Former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was stabbed in the chest early Saturday in Indianapolis during a squabble with a food delivery driver — and later arrested and charged as the aggressor in the wild incident, according to reports and authorities.

Sanchez, 38, a Fox Sports analyst who was in the city to broadcast the Colts’ game against the Raiders on Sunday, was in stable condition after being rushed to a local hospital, the network said in a statement.

The violence erupted after Sanchez and another man got into an argument after midnight outside Loughmiller’s Pub & Eatery in downtown Indianapolis, cops said. 

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded around 12:30 a.m. to a report of a person shot, but when they arrived found Sanchez with a stab wound, and another man with  “lacerations,” outside the bar.

The person who allegedly stabbed Sanchez claimed he was acting in self-defense and that Sanchez was the aggressor, FOX59/CBS4 reported, citing police sources. 

Sanchez was arrested on charges of battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle, and public intoxication , authorities said.

Sanchez had yet to be  booked into the adult detention center Saturday night and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will decide whether Sanchez should be formally charged.

It was unclear as of Saturday evening whether the delivery driver would face any charges.

The unnamed combatant reportedly told cops he was making a food delivery when Sanchez told him to leave and that he couldn’t park in an alley.

The person claimed Sanchez became aggressive and used pepper spray, causing him to stab Sanchez in self-defense, the outlet reported.

Sanchez wasn’t cooperative with responding police officers, sources told FOX59/CBS4. Sanchez has yet to give cops his account of the story.

Timeline of the Mark Sanchez stabbing and arrest

Friday Night

• Mark Sanchez, 38, is in Indianapolis to serve as a Fox Sports analyst for the Raiders-Colts game on Sunday. He’s observed acting “erratically,” doing “wind sprints” in the alley behind Loughmiller’s Pub and Eatery in the downtown.

Just after midnight

• A grease truck driver picking up cooking oil from a nearby hotel parks his truck in the loading dock, blocking the alley where Sanchez is doing sprints.
• Sanchez approaches the driver to try to get him to move and eventually gets into an altercation where he body-slams him toward the wall and then to the ground.
• The driver sprayed Sanchez with mace or pepper spray, but the former NFL quarterback continues attacking him.
• The driver pulls a knife and stabs Sanchez two or three times in the chest, believing, “This guy is trying to kill me.”
• Sanchez turns around and heads up the alley.

12:30 a.m.

• Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers respond to a report of a person shot. They locate Sanchez in Loughmiller’s Pub.
• It’s later reported that Sanchez is uncooperative with responding officers. He tells the detective he can only remember “grabbing for a window” and nothing else about the incident.
• Sanchez is rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
• The driver also suffered “significant injuries,” including lacerations to his cheek and jaw, with a cut that allegedly went through his cheek and hit his tongue.

Saturday

• Sanchez undergoes surgery for stab wounds to the chest, and is stable.
• He is arrested at the hospital and charged with misdemeanor counts of battery resulting in injury, public intoxication, and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle.

Sunday

• Sanchez is discharged from the hospital Sunday morning and transferred directly to central booking at Marion County Jail, where he reportedly posts his $300 cash bond.

Monday

• Sanchez’s charges are upgraded from several misdemeanors to a Level 5 felony battery of causing serious injury.

Loughmiller’s bartender Carrie Swan told The Post her manager Scott Bennett tended to Sanchez when he found the ex-Jet bleeding outside the pub.

“The manager brought him in and started putting towels on the wound,” she said.

“It’s nuts, absolutely nuts,” Swan said. “Normally, we don’t see this kind of violence on this side of town.”
Nobody in the bar realized who Sanchez was until the news came out later Saturday.

“I’m assuming his complexion probably wasn’t looking so great,” said Swan, who wasn’t working at the time of the stabbing. “This is a crazy world we live in.”

A rep for Fox Sports said Sanchez “is currently recovering in the hospital in stable condition.”

“We are deeply grateful to the medical team for their exceptional care and support. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mark, and we ask that everyone please respect his and his family’s privacy during this time.”

Sanchez spent the 2009-2013 seasons with the Jets, where he earned the nickname “The Sanchize” for helping lead Gang Green to two consecutive AFC Championship games during his first two years in the league and turning Sanchez into an instant celebrity.

Two of his biggest games were played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis: a 30-17 loss to the Colts in the 2009 AFC Championship, and the Jets’ revenge 17-16 win the 2010 playoffs where Sanchez spectacularly led a drive with under a minute left to set up a game-winning field goal as time expired.

Sanchez also scored outside the gridiron, dating a bevy of A-listers including supermodel Kate Upton and actress Eva Longoria before settling down and marrying actress Perry Mattfeld in 2023. The couple welcomed twin daughters in March and have a 9-year-old son.

But for all the highs Sanchez saw during his early years with the Jets, there were also plenty of lows.

During a blunder-packed 49-19 loss to the hated Patriots on Thanksgiving Night 2012, Sanchez accidentally stuffed his head up a lineman’s backside as if he were dressing a holiday bird, committing a notorious “butt fumble” that was scooped up and returned by the Pats for a touchdown.

He then missed the entire 2013 regular season after injuring his right shoulder during a meaningless preseason game against the Giants, ultimately ending his Jets career.

Then-coach Rex Ryan was widely criticized for putting Sanchez, the presumptive starter at the time, into the game during the fourth quarter to improve the club’s chances of winning the annual “Snoopy Bowl” trophy then given to the winner of yearly Jets-Giants preseason matchup.

Sanchez never rose to the legend of “Broadway” Joe Namath by delivering the Jets a Super Bowl win — but he did enjoy attending shows on the Great White Way — and routinely got his teammates to join him, players told The Post in 2010.

“He’s into old weird music and he’s into Broadway shows,” offensive lineman Brandon Moore then said. “Stuff you would not think he’d be into.”

Sanchez also played in the NFL through 2018 for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and former Washington Redskins, before moving to his broadcasting career.

Sanchez, who grew up in California and is the son of an Orange County Fire Authority captain, went on to become a star quarterback for the University of Southern California before being drafted by the Jets in 2009.

He built a second career in the media after retiring, joining ESPN for two years as a college football analyst before inking a deal with Fox Sports in 2021 as an NFL analyst. For Sunday’s game, Sanchez was scheduled to broadcast alongside Chris Myers and sideline reporter Kristina Pink but will no longer call the game.

The Jets wished Sanchez well Saturday, issuing a statement on X that the club is “sending our thoughts and love to Mark Sanchez and his family. Hoping for a speedy recovery, 6”