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Much like quarterbacks are the field generals and beating hearts of a football team’s offense, middle linebackers are very much the quarterbacks and heart and soul of a defense. From their position in the center of the defensive formation, they are often at the center of the action, whether it be swooping in for a tackle, rushing after the quarterback, or dropping back in coverage. In the 21st century, two of the outstanding linebackers of this generation have been Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens and Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears, who were both centerpieces of dominating defensive teams. Given their overlapping careers and subsequent elections into the Hall of Fame, it is natural to compare the two players and ask:
Who was better – Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher?
The Beginning
As a result of standout All-American collegiate careers, both Lewis and Urlacher were first-round draft picks who were expected to step into the starting lineup and contribute immediately; both not only met those expectations, but exceeded them with flying colors in a sign of things to come.
Growing up in the football hotbed of Florida, Lewis was an All-American linebacker in high school, as well as a wrestler, and stayed in-state at the University of Miami for college, where he immediately made an impact as a freshman All-American. Then, as a sophomore, he led the Big East in tackles as a member of the nation’s top-ranked defense and earned both All-Big East and First Team All-American honors. Lewis repeated as All-Big East and First Team All-American during his junior campaign, as well as earning runner-up for the Butkus Award for top linebacker in college football, and as a result, skipped his senior year to enter the 1996 NFL Draft, where he was selected 26th overall in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens in their inaugural season; overall, he was their second-ever draft pick in franchise history, behind fourth overall pick and fellow future Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden. Similar to his college days, Lewis started immediately as a rookie and accumulated 110 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and an interception en route to being named to the All-Rookie team.
As for Urlacher, he grew up across the country in New Mexico (not as much of a football hotbed as Florida) and played running back, wide receiver, returner, and defensive back in leading his high school team to an undefeated season and state championship. Similar to Lewis, he stayed in-state for college at the University of New Mexico, where he was a “lobo-back” (a hybrid linebacker and free safety) and also played returner and wide receiver. In 1999, Urlacher was an All-American, Mountain West Conference (MWC) Player of the Year, a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award for top defensive back in college football, and finished 12th in the Heisman Trophy voting, which he parlayed into being the ninth overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Also an immediate starter at linebacker, Urlacher had 125 total tackles, a career-best 8.0 sacks, and 2 interceptions as a rookie to earn Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and the first of eight Pro Bowl selections.
Career Comparison
Over the next decade plus, Lewis and Urlacher established themselves as among the top defensive players in the game – at various points, each could stake their claim to being THE best defensive player in football, as evidenced by numerous All-Pro selections and Defensive Player of the Year awards en route to the Hall of Fame.
For 15+ years, Lewis was the anchor in the middle of the Ravens’ consistently strong defenses that included other Hall of Fame-caliber players such as safety Ed Reed and linebacker Terrell Suggs. In 1997, he earned the first of 13 Pro Bowl appearances and a Second Team All-Pro nod by leading the NFL with 184 total tackles (one of 3x leading the league in total tackles), along with 4.0 sacks and an interception. From there, he would continue to soar to greater heights, earning three straight First Team All-Pro selections from 1999 to 2001; in both 1999 and 2001, Lewis again led the league in total tackles (168 and 161, respectively). As the centerpiece of the 2000 Ravens defense that set NFL records for fewest points and fewest rushing yards allowed, and also pitched four shutouts, Lewis accumulated 137 total tackles, 3.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 3 fumble recoveries to earn Defensive Player of the Year.
Lewis only played five games in 2002 due to a shoulder injury, but quickly returned to form in 2003, again earning Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro honors and winning his second Defensive Player of the Year award on the strength of 161 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a career-high 6 interceptions (including returning one for a touchdown). After another All-Pro season in 2004, the injury bug hit once again in 2005, as Lewis missed 10 regular games. However, he once again bounced back from injury and put up a career-best 5.0 sacks in 2006. At an age where many players decline or retire, Lewis continued to lead the Baltimore defense and thrive in his mid-30s, again earning back-to-back First Team All-Pro selections in 2008 and 2009. This was followed by additional Pro Bowl seasons in 2010 and 2011; though Lewis missed 10 regular season games in 2012, he still played a key role in the Ravens’ Super Bowl run (more on that shortly) in his final season before retiring after the Super Bowl at age 37.
Urlacher also anchored the Bears’ defense for a decade, earning the first of his four First Team All-Pro selections as a second-year player in 2001 with 116 total tackles, 6.0 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 2 fumble recoveries (including one for touchdown). This was followed by another First Team All-Pro season in 2002 on the strength of a career-high 151 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, and an interception. However, after yet another Pro Bowl season in 2003, he would only play in nine games the following season due to injuries.
As the calendar turned to a fresh season in 2005, Urlacher bounced back as the anchor of a Chicago defense that allowed the fewest points and had the most turnovers in the NFC – with 121 total tackles and 6.0 sacks, he not only returned to All-Pro form, but was also named Defensive Player of the Year. Once again, he would post back-to-back First Team All-Pro seasons, racking up 141 total tackles and 3 interceptions in 2006, though no sacks for the first time in his career. A few more strong seasons followed in 2007 and 2008, but injury would strike once again in 2009 as a dislocated wrist in the season opener caused Urlacher to miss the rest of the year. Nevertheless, he would again return to Pro Bowl form with two final Pro Bowl seasons, including a 125-tackle, 4.0-sack campaign in 2010. Like Lewis, Urlacher’s final season came in 2012 – after playing in 12 games and recording only 68 total tackles, the stalwart Bears linebacker retired from the NFL at age 34.
