Mark Sanchez has retired from the NFL and will join ESPN/ABC as a college football analyst.
The former New York Jets quarterback experienced several memorable highs and lows in eight seasons as a pro football player. Many of those moments, both the good and the bad, came against the New England Patriots.
In fact, you could make a strong case that the best and worst moment of his career happened versus the Pats.
Let's start with his worst and most embarrassing moment. We're talking, of course, about the butt fumble.
The Jets were hosting the Patriots at MetLife Stadium for the primetime Thanksgiving matchup. New England was leading 14-0 in the second quarter when Sanchez looked for a hole to run through. The space closed quickly, though, and he ran right into the backside of one of his offensive linemen. Sanchez fumbled and Steve Gregory recovered for the Patriots. He returned it 32 yards for a New England touchdown. The Pats ultimately won 49-19.
Sanchez's finest moment came two years earlier when he took the Jets into Gillette Stadium for a 2010 AFC Divisional Round playoff game against Tom Brady and the Pats. Sanchez threw for 194 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions to lead the Jets to a surprising 28-21 upset win over the Patriots, who were the AFC's No. 1 seed with a 14-2 regular season record.
Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game in both the 2009 and 2010 seasons but failed to advance to the Super Bowl each time. The Jets have not reached the playoffs since their loss in the 2010 AFC title game, and that drought is unlikely to end this coming season.
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