Derrick Henry has been an excellent addition to Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens’ offense, and his impact goes beyond his nine touchdowns, which is the highest for running backs in the NFL.
Henry has become the reliable player they needed after they lost a lead early in the season and nearly did so again the next week. The 30-year-old running back rushed eight times for 56 yards during the final moments of Sunday’s game against Washington, helping secure a 30-23 win.
This victory marked Baltimore’s fourth consecutive win, and he has recorded 34 carries for 184 yards in the fourth quarter this season.
“I definitely want to be able to close the game so we can win and everybody’s happy and everybody’s high-fiving in the locker room,” Henry said. “You’ve got to take pride in that — to be able to finish games and have the ball last.”
Henry’s involvement throughout the game is a positive sign for the Ravens, especially after they lost a lead to Las Vegas in Week 2 and almost repeated that mistake in their next game against Dallas. Those worries have lessened because Henry is very dependable, and he has also caught a few passes this season, adding to his league-leading 704 rushing yards.
“He just needs a lane, and he’s going to do the rest,” said Jackson, who leads all quarterbacks with 403 rushing yards. “Every time there’s a little crease, he always just goes full force.”
Henry has had the most rushing attempts in the league in four of the last five seasons and is on track to do so again with 119 attempts through six games.
“Derrick Henry, you’ve got to feed him the ball,” receiver Zay Flowers said. “No matter who you got at receiver, no matter who you got at tight end, you’ve got to get that man the ball.”
