Ray Lewis is widely considered one of the best linebackers in the history of the league. He wasn’t just a good player; he was feared by everyone who went up against him. Lewis wouldn’t just tackle his opponents, he would punish and intimidate them.
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Chad Johnson learned about the former Ravens star the hard way during his playing days. A throwback clip from the NFL Vault showcased the one time Ochocinco, playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, tried to blindside the linebacker but ended up inflicting more pain on himself.
It wasn’t just a failed attempt at a block for Johnson, it was an embarrassing display that he put forth. Chad attempted to run over and lay his hands on Lewis for the block, only to be met with the force of a thousand suns as he was pummeled into the turf.
Johnson lay on the ground until a teammate came over to help him up. He was clearly dazed following the play. The first thing that came out of his mouth, though, was hilarious. “I hit Ray by accident,” Johnson said after getting back to his feet.
As he made his way over to the sideline, Ocho took a seat next to the medical trainers for a long time. The trainer then made a funny comment to Johnson about blocking a guy like Lewis.
“Don’t hit those big guys!” the trainer joked.
But Johnson had his own reason for trying to lay a block on Lewis.
“I thought I was gonna win because he didn’t see me coming,” Johnson shared. “I tried to hit Ray when he wasn’t looking. Hey, I thought I got a good shot, but I failed. Something ain’t right… He ran me over.”
What a great day that the NFL chose to mic up Johnson so that we could look back on this clip until the end of time. It’s a good reminder that sometimes you shouldn’t mess with people who are bigger than you, even if you catch them off guard. Strength tends to win most of the time. Here, it ended up getting Johnson injured.
But Ochocinco was far from the only player who respected Lewis’ dominance on the field. Tom Brady recently shared that Lewis was the guy he looked to avoid the most.
Tom Brady on Ray Lewis
Brady didn’t just fear Lewis whenever they played, but he also tried hard to avoid being hit by him so that he would not get injured. The GOAT even crowned Lewis as one of the top 5 toughest defenders to face during his playing days.
“Ray Lewis was at the top,” Brady said in an interview. “Ndamukong Suh, I didn’t like getting hit by him. J.J. [Watt] wasn’t very fun to get hit by. Haloti Ngata, you remember him? He was about 340 pounds for the Ravens. He was massive.”
It’s a solid and scary list that Brady put together. What’s even scarier to imagine is that Haloti Ngata and Ray Lewis played together for 7 seasons at the Baltimore Ravens! Imagine how terrifying it must’ve been for Brady to face off against them.
All in all, Lewis should be remembered as perhaps the scariest defender to ever play in the NFL. He hit his opponents hard with each tackle. Even when blindsided, players like Johnson still bounced off him like a pinball.
