EAST RUTHERFORD — Midway through the second quarter, with the Jets already down 14-0, Mark Sanchez tried to slide on a scramble near the line of scrimmage.

What happened next will go into NFL lore as one of the most humorous gaffes ever committed by a quarterback.

As he was going to the ground, he ran face-first into the rear end of his own lineman – Brandon Moore – and fumbled the ball. Steve Gregory scooped up the fumbled and ran 32 yards for the touchdown.

“I was thinking a different play in my head, just a mental error there,” Sanchez said of his aborted handoff. “So, as soon as I realized there was nobody to hand it to, I started to run to toward the line and tried to cover it up and just get down, and I slid right into Brandon Moore. That was kind of an unfortunate deal there. I’m not a big believer in luck but that was pretty unlucky. It was really too bad.”

On the ensuing kickoff, Joe McKnight fumbled the kickoff when Devin McCourty delivered a crushing hit. The ball popped up in the air and was hauled down by Julian Edelman, who returned it 22 yards for a touchdown. 

But the head-into-butt moment will be the defining moment of a disastrous season for the Jets and perhaps Sanchez’ career.