Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots were finally served a nice, warm glass of comeuppance this past weekend when they fell to the New York Jets in overtime, thanks largely to new, often-overlooked and, apparently, at least to Belichick, ill-understood rule.

According to cbssprts.com the rule, number 9.1.3.2, clearly states that "[Defensive] players cannot push teammates on the line of scrimmage into the offensive formation."

Belichick, meanwhile, and in typically I-just-swallowed-a-bag-of-lemons fashion, was quoted immediately following the game saying, "We weren't on the second level when we pushed him, no. You can't push from the second level. I didn't think we did that."

Of course, the rule says nothing about "second level" players, or any other level players for that matter. And maybe, just maybe, the spirit of the rule is to prevent injuries from occurring when a player in the second level races forward, picking up speed and generating force, before slamming into the back of a hapless teammate in an attempt to breach the offensive line of the opposing team.

But that's not how it's written, and there's no possible room for Belichick or anyone else to claim the rule isn't clear.

Which should all bring a certain amount of schadenfreude to any members of the 2001 Oakland Raiders and their fans who were surreptitiously hosed in the AFC divisional playoff game of that year by Belichick and an at-the-time Super Bowl-less Patriots team.

Yes. 2001. The Tuck Rule Game. The Snow Bowl. Or, perhaps most appropriately, the Snow Job.

Clinging to a 13-10 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Charles Woodson of the Raiders slammed into a young Tom Brady, jarring the ball loose, and leading to a fumble recovery by Raiders' linebacker Greg Biekert.

Glory was the Raiders', and all they needed to do was grind out the clock to seal the win, move on the AFC Championship game, and send Foxboro Stadium into the only retirement befitting such a dump.

However, stunningly, or not so stunningly if you're familiar with the decades long, well-documented history of NFL conspiracy against the late, great Al Davis and his Raiders, the referees, upon review, reversed their call and returned possession to the Patriots, citing rule 3.22.2.2 which read as follows:

"When [an offensive] player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble."

The true travesty lay in the fact that, as supported by video evidence, Brady was NOT moving his arm forward at all. One could make the case his arm wasn't moving, period.

In any event, the play was overturned, something that should have required incontrovertible visual evidence that Brady had not transitioned from throwing quarterback to scrambling pretty-boy, the Patriots' drive continued, Adam Vinatieri booted a 45-yard field goal into driving wind and snow, and the game was sent into overtime.

The Patriots (surprise!) won the coin-toss to start the overtime and drove the ball 61 yards before Vinatieri hit the game-winning 23-yard field goal.

The aftermath?

The Patriots went on the win that year's Super Bowl against the Rams, and make it to four more, winning two of them.

The Raiders managed to go the Super Bowl the following season, getting absolutely stomped by their former coach, Jon Gruden, and his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Since then, the Raiders have neither gone to the playoffs nor had a winning season.

And they've drafted JaMarcus Russell.

So, yes, Raider nation is a little bitter and, yes, takes absolute and unadulterated joy in Belichick, Brady and the Patriots getting a healthy dose of rulebook who's-your-daddy.

Sadly, Belichick responsibly and reasonably admitted he'd been mistaken in his understanding of the rule and its application only a day later.

And Tom Brady is still married to a supermodel.

And the Patriots still get to keep their ill-gotten Super Bowl trophies.

And the Raiders are still dreadful.

I mean, just look at them. They lost to the Redskins earlier this season!

Speaking of offensive idolatry, for those who still think the Redskins' argument to keep their nickname still holds water, it's my great pleasure to suggest Charles Krauthammer's recent opinion piece in the Washington Post. It's available here http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-redskins-and-reason/2013/10/17/cbb11eee-374f-11e3-ae46-e4248e75c8ea_story.html

And, as it's written by someone even my most rightwards-leaning acquaintances could never accuse of being a soft-hearted member of the "lamestream media," it might well qualify as enlightening.