Some gaffes are truly so laughably ridiculous that the NFL and its fans not only don’t forget them but also relish the opportunity to make jokes about them every chance they get.
Things like 28-3 — somehow the jokes don’t get old — Dan Orlovsky running out of the back of the end zone and, of course, Mark Sanchez’s butt fumble.
Robert Griffin III had thoughts (and jokes) about the latter two incidents in a recent conversation with For The Win.
We asked him, what’s worse: the butt fumble or the butt punt?
After laughing for a moment before answering, Griffin — now a college football and NFL analyst for ESPN — shared his take on why Sanchez’s butt fumble is worse than the Miami Dolphins’ embarrassing butt punt that resulted in a safety in their Week 3 win over the Buffalo Bills.
THE PUNT GOES OUT THE REAR OF THE END ZONE! #FinsUp
📺: #BUFvsMIA on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/AgvEitKLgz pic.twitter.com/Ry39X0bkrK— NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2022
“It’s the result of the game, right? So the butt fumble, I’m pretty sure that the Jets lost that game,” Griffin said. “And it was just one of those head-scratching moments of like, how did you do that? You know? Mark Sanchez, how did you do that?”
Griffin was correct: The Jets got obliterated by the Patriots, 49-19, in the infamous butt fumble game back in 2012. Miami narrowly beat Buffalo on Sunday, 21-19, despite the butt punt.
“So the butt punt — at least the Dolphins won the game, and they gave me an amazing opportunity to have some fun with that on “C’Mon Man!” on Monday Night Countdown,” Griffin continued. “So I was appreciative of that. And Tyreek Hill talking about his guy [Trent] Sherfield’s butt and how strong it is, and that’s just a fun moment.
“But it was only a fun moment because they won the game. If they had lost the game, everybody would have been killing them for it. So I think, by far, the the butt fumble is worse than the but punt.”
is this the greatest photo of all time pic.twitter.com/QhSZ2BiA2o
— NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2022
We recently asked Eli Manning to weigh in on what’s worse, and while he didn’t explicitly answer, he said: “When there’s a bad play when you win the game, it’s easier to laugh and embrace it.”
Griffin went on to liken the disastrous butt punt and butt fumble situations to Orlovsky’s and, most recently, Jimmy Garoppolo’s stepping out of the end zone mishaps.
Dan Orlovsky catching a stray here! pic.twitter.com/qVXaNK47FV
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 26, 2022
When the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback did that Sunday in the team’s loss to the Denver Broncos, NFL fans, and Orlovsky, of course, roasted Garoppolo.
“Same as Jimmy G stepping out of the back of the end zone,” Griffin added. “And I said you never go full Orlovsky, but Orlovsky ran out of bounds, full speed, down the back of the end zone for a good six, seven steps.
“So Orlovsky’s was way worse than Jimmy G’s, but at least Orlovsky’s got some company now.”
