I was doing some Pro-Football-Reference digging for my post about my Patriots fandom, and I was amazed at that 2001 season and how close it was to not happening. Everybody remembers the Mo Lewis hit on Bledsoe, Brady taking over, the Tuck Rule, and finally, Vinatieri closing it out in New Orleans.
What I completely forgot was the Week 5 game against the Chargers. I mentioned it in my long post, but the Pats won a close game at home in OT against the Chargers to go 2-3. If they had lost that game, they would have fallen to 1-4 with three straight road games ahead. If nothing else had changed, they would have finished the season 10-6 and with the #6 seed in the playoffs, and a long, uphill climb. Instead, they won and ended up 11-5 with a bye and a home game against the Raiders.
The final seconds of regulation in the Chargers game were especially precarious. Brady had just hit Jermaine Wiggins in the end zone to tie the game at 26. Doug Flutie, of all QBs, took the ball after the kickoff and started to lead the Chargers on what they hoped would be a game-winning drive with 31 seconds left. After a LaDanian Thompson 14-yard run and their final second-half timeout, Flutie hit Curtis Conway on a roll-out pass near the sideline at the Pats 39 yard line. It seemed like Conway had rolled out of bounds, but the officials said he was touched or rolled backward and kept the clock winding.
Flutie had no choice but to spike the ball. The offense scurried to the line of scrimmage, Flutie got under center, and as I'm sure he had practiced hundreds of times, he called for the ball and attempted to spike it. But...the ball slipped out of his hands! The officials all had their whistles in their mouths ready to call the play dead after the spike, and in the split second Flutie had the ball, they instinctively exhaled. Meanwhile, the ball rolled on the ground, and Bryan Cox of the Pats jumped on it. Bill Belichick started screaming at the head linesman immediately, and after Wade Richey had already started lining up for a field goal, the refs finally figured out they needed to review the play.
Head Referee Terry McAulay went under the hood, and emerged saying that Flutie fumbled the snap, but since all the refs had blown their whistles, per the rule at the time the play was dead there at the Pats 41. Richey now had to back up two yards and recalibrate. The Chargers lined up for the field goal, Richey kicked it as hard as he could straight at the uprights, and it was...short. By about two yards.
If Doug Flutie does something he had practiced over and over again throughout several seasons after the spike-the-clock rule was instituted and which is one of the simplest things a QB can do, Wade Richey probably makes the field goal and the Pats dynasty might never had happened.
There's no doubt in my mind Flutie remembers that game. The Chargers were never the same after that and he ended up losing his job to Drew Brees in Week 8. I'm also certain he thinks about how it led to the Patriots getting the bye, the Super Bowl win, and then more Super Bowl wins. He may not think he helped the Pats that much, but I certainly do.
Hail Flutie, indeed!
What I completely forgot was the Week 5 game against the Chargers. I mentioned it in my long post, but the Pats won a close game at home in OT against the Chargers to go 2-3. If they had lost that game, they would have fallen to 1-4 with three straight road games ahead. If nothing else had changed, they would have finished the season 10-6 and with the #6 seed in the playoffs, and a long, uphill climb. Instead, they won and ended up 11-5 with a bye and a home game against the Raiders.
The final seconds of regulation in the Chargers game were especially precarious. Brady had just hit Jermaine Wiggins in the end zone to tie the game at 26. Doug Flutie, of all QBs, took the ball after the kickoff and started to lead the Chargers on what they hoped would be a game-winning drive with 31 seconds left. After a LaDanian Thompson 14-yard run and their final second-half timeout, Flutie hit Curtis Conway on a roll-out pass near the sideline at the Pats 39 yard line. It seemed like Conway had rolled out of bounds, but the officials said he was touched or rolled backward and kept the clock winding.
Flutie had no choice but to spike the ball. The offense scurried to the line of scrimmage, Flutie got under center, and as I'm sure he had practiced hundreds of times, he called for the ball and attempted to spike it. But...the ball slipped out of his hands! The officials all had their whistles in their mouths ready to call the play dead after the spike, and in the split second Flutie had the ball, they instinctively exhaled. Meanwhile, the ball rolled on the ground, and Bryan Cox of the Pats jumped on it. Bill Belichick started screaming at the head linesman immediately, and after Wade Richey had already started lining up for a field goal, the refs finally figured out they needed to review the play.
Head Referee Terry McAulay went under the hood, and emerged saying that Flutie fumbled the snap, but since all the refs had blown their whistles, per the rule at the time the play was dead there at the Pats 41. Richey now had to back up two yards and recalibrate. The Chargers lined up for the field goal, Richey kicked it as hard as he could straight at the uprights, and it was...short. By about two yards.
If Doug Flutie does something he had practiced over and over again throughout several seasons after the spike-the-clock rule was instituted and which is one of the simplest things a QB can do, Wade Richey probably makes the field goal and the Pats dynasty might never had happened.
There's no doubt in my mind Flutie remembers that game. The Chargers were never the same after that and he ended up losing his job to Drew Brees in Week 8. I'm also certain he thinks about how it led to the Patriots getting the bye, the Super Bowl win, and then more Super Bowl wins. He may not think he helped the Pats that much, but I certainly do.
Hail Flutie, indeed!