Happy Thanksgiving, New England Patriots: No Loss, Plenty Laughs on Holiday
In this forgettable season, it's almost a blessing for New England Patriots fans to not have to watch their team on Thanksgiving. At 2-8 it's their worst season in a quarter-century, and from here on out their losses are wins - re: NFL Draft positioning - and vice-versa.
The Patriots played their first game on Thanksgiving in 1984. Overall, they are 3-3 on turkey day, including last season's heartbreaking loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Despite two late touchdowns by quarterback Tony Eason, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys in 1984. In 2000 they were blown out by the Lions in Detroit. In 2002 back in Detroit they beat the Lions, thanks to Tedy Bruschi's Pick Six. And in 2010 a peak-powers Tom Brady produced a perfect passer rating (158.3) in throwing for 341 yards and four touchdowns in a 21-point rout.
All those, however, pale in comparison to 2012 and the iconic "Butt Fumble." Happy 11th anniversary. But when it comes to football on this holiday, the indelible memory is what happened against the New York Jets when quarterback Mark Sanchez produced one of the funniest bloopers in NFL history.
One of the Patriots best Thanksgiving memories, courtesy of the infamous "Butt Fumble."
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With the Patriots already leading 14-0, Sanchez took the snap and turned to hand-off to ... nobody. With his running back sprinting out of the backfield, he attempted to salvage something out the broken play. But as he ran toward the line of scrimmage, he slipped and stumbled right into the butt of offensive lineman Brandon Moore. The resulting - and hilarious - face-to-fanny contact caused a fumble that New England's Steve Gregory scooped up for a walk-in touchdown.
The play was part of a Patriots' onslaught of 21 points in 52 seconds, leading to a 49-19 blowout.
There have been roughly 300,000 offensive snaps in the NFL since Thanksgiving night 2012, and exactly zero of them remotely as funny as the "Butt Fumble."
So enjoy Thanksgiving, Patriots Nation. Thanks to the schedule your team is guaranteed not to lose. And thanks to "Butt Fumble" memories you are guaranteed a chuckle.
