On January 22, 2012, former Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes and former Ravens running back Ray Rice shared a field in Foxborough with a Super Bowl berth on the line. The New England Patriots escaped 23-20 when former Bills kicker Billy Cundiff’s potential game-tying field goal sailed wide left. Nearly a decade and a half later, the bad feeling between those two hasn’t faded.

“I love animals. I don’t trust people that don’t got pets,” Spikes said on Bussin’ With The Boys. “That’s why I ain’t like Ray Rice’s little a–. I used to be out there tryna kill his little a– because I knew he was puttin’ his hands on women…I was supposed to kill him, like he was little. Like, come on now. I ain’t get hyped to play against him. I’m supposed to kill him. Like he run hard, he whatever. No disrespect.

“But this what I’m here to do. This my job. You ain’t gettin’ no rushin— all that s–t you was doing, it’s over now. I’m here. And Bill [Belichick] drafted me just to stop yo a–. All of that running s–t they were doing in that conference during that time. Bill personally said, ‘Hey, stop all of it and we can go to the Super Bowl.’ And guess what we did? [We stopped it]. Easy too.”

The rivalry between Brandon Spikes and Ray Rice originated following a devastating 2009 playoff loss where Ray Rice tore through the New England Patriots defense. That is when the then-Patriots HC Bill Belichick drafted Spikes in 2010 specifically to act as a physical, run-stopping countermeasure to powerful running backs like Rice.

“He’s a big, physical guy, but now that we’ve had him in our defense a little bit,” Belichick said about Spikes in 2010. “I think he’s got some unique skills…He does a lot of things well. It’s kind of not by the book, but effective.”

Standing at 6-foot-3, Spikes was built like a brick wall. While he lacked the elite speed needed to cover swift wide receivers or tight ends downfield, his ability to diagnose run plays and shoot through gaps to collide with running backs at the line of scrimmage was among the best in the NFL. In his career, Spikes racked up a total of 349 combined tackles.

However, the rivalry between Spikes and Rice turned starkly personal in March 2014.

Following the release of the TMZ casino elevator footage showing Rice striking his then-fiancée unconscious, Rice was indicted for third-degree aggravated assault. Just one day later, news broke that Rice and his fiancée had officially married.

However, Brandon Spikes, who had recently signed with the Buffalo Bills, became the first active NFL player to publicly break ranks and condemn Rice on social media. To that end, Spikes also called out the marriage.

“That’s him trying to save his image, duh. I don’t see how anyone can respect him,” Spikes wrote in a now-deleted post on X.

The rivalry between Brandon Spikes and Ray Rice was evident, and it stood for four seasons (2010-2013) as well. However, during his tenure in the league, the former Patriots LB also shared a heated rivalry with several other NFL stars.

A Look Into Brandon Spikes and Ryan Fitzpatrick’s Rivalry

While Brandon Spikes played for the New England Patriots, he had a divisional hatred for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was then leading the Buffalo Bills. To that end, during a 2012 matchup, Spikes even launched a violent hit on Fitzpatrick that completely ripped the quarterback’s helmet off.

In return, the hit infuriated the Bills. As a result, Fitzpatrick publicly slammed Spikes after the game.

“We’re not going to back down from anybody. Spikes is an emotional player,” Fitzpatrick said in 2012. “I think he’s a punk at times. He took a cheap shot at Scott in the first game, and he was doing a lot of jabbering and talking and getting out there. Not one of my favorite players. Not high on my list.”

Meanwhile, Spikes openly embraced the villain role, doubling down on subsequent plays by violently leveling Bills running backs Tashard Choice and Fred Jackson out of pure spite.

That said, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ray Rice were two of the standout NFL stars who shared a heated rivalry with Brandon Spikes. While Spikes still holds disdain against Rice in particular, it has been over a decade since the two actually faced each other on the ground.