 MetLife Stadium, the site of the game, in 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | November 22, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Mike Carey | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 79,088 | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, and Michele Tafoya | ||||||||||||||||||
The Butt Fumble was a notorious American football play from a National Football League (NFL) game played on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2012, between the New York Jets and New England Patriots.
In front of the home crowd of over 79,000 fans at MetLife Stadium and a primetime television audience of over 20 million, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez collided with the buttocks of his teammate, offensive lineman Brandon Moore, causing a fumble, which was then recovered by the Patriots' safety Steve Gregory and returned for a touchdown. The play was the centerpiece of a disastrous sequence in the second quarter, wherein the Jets lost three fumbles and the Patriots scored three touchdowns in the span of 52 seconds of game time. In that second quarter, the Jets held the ball for over 12 minutes (out of a possible 15), but managed to be outscored 35–3.
The game and the infamous "butt fumble" in particular are remembered as the low point of the Jets' 2012 season as the embarrassing loss was the team's seventh of the 2012 season, all but eliminating them from earning a playoff berth. The butt fumble is often considered one of the most inept plays in NFL history and is also ranked as the most embarrassing moment in Jets history by ESPN.[1]
- ^ William, Perlman (November 22, 2012). "The Butt Fumble". USA Today Sports. Retrieved October 28, 2014.