Morris Clyde Lewis III (born October 21, 1969) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for 13 seasons with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. After playing college football at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Lewis was selected by the Jets in the third round of the

1991 NFL Draft The 1991 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott Mar ...

. He was named to three

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

s and was a first-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

during his career, in addition to being a member of the Jets All-Time Four Decade Team. His accomplishments, however, would be overshadowed by him injuring

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

quarterback

Drew Bledsoe Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Washington State, whe ...

in 2001, which inadvertently began a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

for the Patriots when they relieved Bledsoe with

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

Career

Lewis was a star at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, wearing the number 57 as he would in his pro career. Lewis played 200 games as a Jet, the third-longest tenure in franchise history, and was one of the most loved team players and captains of his time. He was a three-time

er (1998, 1999, 2000), was the Jets' defensive captain from 1997 to 2003 and was named to the NFL All-Pro team after the 1998 season. Lewis retired after the 2003 season with 1,231 tackles (883 solo), 52.5 sacks, 14 interceptions for 241 yards, 79 pass deflections, 29 forced fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries for 74 yards and five defensive touchdowns in 200 career games.

Impact on NFL History

While Lewis had a productive career, he is best known for being the catalyst for starting the

dynasty that would span two decades. During an early-season game against the Patriots, Lewis leveled Patriots' quarterback

with a hard, but clean hit. Bledsoe was about to dive for the first-down marker, but defensive end

Shaun Ellis MeShaunda "Shaun" Pizarrur Ellis (born June 24, 1977), nicknamed Big Katt, is a former American football defensive end who spent the majority of his career with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footba ...

clipped Bledsoe's ankles, resulting in Bledsoe taking the full force of the hit while standing straight up.

, a sixth-round draft pick in the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

, was the back-up quarterback and finished the game. It turned out that Lewis' hit sheared a blood vessel in Bledsoe's chest, causing Bledsoe to lose a pint of blood an hour. Bledsoe would never regain his starting job (he was traded to Buffalo after the season), The Patriots went 11-3 for the remainder of the season, culminating in the team's first

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

title on February 3, 2002. Over the next two decades, the Patriots won six Super Bowl titles and Brady would win a seventh in

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

. As a result, Lewis' hit on Bledsoe is often noted for its impact on NFL history. The hit appeared on the NFL's list of 100 greatest game changers, ranking at 82.

Personal life

Lewis and his wife Christalyn live in Atlanta, Georgia and have two sons.Casey, Tim. "With Eye on Harvard, Basketball Player Has 2 Careers on His Mind Chris Lewis Heeds Parents’ Advice in College Decision." The New York Times January 30, 2015: n. pag. Web. April 19, 2015. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Mo 1969 births Living people African-American players of American football American Conference Pro Bowl players American football linebackers Georgia Bulldogs football players New York Jets players Players of American football from Atlanta