The weirdest moment in Jets history isn’t as embarrassing as you think

Thanksgiving night in 2012 produced one of the strangest, most replayed moments in NFL history. That night marks the birth of the infamous “Butt Fumble.”

Mark Sanchez colliding with the backside of his own offensive lineman, Brandon Moore, before fumbling the ball and watching the Patriots run it back for a touchdown instantly became entrenched in New York Jets folklore for all the wrong reasons.

To this day, the Butt Fumble is cited as the weirdest and most embarrassing moment in Jets history, a play that supposedly defined a franchise’s dysfunction. But while it’s unforgettable, the truth is that it’s also wildly overrated.

The Butt Fumble was more blooper than abject football disaster, and compared to some of the Jets’ real embarrassments (of which there have been many), it barely even cracks the top tier.

The 'Butt Fumble' is the most overrated play in NFL history

Late in the second quarter of that fateful Thanksgiving matchup against the Patriots, Sanchez took a snap, turned the wrong way on a busted play, and ran directly into the backside of Moore. The collision sent Sanchez tumbling backward, the ball popped loose, and the Patriots scooped it up to return for a touchdown.

Within minutes, it was all over television. ESPN played the clip on loop, and “Butt Fumble” became an overnight sensation on social media. For years, it held the top spot on SportsCenter’s “Not Top 10” countdown. It was a visual gag so ridiculous that it instantly cemented itself as the defining blooper of the Jets’ organization.

And anyone familiar with the Jets knows that's saying a lot.

However, what often gets lost in the Butt Fumble conversation is that the play itself wasn’t exactly season-defining. By the time Sanchez ran into Moore’s behind, the Jets were already trailing 14–0 in a game they would go on to lose 49–19.

The 2012 Jets entered that night 4–6 with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, and they looked every bit like a team that didn't belong in postseason contention. The prime of the Rex Ryan era was already in the rearview mirror.

Sanchez had regressed significantly after helping lead the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship Games. The roster had deteriorated around him, the offense was dysfunctional, and the defense no longer carried the team.

The Butt Fumble didn’t cause the Jets’ downfall. In the grand scheme of franchise failures, it was a symptom of the mess, not the root of it.

The truth is, the Butt Fumble lives in infamy not because of its significance, but because of how silly it looked. Quarterbacks fumble snaps and turn the ball over every week in the NFL, but rarely does it happen in such a cartoonishly awkward way.

Sanchez hitting Moore’s backside was slapstick comedy on a national stage, and that’s what made it stick. And, of course, the Jets will always be easy targets.

But in terms of real embarrassment, the Jets have far worse moments. Bill Belichick resigning on a napkin. Geno Smith having his jaw broken by a teammate in the locker room. Rich Kotite’s 1–15 season. Drafting Kyle Brady over Warren Sapp. Those were defining failures. The Butt Fumble, by comparison, was just a blooper reel moment.

It also says more about the media environment than the Jets themselves, if we're being honest. ESPN replayed it endlessly, social media turned it into a meme, and it became an easy punchline whenever the Jets came up in conversation.

If the exact same play happened to the Tennessee Titans in a 1 p.m. game, it would’ve been forgotten within a week. Instead, it became an overrated symbol of dysfunction that overshadowed the team’s much bigger issues.

The Butt Fumble deserves its place in NFL blooper history, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for the Jets’ darkest hour. It was a funny, awkward moment in a game the Jets were already destined to lose, which was elevated to infamy because of how it looked and how often it was replayed.

That infamous play may be the weirdest moment the franchise has ever produced, but in reality, it’s far more overrated than it is truly humiliating.

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