​Sean Taylor during the Washington Redskins v. New York Giants match on Oct. 8, 2006.Credit: Joel Richardson/The The Washington Post via GettyNEED TO KNOWSean Taylor was a rising NFL star known for his hard-hitting style who earned two Pro Bowl selectionsHis former teammate Santana Moss says media narratives unfairly painted Taylor as a “bad guy” after his deathTaylor’s No. 21 jersey was retired by Washington, and he was inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame in 2021Sean Taylor had the kind of presence that made him impossible to ignore on a football field.The hard-hitting safety patrolled the middle of the field with a combination of speed, power and instincts that quickly made him one of the NFL’s most promising young defensive stars. But off the field, Taylor’s life was more complicated.“Football has a way of allowing you to live outside of reality,” says his former Washington Redskins teammate Santana Moss in “Blindsided by Tragedy,” the fifth and final episode of Investigation Discovery’s Game Day Murders docuseries, premiering Aug. 31 at 10 p.m. ET. “When I was in the NFL, no matter what’s going on in my life or in between those white lines, it doesn’t matter.”For Taylor, in between those white lines had become a place where he was thriving.Before entering the NFL, he was a football star at South Florida’s Gulliver Preparatory School, where he helped lead the team to a state championship and set a state record for single-season touchdowns. He went on to play college football at the University of Miami, where he was part of the Hurricanes’ 2001 BCS National Championship team and won the Jack Tatum Trophy.His physical style quickly became his calling card. Taylor was known for delivering punishing hits, patrolling the middle of the field and making plays on the ball. His teammates gave him the nickname “Meast,” a combination of “man” and “beast” and a fitting description for the imposing young safety.Washington selected Taylor No. 5 overall in the 2004 NFL draft, and he wasted little time establishing himself in the league. In 55 games with the team, he recorded 12 interceptions and earned Pro Bowl selections in 2006 and 2007.By the time the 2007 season arrived, Taylor was already a major presence in the Redskins franchise. But that season would end in tragedy.Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE’s free sports newsletter — sign up now!In November 2007, Taylor was recovering from a knee injury and was at his Palmetto Bay, Fla., home with his girlfriend and their 18-month-old daughter.Then, in the early morning hours, intruders broke into the house.According to the documentary, the men mistakenly believed Taylor was away at a game and were looking for cash. Instead, they encountered the injured football star at home with his family.When Taylor confronted the intruders, he was shot in the leg and suffered a severed femoral artery that caused massive blood loss. He died the