A Foxboro stadium worker uses a blower to clear snow from the field before the game.

Several inches of snow fell during the afternoon and evening, freezing both offenses out of the game. But the key to the game was a call by the instant replay officials, who overruled an apparent fumble by Tom Brady fumble and gave New England the chance to send the game into overtime tied at 13.

Adam Vinatieri's 23-yard field goal on the first drive of overtime game the Patriots a 16-13 win to send them into the AFC championship game.

The field was covered with snow well before the game started, though members of the field crew armed with blowers cleared the lines during breaks in the game. The most obvious impact of the snow was in the first half when Raiders safety Derrick Gibson apparently lost track of where he was on the field and crouched down in the end zone and let a punt roll to him, instead of downing it on the 1 yard-line.

The scene was reminiscent of the Dec. 12, 1982, "Snowplow Game," when Mark Henderson, a convict on work release, used a snowplow to clear a spot for John Smith to kick the winning field goal in New England's 3-0 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

Late in the game, a fan hit one of the television announcers with a snowball, and he dutifully gave the play-by-play to the TV audience. "Somebody just hit me with a snowball, and I see who did it," he said angrily.

The temperature was in the 20s, and though the wind was supposed to be minimal it picked up as the game went on. The weather enhanced the home-field advantage for the Patriots, who are 4-1 at home in the postseason; their only previous loss was to the Houston Oilers 31-14 in 1978.

New England has never lost in four snow games at Foxboro Stadium.

Oakland has lost five straight road playoff games dating to 1981. The Raiders haven't won a postseason game in a cold-weather city since beating Cleveland 14-12 in subzero temperatures on Jan. 4, 1981.

When the Patriots played host to the AFC championship game in 1997, it was so cold that a transformer near the stadium exploded and knocked out the lights on the field.

But cold weather won't be a problem next year -- at least for those on the field. Foxboro Stadium is being torn down to make room for a new, 68,000-seat stadium next door; it will have a state-of-the-art heating system underneath the field to melt snow and ice.