Ed Reed is arguably the greatest safety in NFL history, but he believes elite skills aren’t the only thing necessary to beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
The former Baltimore Ravens standout offered the best way to defeat New England, and it’s quite simple: Pray.
.@etcats2 #askINFL pic.twitter.com/PUTTN1xaBZ
— Inside the NFL (@insidetheNFL) January 19, 2016
No, that’s not a completely true statement, but it’s certainly humorous.
In seven career matchups against Brady, Reed and the Ravens managed three victories — including two in the postseason.
Reed, whose 64 career regular-season interceptions ranks seventh in NFL history, managed one on Brady. The safety added one of his league-record nine postseason picks against the future Hall of Famer.
Although the Denver Broncos have already knocked off Brady and Co. this season, there is a large asterisk hanging over that 30-24 overtime victory. New England was without Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and emergent running back Dion Lewis, while Rob Gronkowski exited early due to a knee injury.
Yes, Brock Osweiler was under center instead of Peyton Manning, who will start on Sunday. But we’re still deciding whether or not that’s a good thing for the Broncos.
Denver boasts one of the league’s top defenses, and the unit should have a healthy T.J. Ward and Sylvester Williams for the rematch. Granted, the same cannot be said for star cornerback Chris Harris.
The Broncos are talented enough to give Brady problems, but a little prayer wouldn’t be a bad thing.