2002 Oakland Raiders season

In the third quarter of Oakland's 26–20 win on Monday Night Football over the Jets, Tim Brown became the third player in NFL history with 1,000 career catches.

They routed the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans in the playoffs, by a combined score of 71–34 and +4 in the turnover differential; in doing so, they advanced to their first Super Bowl since 1984.

An early three-point lead (courtesy of a Sebastian Janikowski field goal) evaporated as the Buccaneers scored 34 unanswered points.

Many times, Buccaneer safety John Lynch was able to determine what play was coming based on audibles called by Raider quarterback Rich Gannon.

The years following the Super Bowl loss marked a period of decline and futility for the Raiders, earning neither a winning record nor a playoff trip until 2016.

The aging Raiders' controversial elimination from the prior year's playoffs set the stage for a concerted championship push.

Davis, despite team salary cap troubles, also managed to acquire veteran stars Sam Adams, Rod Woodson, and Bill Romanowski during the 2002 offseason.

Until the 2019–20 NFL playoffs, this was the last AFC championship game which did not include the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots or Pittsburgh Steelers.