# 2001 Oakland Raiders season

The 2001 Oakland Raiders season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL), the 42nd overall, their seventh season since their move back to Oakland, and the fourth year under head coach Jon Gruden, the last of his first stint as the team's head coach.
In the offseason, the Raiders acquired wide receiver Jerry Rice through free agency. Rice excelled with his new team, catching 83 passes for 1,139 yards and 9 touchdowns. The Raiders finished the season 10–6, finishing in first place in the AFC West for the second consecutive year. Their six regular season losses were by a combined 24 points.
The Raiders qualified for the postseason, beating the New York Jets in the wild-card round, who were also the team the Raiders lost to in the final game of the regular season. In the Divisional round, the Raiders blew a 13–3 lead and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 16–13 in overtime in a controversial finish. With a minute and 43 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the Raiders leading 13–10, cornerback Charles Woodson appeared to force a fumble of Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady that was recovered by the Raiders. The play was reviewed by instant replay and the fumble was ruled an incomplete pass. The Patriots tied the game in the ensuing drive and then won in overtime. The game became known as the Tuck Rule Game.
It would be Jon Gruden's final season as head coach in his first stint with the Raiders. After the season he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for Tampa Bay's first-round draft picks in 2002 and 2003, their second-round draft picks in 2004 and 2005, and $8 million in cash. The Raiders faced Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl the next year, and lost 48–21. Gruden would return to the Raiders as head coach 16 years later in 2018. After the season, they lost Steve Wisniewski to retirement.
The Raiders' theme song was Veridis Quo by Daft Punk.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

2001 Oakland Raiders Draft :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 28 | Derrick Gibson | SS | Florida State |
| 2 | 59 | Marques Tuiasosopo | QB | Washington |
| 3 | 89 | DeLawrence Grant | LB | Oregon State |
| 5 | 158 | Ray Perryman | SS | Northern Arizona |
| 5 | 168 | Chris Cooper | DT | Nebraska–Omaha |
| 7 | 228 | Derek Combs | CB | Ohio State |
| 7 | 229 | Ken-Yon Rambo | WR | Ohio State |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | August 4 | Dallas Cowboys | W 21–14 | 1–0 | Network Associates Coliseum |
| 2 | August 11 | at Arizona Cardinals | W 10–7 | 2–0 | Sun Devil Stadium |
| 3 | August 19 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 17–20 | 2–1 | 3Com Park |
| 4 | August 27 | vs. Dallas Cowboys | L 6–21 | 2–2 | Estadio Azteca (Mexico City) |
| 5 | August 31 | Green Bay Packers | W 24–13 | 3–2 | Network Associates Coliseum |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 9 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–24 | 1–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | 78,844 |
| 2 | September 23 | at Miami Dolphins | L 15–18 | 1–1 | Pro Player Stadium | 73,304 |
| 3 | September 30 | Seattle Seahawks | W 38–14 | 2–1 | Network Associates Coliseum | 54,629 |
| 4 | October 7 | Dallas Cowboys | W 28–21 | 3–1 | Network Associates Coliseum | 61,535 |
| 5 | October 14 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 23–18 | 4–1 | RCA Dome | 56,972 |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 28 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–10 | 5–1 | Veterans Stadium | 65,342 |
| 8 | November 5 | Denver Broncos | W 38–28 | 6–1 | Network Associates Coliseum | 62,637 |
| 9 | November 11 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 27–34 | 6–2 | Husky Stadium | 67,231 |
| 10 | November 18 | San Diego Chargers | W 34–24 | 7–2 | Network Associates Coliseum | 61,960 |
| 11 | November 25 | at New York Giants | W 28–10 | 8–2 | Giants Stadium | 78,756 |
| 12 | December 2 | Arizona Cardinals | L 31–34 (OT) | 8–3 | Network Associates Coliseum | 46,601 |
| 13 | December 9 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 28–26 | 9–3 | Network Associates Coliseum | 60,784 |
| 14 | December 15 | at San Diego Chargers | W 13–6 | 10–3 | Qualcomm Stadium | 67,349 |
| 15 | December 22 | Tennessee Titans | L 10–13 | 10–4 | Network Associates Coliseum | 61,934 |
| 16 | December 30 | at Denver Broncos | L 17–23 | 10–5 | Invesco Field at Mile High | 75,582 |
| 17 | January 6 | New York Jets | L 22–24 | 10–6 | Network Associates Coliseum | 62,011 |

## Standings

AFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Oakland Raiders | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 399 | 327 | L3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 301 | 324 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 340 | 339 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 320 | 344 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 332 | 321 | L9 |

## Playoffs
### AFC Wild Card Playoff

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
| Raiders | 6 | 10 | 0 | 22 | 38 |
at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California
* Date: January 12, 2002
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C), clear
* Game attendance: 61,503
* Referee: Dick Hantak
* TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels (play-by-play), Dan Fouts, Dennis Miller (color commentators), Melissa Stark, and Eric Dickerson (sideline reporters)

### AFC Divisional Playoff

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Patriots | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 16 |
at Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
* Date: January 19, 2002
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 19 °F (−7 °C), heavy snow
* Game attendance: 60,292
* Referee: Walt Coleman
* TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel (play-by-play), Phil Simms (color commentator), and Armen Keteyian (sideline reporter)