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Every year on the fourth Thursday of November folks gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday is synonymous with food, family and football. But since one tragic moment for New York Jets fans, Thanksgiving has become a yearly reminder of the Butt Fumble.
Throwback to the infamous Thanksgiving Day “Butt Fumble”
pic.twitter.com/XMbS4fXyKk— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) November 27, 2025
Mark Sanchez’s infamous gaffe took place on Thanksgiving night in 2012. The play that has become a visual representation of embarrassing ineptitude turned 13 this year. And while the Butt Fumble would be making the rounds today as it does every Thanksgiving, the play is receiving extra attention this year in the wake of the Sanchez’ stabbing and arrest last month.
While most fans assumed the Butt Fumble marked the low point of Sanchez’s life, the former quarterback would Butt Fumble his broadcasting career over a decade later. Sanchez was fired by FOX after being arrested for felony battery
The 39-year-old former quarterback and analyst was seriously injured in a bizarre incident on October 4 in Indianapolis. Sanchez was in town to cover the Colts’ Week 5 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders for FOX. However, the night before the game he allegedly instigated a physical altercation with a truck driver and was hospitalized in critical condition after being stabbed.
It soon became clear that police considered Sanchez the aggressor and arrested him on three misdemeanors while he was recovering in the hospital. Authorities would upgrade the battery charge to a felony the following day. FOX Sports cut ties with Sanchez in early November.
The mystifying turn of events adds a new layer to the Butt Fumble. It boggles the mind that one man was responsible for both incidents – each life altering in their own way.
The fumble viewed ‘round the world took place during the Jets’ Week 12 matchup against the New England Patriots. Sanchez was in his fourth year in the NFL after being selected fifth overall by New York in 2009. The former USC standout enjoyed immediate success, quarterbacking the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship Games. But the magic wore off in an 8-8 2011 season.
Then the Butt Fumble unofficially ushered in a period of comic incompetence that the Jets remain mired in to this day. New York hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2010, the longest active postseason drought in football.
It’s now clear that, no matter what Sanchez does for the rest of his life, he’ll always be remembered for the infamous play on Thanksgiving night 2012.
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