Brady?” Woodson tweeted.

Also on Twitter, the NFL seemed to smirk and look the other way.

“He said it, not us,” the league tweeted.

As usual, Brady left the door open about what really happened.

“I said might. Such a tough call,” Brady tweeted. “No choice but to respect the officials’ probably correct decision.”

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Tom Brady TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 23: Tom Brady (12) of the Buccaneers is all smiles before the regular season game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 23, 2020 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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