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Former New England Patriots stars Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski reflected fondly on a particular Thanksgiving memory ahead of the annual holiday.
During Thursday’s episode of the Dudes On Dudes podcast featuring Edelman and Gronkowski, the former teammates reflected on the Patriots Thanksgiving 2012 victory over the New York Jets that featured the infamous “butt fumble” play.
The play occurred as Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork pressured Jets guard Brandon Moore and this helped Moore’s backside collide with Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, who lost possession as Patriots’ safety Steven Gregory scooped it up and scored a touchdown.
FanDuel @FanDuel
12 years ago today, Mark Sanchez gave us one of the most iconic plays in the NFL history…
The Butt Fumble 💀pic.twitter.com/igOybUiVhS
Edelman spoke about Wilfork’s effort and how it contributed to the dominance.
“He drives his guy back so far that it hit the quarterback with the guy that he was driving back’s butt that made him fumble the football,” Edelman said (1:00:00). “…..It was just a f–king crazy game.”
Gronkowski chimed in and noted that Wilfork received a special treat following the game and did not let it go to waste.
“He was rewarded with a turkey leg during the post game for his contribution to the buttfumble,” Gronkowski said (1:01:01). “He at it all.”
New England would win that game 49-19 and improved to 7-3 on the season. The Patriots would finish that season 12-4 and would advance to the AFC Championship. New York dropped to 4-6 and would finish that season 6-10.
In the year’s following that game, the Patriots would win three additional Super Bowls with Edelman and Gronkowski and remain a force in the AFC. New York has remained in a playoff drought that has lasted since 2010 and the “butt fumble” was a defining moment of the Sanchez era.
