In big win over Cowboys, Sanchez exorcises his 'butt' off

ARLINGTON, Texas - Wearing a black Eagles windbreaker and a pale beige Eagles polo shirt, Nick Sanchez lingered outside the visiting locker room at AT&T Stadium on Thursday night, a small smile on his face as he waited for his son Mark.

"Best day ever," he said.

At Nick's home in Orange County, Calif., some 50 members of the Sanchez family had gathered around the television to watch Mark play his finest game as an Eagle - 20 completions in 29 attempts, 217 yards, a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, no turnovers, everything crisp and sharp during a 33-10 rout of the Dallas Cowboys. But Nick Sanchez was here, because Nick Sanchez attends all of Mark's games, whether his son is playing or not. He has missed just two since Mark began his high school career in 2001, and one of those was when Nick's firefighting unit was deployed to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

He has been at every Eagles game this season, following the same routine: leaning over the guard rail that rims the field, saying hello to Mark before kickoff, and wishing him luck and telling him he loves him, then getting lost, trudging up to the highest, farthest stadium seat he can find, then waiting outside the locker room afterward again. He was there Thursday, just like he was at MetLife Stadium on Thanksgiving 2012, when Mark collided with a New York Jets teammate's rear end and fumbled the football during an embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots, when Nick Sanchez's son became an object of national ridicule.

And when he was asked what it was like to see his son play the way he did Thursday - after the butt-fumble two years ago and a shoulder injury that cost Mark the entire 2013 season and ended his career with the Jets, after so many moments when a day like Thursday surely seemed impossible - Nick Sanchez lifted his head and stared at nothing in particular, and he blinked twice and did not speak for nine full seconds.

"I think he's realizing a number of his dreams," Nick said. "He's very thankful to be part of a really great organization. He's very glad to be where he is. He's happy. He feels good physically, and he's very content with his lot right now.

"I'm a dad. Whether he's a postman or a football player, you just want him to be successful and be healthy and be prosperous and be a really good person. Ultimately, that's all I'm concerned about."

Soon Mark came jogging through a tunnel off the field, an Eagles knit cap on his head, a game ball in his left hand. He was one of the last players to enter the locker room, and when he did, a loud ovation rose inside. Nick Sanchez had said the Thanksgiving loss to the Patriots "was just another ball game, just like tonight was another ball game," but his son didn't feel the same way. To Mark, that terrible night two years ago, and the chance to put it behind him, had meant something more.

"It's just been an incredible journey - the whole thing, playing in this league, wearing a Jets logo, wearing an Eagles logo," he said. "This is an absolute dream come true. The best of times, the worst of times, still a lot of people would love to be in this position, no matter what. I'm very thankful. I'm very blessed."

It has been a hell of a thing to witness, what Sanchez has done since replacing Nick Foles 31/2 weeks ago, especially if you spent any time around him at the end in New York - his self-confidence drained, the franchise desperate to move on from him. He has not been perfect here, by any stretch, and no one knows what will happen from here on out. But the Eagles are 9-3 and in first place in the NFC East, and Mark Sanchez has helped them get there, and after Thursday's victory he could finally laugh off what might be the most infamous blunder in NFL history, the lowest moment of his football life.

"I mean, it sucked," he said. "I ran into some guy's butt and dropped the ball on the turf, and they scored. It's like my favorite holiday. It's not cool. That was really a bummer. But the game plan was 'Try not to do that,' and we accomplished it."

He ducked back into the locker room, eye-black still smeared on his cheeks, the game ball still in his hand. He gave it to a member of the Eagles' media-relations staff, telling him: "I just don't want anybody to take it." Outside, more than an hour had passed since the game had ended, and Nick Sanchez was still waiting to congratulate his son.

"You see him in there?" he asked.

He hadn't even showered yet.

"Jeez."

Eventually, the media-relations staffer ushered Nick Sanchez into the locker room. It was mostly empty and quiet, an equipment manager pushing a laundry bin full of white towels, and when Mark Sanchez stepped out of the shower Nick did not say anything. He handed him a cellphone. Mark spoke in Spanish to a family member, and Nick rolled a pair of black socks into a ball to help Mark tidy up.

They left the room and returned to the field, father and son together on their best of days, and they put their arms around each other and smiled as someone snapped a photograph . . . a new memory made, an old one buried forever.

@MikeSielski