On Sept. 23, 2001, Drew Bledsoe rolled out in the fourth quarter of a New England Patriots game against the New York Jets. He turned up field to run. It would become the play that changed NFL history.
Bledsoe headed toward the sideline and as he got there Jets linebacker Mo Lewis delivered a punishing shot.
The hit eventually drove Bledsoe from the game and sent the former No. 1 overall pick to the hospital. He played a series after the massive hit that gave New England’s big-money quarterback a concussion, a collapsed lung, and internal bleeding. Bledsoe nearly died from the violent collision.
Enter a sixth-round pick in 2000 from Michigan named Tom Brady and the rest became NFL and Super Bowl history.
NBC Sports Boston did an oral history on the play and what ensued.
The Patriots went one to lose the game, 10-3. And in the long run, they won, and won and won.
