The most anticipated football season in New York’s history is already breaking an ignominious streak: For the first time since Thanksgiving week 2012, both teams are in prime time.
If that date rings a bell for you, it probably should. The Jets, playing the Patriots at home on Thanksgiving after an overtime loss in New England earlier in the season, suffered a humiliating 49-19 defeat that became instantly famous — or infamous — when Mark Sanchez ran into offensive lineman Brandon Moore and fumbled, with Steve Gregory returning the ball for a New England touchdown.
The Buttfumble was born, and the next 10-plus seasons of New York football misery had its inaugural highlight.
That loss dropped the Jets — who had disappointingly missed the playoffs in 2011 after losing three straight games at the end of the season to finish 8-8 — to 4-7 and was the beginning of the end of the Rex Ryan era. Save for a 10-6 2015 season that featured a narrow playoff miss, the Jets haven’t had a winning season since.
