Coming off a prolific December, Ravens safety Ed Reed was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Month.
Reed was all over the field, displaying the playmaking ability he's been known for his entire career.
Through four December games – where the Ravens went 3-1 – Reed posted 16 tackles and six interceptions, adding one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and a sack.
The month began with what could be considered his best outing of the season in a 24-10 victory over the Washington Redskins.
That day, Reed snared two interceptions, the first of which went for a Ravens touchdown five plays later, and forced a Clinton Portis fumble that he returned 22 yards for a score. It was his 11th-career touchdown and helped earn him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Reed then went out the next week and tied for the team lead with eight tackles and notched his only sack of the season in a 13-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Ravens followed that with a critical road trip to Dallas, where they upended the Cowboys 33-24. Reed's two interceptions played a large part in Baltimore bouncing back from their losing effort.
In the regular-season finale, Reed again came up in the clutch. The former first-round draft pick (2002) picked off Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard twice. The first led to a Ravens touchdown just before the first half ended, and the second came with 1:42 remaining in the game to seal a 27-7 victory.
After the Jaguars win, Reed was asked if he thought about winning his second NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award, but the humble safety could only deflect praise to his teammates.
"I could care less about the defensive MVP and all that stuff," Reed said. "This is a team. I've been playing on a team my whole life in this game. I know individual stuff comes, but I can't do it without my teammates. I can't do it without the offense scoring or the defensive guys swarming to the ball, knocking the quarterback around. This is a team sport."
But as shown by his most recent among a bevy of career awards, Reed is a big reason why his team continues to win.
Fans can still vote for Ravens safety Ed Reed for the GMC Sierra Defensive Player of the Week. Voting ends Thursday at 4 p.m., and fans can pick Reed by clicking here.
