Julian Edelman Recalls Scary Hit By Ray Lewis at Gillette Stadium in 2010: “I Had Like Internal Bleeding”

When you think of the New England Patriots’ dynasty, you think of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. In terms of rivals, the first man to come to mind is Peyton Manning. But if there were a team who truly battled the Patriots evenly in the postseason, it’s the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore and New England faced one another four times in the playoffs from 2009-14. All four matchups – including two AFC Championship contests – took place in Foxborough on the Pats’ home turf. By splitting those meetings, the Ravens became – and still are – the only team to beat Brady and Belichick on the road twice in the postseason.

Middle linebacker Ray Lewis was the biggest reason Baltimore had success against New England in the playoffs. He’s one of few defensive players in NFL history who could match Brady’s wits. Lewis regularly did this when the Ravens and Patriots faced off. And sometimes, Julian Edelman paid the price when Lewis won that battle of the brains.

Edelman recounted two moments playing against Lewis during the Dudes on Dudes podcast. He revealed to Rob Gronkowski that Lewis once left him disoriented in a 2010 regular season game. Prior to that, in the 2009 playoffs, Lewis – whom he labeled a “scary SOB” – injured Edelman on a scoring grab.

“He hit me… I remember Haloti Ngata picking me up and saying, ‘hey buddy, your sideline’s that way’… he lit me up… then the year before… in the playoffs… [on my touchdown], Ray kneed me so hard in my left butt cheek that like, I got a crazy hematoma and I looked like I had J-Lo booty… I had like internal bleeding. It was f***ing nuts,” Edelman recalled.

Lewis posted 12 tackles and a sack in the playoff game Edelman referenced. Baltimore defeated New England 33-14 in the game, eliminating Brady and Belichick in the wildcard round for the first time in their Patriots’ tenures.

Rob Gronkowski was “intimidated” by Ray Lewis

Rob Gronkowski is 6-foot-6 and weighed 265 pounds when he played in the NFL. He has a massive size advantage on Lewis (6-foot-1, 240 lbs.). Despite this differential, he was still trembling in his cleats when he saw Lewis lined up on defense.

“[He’s a] two-time Super Bowl champion [and a] 12-time Pro Bowler… [and was] vicious out on the field. Absolutely vicious [and] intimidating. I would put my hand down, and I was already scared of Ray Lewis when he was in front of me… that’s how intimidating he was.” – Rob Gronkowski

Lewis is the NFL’s all-time leading tackler. London Fletcher, in second place, has more than 200 fewer tackles (1,364) than Lewis (1,568). He was such a fearsome opponent that Brady changed his approach when he faced the Ravens, believing Lewis would “knock [receivers] out of the game.” Even when Belichick – who’s notoriously serious – once teased Brady about Lewis, Brady wasn’t in the mood for laughs.

Every game between Brady and Lewis was a treat. They engaged one another in a high-level chess match on every snap. Their incredible understanding of football struck fear in their opponents. For that, and their execution of their plans, they’ll always be amongst the greatest players in NFL history.