Last night, NBC re-aired the New York Jets’ emotional season-opening 27-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in 2011, which took place on the 10th anniversary of September 11th, 2001.
One of the biggest plays in that game – in which the Jets erased a 24-10 fourth quarter deficit – was defensive tackle Mike DeVito‘s forced fumble on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
With 9:12 to go in the game, Dallas led 24-17 and had the ball just two yards shy of New York’s end zone on 3rd & Goal. Darrelle Revis locked up Dez Bryant on a fade route in the end zone, Romo was forced to scramble, and DeVito flew in from out of nowhere to knock the ball loose from Romo’s grasp. Sione Pouha recovered the fumble, and the Jets had a sudden jolt of momentum.
During an interview with the Cool Your Jets podcast, DeVito was asked to name the most memorable under-the-radar moment of his career that may have gone unnoticed by casual onlookers.
“It’s a funny question because I don’t ever remember the good things, I only remember the times where I messed up,” replied DeVito, humble as can be.
After thinking on it a bit more, DeVito recalled his moment in the limelight on that unforgettable Sunday night in September of 2011.
“If I’m going to tag one as [my] biggest play, that was the biggest one,” said the six-year Jet.
Mike DeVito talked to us on @CYJpod about his crucial forced fumble on Tony Romo in the #Jets‘ 2011 season-opening win over the Cowboys.
Full interview: https://t.co/OwsivkpzLt pic.twitter.com/lIlxatmXuN
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) April 13, 2020
An undrafted free agent out of the University of Maine in 2007, DeVito played in 88 regular season and playoff games over six seasons with the Jets from 2007-12.
You can hear more DeVito talk more about his Jets career here, from Brett Favre to Rex Ryan and everything in between.
