Peyton Manning made his career being a step ahead of the opposing defense. But on one occasion, a defensive player was head of him.
Enter Ed Reed.
Over the weekend, a story resurfaced from the NFL 100 All-Time Team reveal, where Reed set the Hall of Fame QB up by playing the wrong coverage multiple times in the beginning of the year.
“This story of how Ed Reed fooled Peyton Manning never gets old,” tweeted PFF’s Ari Meirov. “Reed purposely played a coverage wrong multiple times early in the season because he knew Peyton would watch it on tape. When Peyton came to town, Reed was ready. Next level football IQ.”
The NFL world reacted to Reed’s brilliance on social media.
“This is checkers v chess and the reason Ed Reed is an amazing player,” one user said. “And I’m a Steelers fan…”
“This maybe the only time I’ve seen Belichick excited,” another commented.
“If you don’t love this story then you don’t love football,” a Titans fan tweeted. “Plain & simple..”
“Love the reverence Belichick has for Ed Reed in this clip,” another tweeted. “He’s the greatest coach of all time. But in this moment he’s just a fan of one of the all-time greats making an all-time play.”
What a pleasure it was to watch that man play…