Fifteen years ago Friday, on Sept. 23, 2001, with 5:03 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Jets-Patriots game, Jets linebacker Mo Lewis slammed into Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe along the right sideline at old Foxboro Stadium.
That moment changed the NFL forever.
Bledsoe returned for a series, threw one more pass, and then was replaced by unknown backup Tom Brady. Everybody knows the rest of the story. Bledsoe never got his job back as Brady led the Patriots to their first of four Super Bowl titles and has evolved into arguably the best NFL quarterback ever.