Jets to have Mo Lewis serve as honorary captain Sunday vs. Patriots

As any New England Patriots fan worth their salt knows, the fate of the franchise changed on Sept. 23, 2001, the day New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis drilled quarterback Drew Bledsoe on a sideline tackle.

Though he was briefly knocked out on the hit, Bledsoe returned to the game, but after the loss told team trainers of pain in his chest. Brought to Massachusetts General Hospital, he was found to have internal bleeding from a severed blood vessel.

With Bledsoe on the mend, the Patriots called on second-year quarterback Tom Brady to guide the offense. The team, and the NFL, haven't been the same.

Brady led the Patriots from their 0-2 start that 2001 season to one of the most improbale Super Bowl runs of all time, as New England upset the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. In the years since, with Brady at the helm, the Patriots have been to five more Super Bowls, winning three.

The Jets, meanwhile, have been to the playoffs six times since that Sept. 2001 afternoon, but more often than not have found themselves below the Patriots in the AFC East standings, chasing their rival.

That history is being revisited in light of the news that the Jets asked Lewis to serve as their "Pilot of the Game" and honorary captain for Sunday's matchup with the Patriots, a critcal game for New York if it is to remain in the chase for a wild card spot under first-year head coach Todd Bowles.

Lewis was a very good player for the Jets, a one-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler who spent his entire 13-year career with the team. But he is forever linked to the Patriots for that one tackle.

"Blame Mo Lewis," Jets linebacker Calvin Pace joked on Wednesday, as New York has spent 15 years trying to beat Brady and the Patriots, and essentially must win on Sunday, especially with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, the teams who currently hold the conference's two wild card spots, facing the 4-10 Baltimore Ravens and 3-11 Cleveland Browns, respectively.

The Jets and Patriots have a long history of dislike for one another, and while bringing Lewis in for a game against New England could be seen as another shot across the bow by New York, the person most disrespected by the move, Bledsoe, has been retired for years. In some ways it's almost a sign of respect for Brady, whose steady excellence combined with Bill Belichick's coaching have kept New England among the AFC's best for so long.

And unfortunately for the Jets, that run may not be ending anytime soon - though Brady is 38 now, he's shown no signs of slowing down.

“Probably another 10 years, to be honest,” Pace said when asked how much longer he envisions Brady playing. “I don’t see that guy retiring anytime soon. And he shouldn’t. He’s done a great job for a long time... Hopefully, he gets traded at some point in time. Trade him to the NFC somewhere.”