In 2013, during the NFC title game between the Patriots and the Ravens, NFL GOAT Tom Brady had been a little naughty. During the final minutes of the first half, Brady slid to the ground at the end of a scramble with his foot raised. The cheeky leg hit onrushing Ravens free safety, Ed Reed.
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While Reed was uninjured, the questionable foot-up slide was not looked kindly upon by players and Ravens fans. However, Brady was not penalized for the slide. The former safety revealed soon after to WJZ-FM that Brady had actually texted him later to apologize for the kick:
“He actually reached out to me, texted me. I tried to text him back, but the message exploded after 12 seconds, so I had to call him … and he’s just apologized and what not. But I told him, ‘You know, it’s good, man.'”
Few defenders could do a number on Tom Brady like Ed Reed could. During the 2011 AFC Championship Game against the Ravens, Brady famously wrote on his wristband: “Find 20 [Reed’s jersey] on every play.”
Brady also has called the Ravens Hall of Fame safety his “kryptonite.” The GOAT had a 5-3 record against Reed’s Ravens. However, those victories were hard-fought, with five games decided by six points or fewer.
Notably, Brady was 1-2 against Reed in the postseason, suffering a 28-13 defeat in the 2012 AFC Championship Game during the safety’s final season.
The former Patriots QB won the 2013 AFC showdown with the infamous sliding kick, but people were not happy with him. Reed’s fellow safety Bernard Pollard had called pretty strongly for Brady to be fined for the play, as had Ravens HC John Harbaugh. However, Brady got a clean chit from Reed, who called him a “great competitor.”
