Ray Lewis one of the few defenders who can claim he got the best of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the NFL playoffs, going 2-1 in his career against the Pats when it counted the most.
The former Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker believes he knows the key to taking down the NFL’s Goliath, and he dished on what the Philadelphia Eagles need to do Sunday to beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
“You cannot beat New England unless you get to the head, and the head is Tom Brady,” Lewis told The Talk of Fame Network. “So, I think Philly is going to have a tough task on how do they dial up blitzes without letting him know what coverages you’re in or doing. That’s one of the successes we had against Tom over the years.”
Lewis and the Ravens beat Brady twice in Gillette Stadium during the playoffs — winning in the 2009 wild-card round and the 2012 AFC Championship Game — with the lone loss coming in the 2011 AFC Championship Game when Lee Evans couldn’t hold on to a game-winning touchdown, and Billy Cundiff missed a field goal to send it to overtime.
The 42-year-old believes the key to beating the Patriots is to get inside Brady’s head, something he thinks his vaunted Ravens defense was able to do.
“Listen to this — the concept Tom Brady is running, he has not changed his concepts one time,” Lewis said.
“You know what that tells me? Nobody is studying his concept. It took people like myself, and it took people like the Giants and people who’ve had success against Tom Brady (and) who had a veteran-run group that can make adjustments on the fly, on the field, (to beat him).
“I’ve been trying to think about why they are so successful,” Lewis continued. “They are a player-driven offense. What does that mean? Tom Brady does not look to the sidelines to get the plays he’s going to call. Tom Brady knows exactly what he’s going to do. When I had my defense in Baltimore for so many years we didn’t have to look to the sidelines to get the next defensive call to make a call.
“You have to play the game on the field. You have to be an on-field general (to match Brady’s thinking). That’s why a bunch of these young, talented defenses struggle so much.”
The Eagles’ defense has been dominant all season, but it remains to be seen whether or not they have the personnel to get inside Brady’s head the way Lewis’ Ravens did.
