A violent hit by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis on Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe early in the 2001 season altered the course of the New England franchise and the NFL this century. The play occurred on September 23, 2001, with the Jets leading the Patriots, 10-3, in the fourth quarter of a game at New England. The Patriots had the ball inside their own 20 on a third down and 10. Bledsoe, then a three-time Pro Bowl QB who had taken the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI, took the snap and scrambled out of the pocket toward the right sideline and was crushed by Lewis out of bounds. Slow to get up, Bledsoe was later transported to the hospital in an ambulance, and suffered internal bleeding that could have killed him. His replacement that season was a young Tom Brady, who led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles and became one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. Lewis, who had made three straight Pro Bowls between 1998 and 2000, retired after the 2003 season. Bledsoe played five more seasons with the Bills and Cowboys.