Tag: Mark Sanchez butt fumble

Mark Sanchez has fun with Thomas Morstead after “butt punt”

Mark Sanchez still wants to be the king of wacky plays, so don’t mess with him.

Former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez certainly had an interesting NFL career, but let’s face it, most people will remember for one play and one play only: the butt fumble.

We all remember that Thanksgiving night in 2012 against the Patriots when Sanchez ran right into Brandon Moore, fumbled and returned for a touchdown by Patriots safety Steve Gregory. It’s one of the most infamous plays in sports, let alone football. It has its own Wikipedia page!

But that doesn’t mean he’s embarrassed by it. In fact, he’s almost embracing being the king of goofy plays because he joked on Twitter to Dolphins punter Thomas Morstead to “stay out of my lane bro”.

Morstead created the now-infamous “butt punt” during Sunday’s game against the Bills, kicking the ball right into the backside of Trent Sherfield and going out of the back of the end zone for a Bills safety.

Sanchez still wants to be the “king”, so to speak, but it was definitely all in good fun. Of course, Morstead got the last laugh because the Dolphins held on to beat the Bills. Even Sherfield took to Twitter to say his “cheeks have a big W tatted on them.”

Ex-Pat who recovered Mark Sanchez’s Butt Fumble remembers Jets’ Thanksgiving blunder

Steve Gregory, the recipient of the Mark Sanchez butt fumble, still has fond memories of the iconic play on Thanksgiving night.

Mark Sanchez’s infamous Butt Fumble still haunts Jets fans, but fondly remembering the blooper has become a Thanksgiving tradition for the former Patriots player who scooped the ball up.

Steve Gregory is now the defensive backs coach for the Detroit Lions. But on Nov. 22, 2012, he was the Pat who recovered the ball after Sanchez ran into the rear end of his own teammate, Brandon Moore. Gregory then returned the Butt Fumble 32 yards for a touchdown in a 49-19 Patriots win over the Jets on Thanksgiving night.

In the moment, Gregory had no idea just how hilarious the play was — or that it would go down as one of the biggest blunders in NFL history.

“It really wasn’t until the locker room after the game I think somebody said, ‘Hey, you scored on the Butt Fumble,'” Gregory recently told USA TODAY. “I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about?’ After the game is when it all kind of started coming together and hearing about it on the news and all that stuff.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=82RIfy-gRa4&feature=emb_logo

Eight years later, the play is still shown every Thanksgiving. It has become a holiday staple for football fans, no different than turkey and stuffing.

“Obviously, it’s great that we’re still living it,” Gregory said. “I’m going to be an old man one day talking to my grandkids and that play’s probably going to be being shown on the TV still, so I’m excited about that.”

Jets fans, of course, would rather forget the play, which began on New York’s own 31-yard line. Sanchez got the snap and was looking to hand it off to his fullback, Lex Hilliard, who had already run past him looking to block. Sanchez, with no idea what to do, decided to run with the ball himself and crashed into the butt of Moore, his right guard. The ball came loose and was returned by Gregory for a touchdown to give the Patriots a 20-0 lead.

Now, every Thanksgiving, the Gregory family reenacts the play before the final part of their holiday meal.

“My family sets up an offensive line and someone plays Vince Wilfork and someone plays Mark Sanchez,” Gregory explained, “and it’s a good little family tradition right before dessert.”