While both players retired in 2012, Lewis came into the league four seasons earlier than Urlacher and thus had a longer playing career by 46 games (228 to 182). As can be expected, this results in Lewis having the advantage in pretty much every defensive statistical category, from total tackles (in fact, Lewis accumulated 13 100+ tackle seasons during his illustrious career) to interceptions to forced fumbles, though both players racked up 41.5 career sacks. Likewise, this longevity leads to more career accolades for Lewis, whether it be Pro Bowls (13 vs. 8), All-Pro selections (7 to 4), and Defensive Player of the Year honors (2 to 1). Despite these differences, however, Lewis and Urlacher were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame together in 2018.
Regular Season Statistics
| Ray Lewis | Player | Brian Urlacher |
| 17 (1996-2012) | Seasons | 13 (2000-2012) |
| 228 | Games Played | 182 |
| 1,562 | Solo Tackles | 1,040 |
| 493 | Assisted Tackles | 314 |
| 41.5 | Sacks | 41.5 |
| 31 | Interceptions | 22 |
| 19 | Forced Fumbles | 11 |
| 3 | Defensive Touchdowns | 4 |
| 13x | Pro Bowls | 8x |
| 7x | All-Pro | 4x |
| 2x | Super Bowls | – |
| 2x Defensive POY | Other Awards | 1x Defensive POY, Defensive ROY |
| 2018 | Hall of Fame Induction | 2018 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Beyond their regular season successes, Lewis and Urlacher both anchored defenses that helped guide their respective teams to Super Bowl appearances, though only Lewis was able to lift football’s ultimate prize.
During his lengthy career, Lewis helped guide the Ravens to nine playoff appearances, culminating with two Super Bowl championships. In his first Defensive Player of the Year season in 2000, the Ravens made it to Super Bowl XXXV, where they pitched a defensive shutout over the New York Giants in a 34-7 victory (the Giants’ lone touchdown came via a kickoff return); Lewis himself was named Super Bowl MVP after recording 5 total tackles and 4 passes defended. He would have to wait a dozen years for another title – after missing the second half of the 2012 regular season, Lewis announced he would retire that season at the end of the playoffs; spurred on by this announcement, the Ravens advanced to Super Bowl XLVII, where they held off the San Francisco 49ers by a 34-31 final score. In his final postseason, Lewis was spectacular overall, leading all players with 51 total tackles to go out on top.
Meanwhile, Urlacher made four career postseason appearances, with the most memorable one coming in 2006. Coming off a 13-3 regular season record, the Bears advanced to Super Bowl XLI vs. Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts; however, Manning would come out on top to claim his first Super Bowl title in a 29-17 victory for the Colts, though Urlacher certainly made an impact on the game with 10 tackles and a pass defended.
Playoff Statistics
| Ray Lewis | Player | Brian Urlacher |
| 21 | Games Played | 7 |
| 137 | Solo Tackles | 47 |
| 81 | Assisted Tackles | 8 |
| 2.0 | Sacks | 2.0 |
| 2 | Interceptions | 2 |
| 6 | Forced Fumbles | – |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; in addition to numerous brilliant seasons, both Lewis and Urlacher also dealt with significant injuries that caused them to miss games and in some cases, entire seasons. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams, of which Lewis and Urlacher are both on for the 2000s team), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Ray Lewis | Player | Brian Urlacher |
| 1997-2001, 2003-2004, 2008-2010 | Decade of Dominance | 2000-2003, 2005-2008, 2010-2011 |
| 157 | Games Played | 160 |
| 1,109 | Solo Tackles | 932 |
| 358 | Assisted Tackles | 281 |
| 28.0 | Sacks | 36.0 |
| 22 | Interceptions | 20 |
| 12 | Forced Fumbles | 7 |
| 2 | Defensive Touchdowns | 3 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
In normalizing their performance across decades of dominance, Lewis and Urlacher are much more evenly matched – while Lewis continues to be the more dominant tackler, Urlacher was perhaps more versatile in his ability to rush the quarterback or drop back in coverage.
My Thoughts
At their absolute peaks, Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher were among the finest middle linebackers to ever don NFL uniforms. In terms of how their playing styles differed, Lewis was an incredible pure tackler and traditional middle linebacker, whereas Urlacher was unique in his skillset of being equally adept at tackling, rushing, and covering offensive players. Ultimately, since their zeniths are so similar, what separates the two is health/longevity and team success – though Urlacher was no slouch, Lewis was able to sustain his greatness for approximately half a decade longer than his NFC counterpart and helped the Ravens to win two Super Bowls; perhaps as a result, when football fans think of iconic offensive players of this era, names like Tom Brady and Peyton will come to mind, whereas on the defensive side, more often than not, they will think of Lewis.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Ray Lewis
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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