Jon Gruden didn’t hold back on Sunday, and honestly, you can’t blame him. The former Raiders and Buccaneers head coach lit into the NFL during the AFC Championship Game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots - and the reason why? A controversial call that stirred up one of the league’s most debated ghosts: the Tuck Rule.
If you’ve been around the NFL long enough, you know the Tuck Rule isn’t just a quirky piece of officiating history - it’s a moment that helped launch the Patriots’ dynasty and ended Gruden’s first stint with the Raiders. Back in the 2001 Divisional Round, Charles Woodson strip-sacked Tom Brady, the Raiders recovered, and the game should’ve been over.
Instead, the infamous Tuck Rule was invoked. The ruling?
Incomplete pass. The result?
The Patriots went on to win that game and, eventually, their first Super Bowl under Bill Belichick. The rest is NFL lore - and for Gruden, a lingering wound.
Fast forward to Sunday’s AFC title game. The Broncos, down to Jarrett Stidham after Bo Nix’s season-ending ankle injury in the Divisional Round, were hanging tough.
Stidham, who had been playing near-flawless football, found himself under pressure in the second quarter. He tried to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack - and that’s where things got messy.
Initially, the officials flagged Stidham for intentional grounding. Then came the pivot: they ruled it a backward pass, a live ball, and a fumble recovered by the Patriots. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye capitalized, turning the turnover into a touchdown that tied the game.
The call was controversial, to say the least. And for Gruden, it was déjà vu.
“Did someone say tuck rule?” Gruden posted, clearly still stung by the events of two decades ago.
“I still don’t know what a fumble is! And I’m still having people explain it to me that can’t explain it!”
It’s a fair gripe. The NFL’s rules around what constitutes a fumble, especially when quarterbacks are involved, have long been a gray area - a mix of timing, intent, and interpretation that often leaves fans, players, and even coaches scratching their heads. For Gruden, who saw a Super Bowl shot vanish under similar circumstances, this latest twist had to feel like salt in an old wound.
As for Stidham, the play was a brutal turning point. The Broncos had been riding his steady hand since Nix went down, and up until that moment, he was playing clean, confident football. But in the postseason, one mistake - or one controversial call - can swing everything.
Gruden’s career record stands at 117-112 over his two stints with the Raiders and seven seasons in Tampa Bay. But for all the wins and losses, it’s moments like the Tuck Rule - and now, the echoes of it - that tend to stick in the memory. Especially when the rulebook still feels like it’s written in pencil.
So when Gruden lashes out, it’s not just about Sunday’s call. It’s about history repeating itself, and the frustration of watching another game - another season - potentially shaped by something that still doesn’t have a clear definition.