On Sunday, January 16, 2011, the New York Jets defeated the New England Patriots in a playoff game that one former member of the Jets organization will never forget. 

Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum recalled that day in an interview with Brian Barrett on the Off The Pike podcast, specifically speaking about the final quarter of play. 

The Patriots finished that season with a record of 14-2 and had the top place in the AFC standings. The Jets claimed the sixth and final place, earning a wild card spot in the playoffs. They went on to defeat the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round, before facing off against the Patriots in the Divisional round. 

However, going into the game, not everybody's hopes were high. 

In Week 13, the Jets were unable to defeat the Patriots in two games during the regular season, including the "humiliating" loss at Gillette Stadium. 

The Patriots defeated the Jets 45-3 on Dec. 6, 2010, with New England firing off on all cylinders offensively. 

“Driving from Chestnut Hill to Foxborough, I just never felt, even though we were both vying for first place, just didn’t feel great about that game,” Tannenbaum said. “Rex in the postgame press conference said ‘if we played right now, we’d be favorites to beat them.' And I think everybody, myself included, thought that you’re f—ing crazy.”

But regardless of what happened, it all came down to the playoff game in January where the winner would advance and the loser would go home. 

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Jets held a 14-11 lead over the Patriots, with the game coming down to the final 15 minutes. 

“I’ll never forget this, it’s the fourth quarter of the playoff game and at the time, I think it was Suffolk constriction, I know it was a construction company, that had a billboard right below the game clock on the left-hand side of the big scoreboard,” Tannenbaum recalled. “All I did was watch the clock. It was the slowest clock in my life. I was like this game cannot end fast enough."

The Jets got on the board early that quarter with Mark Sanchez firing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes. Nick Folk then made the extra point for New York to give the Jets a 20-11 lead.

"And then, I think it was Shonn Greene scored a touchdown late in the game and I was, at that point, in the locker room. And I’m sitting there with our owner and I’m like ‘he should have gone down. He should have taken a knee at the one.'”

Greene's 16-yard touchdown run and another successful extra point kick by Folk gave the Jets a 14-point lead with 1:41 remaining on the clock. 

“And then, sure enough, we kick off, They score in three plays and we have to go recover an onside kick. I remember it like it was yesterday,” Tannenbaum said. 

Tom Brady located Deion Branch in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass followed by a successful extra point by Shayne Graham. With 24 seconds on the clock, the Patriots attempted an onside kick, but it was the Jets who were able to get possession. 

“We had totally outplayed New England that game and felt good about it, but like that fourth quarter felt like it was three years of my life.”

While the Jets fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship, the win over the Patriots was one to remember in a long rivalry and is something that Tannenbaum will always remember. 

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Featured Image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports