The Baltimore Ravens are aiming to involve more of their offensive players in their home opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Baltimore coach John Harbaugh mentioned that the team wants to be versatile, despite adding four-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry in the offseason. The Ravens are working on creating an offense that can approach teams in different ways and don’t want to depend too much on the running game, which was the best in the NFL last season.
“We didn’t bring Derrick in here to be the guy that gets the ball 30 times a game,” Harbaugh said this week. “He’s done that before. That’s really not the plan.”
Henry had only 13 carries for 46 yards and one five-yard touchdown in a 27-20 season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Even though Harbaugh said this week that they don’t plan to rely heavily on Henry, he is expected to have more chances against the Raiders, who allowed 176 rushing yards in their 22-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1.
Las Vegas also needs to deal with quarterback Lamar Jackson, the current NFL MVP, who contributed 395 of the Ravens’ 452 total yards against Kansas City (122 rushing, 273 passing). Jackson missed practice on Monday but returned in the following days and was not listed on the injury report.
“He’s definitely as good as it gets, as dynamic as it gets,” Raiders defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said. “The definition of a dual threat. He presents a great challenge to any defense in this league. … But I believe in our guys, and I believe in our coaches and our scheme.”
