Cesar Tordesillas

New York, NY

NFL team owners are expected to tackle a proposal to abandon the "tuck rule" which gained popularity during the New England Patriots' playoff win over the Oakland Raiders in January 2002.

The NFL competition committee has proposed that a quarterback who loses control of the football when bringing it back to his body after a pump fake will be deemed to have fumbled.

Under the current league rule, such a play would result in an incompletion.

That happened during the Patriots' 2002 playoff game when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was hit from behind by Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson.

It was initially called a fumble but the ruling was overturned after the video review, prolonging the Patriots' drive. New England came from behind to win the game and went on to win Super Bowl XXXVI.

Aside from the tuck rule, the league owners will vote on five other proposed rule changes during the meeting, which run from Sunday through Wednesday.

Among the other proposed rule changes is a modification to illegal challenges by coaches. The competition committee is looking to do away with a rule that prevents challenges if a coach illegally throws his red flag on a play that was to be automatically reviewed.

Recently, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz threw a challenge flag on a touchdown run by Texans running back Justin Forsett after his knee clearly hit the ground.

Because all scoring plays are automatically reviewed, his challenge was illegal and no video replay ensued. The Texans won the game in overtime.

NFL team owners to vote on 'tuck rule', five other proposals