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.
| 2001 Oakland Raiders season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Al Davis |
| General manager | Al Davis |
| Head coach | Jon Gruden |
| Home field | Network Associates Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 1st AFC West |
| Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Jets) 38–24 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Patriots) 13–16 (OT) |
| Pro Bowlers | Rich Gannon, QB Tim Brown, WR Lincoln Kennedy, OT Charles Woodson, CB Shane Lechler, P |
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 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
editNFL draft
edit| 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 |
Staff
edit| 2001 Oakland Raiders Coaching Staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Final roster
edit
Preseason
edit| 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
editSchedule
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–24 | 1–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | 78,844 |
| 2[A] | 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[B] | 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[B] | |||||
| 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[A] | January 6 | New York Jets | L 22–24 | 10–6 | Network Associates Coliseum | 62,011 |
Standings
edit| AFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
editAFC Wild Card Playoff
edit| 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
edit| 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)
Notes
edit- ^ a b The Raiders were originally scheduled to host the New York Jets during Week 2 of the original NFL schedule (September 16) at Network Associates Coliseum. However, due to the September 11 attacks, the game was rescheduled to Week 17.
- ^ a b The Raiders were originally scheduled to host the Dallas Cowboys during Week 6 (October 21) at Network Associates Coliseum. However, the game was rescheduled to Week 4 to accommodate a possible Oakland Athletics baseball game in the ALCS, in which both the Cowboys and Raiders would originally have had their byes. The Athletics were subsequently eliminated on October 15.
References
editRaiders on Pro Football Reference
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