Adam Vinatieri ruthlessly mocked the Las Vegas Raiders franchise on Sunday as the New England Patriots celebrated the 25th anniversity of its 2001 Super Bowl title winning team
Pro Football Hall of Fame Adam Vinatieri Jr. addresses the crowd at the half as the Patriots first championship team of 2001 was honored during a game between the New England Patriots and the Las Vegas Raiders on October 11, 2026, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Adam Vinatieri roasted the Raiders on Sunday(Image: Getty Images)
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Adam Vinatieri roasted the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday as the New England Patriots commemorated the 25th anniversary of the team's first Super Bowl title.
Following a shaky start to the 2026 season, New England followed up its thrilling win over the Buffalo Bills last weekend with a convincing win at Gillette Stadium against the Raiders. New England defeated Las Vegas 45-17, with quarterback Drake Maye going 26-of-34 passing, throwing for 374 yards and four touchdowns.
The 2026 season marks 25 years since New England's first Super Bowl title, back in the 2001 season, a campaign that culminated in the Patriots beating the then-St. Louis Rams 20-17 in New Orleans.
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Vinatieri was the hero of the day in Louisiana that day, kicking a 48-yard game-winning field goal, a field goal that kicked off a dynasty for the Patriots.
The former Patriots kicker was joined by 32 players and coaches in Foxborough, with the likes of Richard Seymour, Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Kevin Faulk, Tedy Bruschi, and Troy Brown also in attendance.
During New England's run to the Super Bowl in the 2001 season, they faced the then-Oakland Raiders at the Patriots' old home, Foxboro Stadium, in the AFC Divisional Round.
The game, famously known as the Tuck Rule Game, saw New England come out on top 16-13, with Vinatieri, in snowy conditions, kicking a field goal to send the game to overtime, before then kicking a 23-yard game-winning field goal.
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With the memories of the Patriots 2001 championship flowing through him, Vinatieri opted to take a shot at the Raiders during his speech at Gillette Stadium, referencing former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is now a minority owner of New England's Sunday opponents.
"Seeing those Raider jerseys takes me way back, takes me back to that snowy night, when we beat Oakland to win the Super Bowl XXXVI," said Vinatieri.
"Then, years later, I was fortunate enough to become the all-time leading scorer and we did that in Oakland as well.
"At the time, I thought, we own the Raiders, and you know what? Thanks to Tom, we actually do."
Speaking to former teammate Bruschi ahead of the game against Las Vegas, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who was part of the 2001 team, said, "We know that there’s not much history in sports while we’re playing. There’s history when we’re done playing.
"And this is our own journey here that we’re trying to create with this football team.
"But I remind them, like, that (’01) team was 5-5 and then won nine games after Thanksgiving, and how we continued to improve. I will always remember that. We were an improved football team. We were a much different football team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning."