The Ravens finally figured out they could let Derrick Henry power the offense
If you can bear the thought, imagine yourself — for just a second — in Rasul Douglas' cleats.
Yes, I'm asking you to picture Derrick Henry barreling in your direction.
Douglas, a Bills cornerback, was frantically trying to pinch inside. His teammates Taylor Rapp and Baylon Spector were busy getting blocked into oblivion by Ronnie Stanley and Mark Andrews.
Through the breach came Henry, all 247 pounds of him, beginning a sprint that would top out at slightly faster than 21 mph. To find anyone faster in M&T Bank Stadium on Monday night, you would have needed to ask Olympic gold medalists Quincy Wilson and Masai Russell to lace up their spikes.
What can you do? Is there a more frightening sight?
Douglas couldn't tackle Henry. He couldn't even catch him. He arrived late to the seam, then was one of the helpless Buffalo pursuers who could only run to keep pace as Henry powered 87 yards to the end zone, lighting the Baltimore crowd on fire on the team's first play on offense.
"Man, it was crazy, I was telling the guys it was so fast," rookie tackle Roger Rosengarten said. "I hear the crowd start getting a little louder, and I look downfield and Derrick's probably 15 yards downfield and had two guys to beat. And he beat 'em."
If you were wondering what the Ravens' offensive identity is — what it to be — it's this: running the ball and striking fear with how hard it is to stop them. The Ravens have found their path forward — a path that left tread marks on the Bills in a 35-10 victory .
Start by giving Derrick Henry the ball. Good things will happen.
If mowing over the maligned Cowboys defense was an opening foray into the Ravens accepting this is the team they built, bullying the Bills was a full embrace of this mantra. No, it's not rocket science. And yet it didn't seem to be Baltimore's Plan A.
Go back two weeks ago in this very same building, and it didn't feel as if the Ravens understood themselves . There were struggles along the offensive line that hampered them. Henry contributed to some of the problems with two false start penalties. But through two games the Ravens were 0-2, had rushed only 47 times (Henry with 31 carries) and weren't the smash-mouth team we all expected when they signed him.
At one point, between weeks 1 and 2, the Ravens confounded that vision themselves. Henry has surpassed 300 carries and 1,000 yards in four of the past five seasons. But coach John Harbaugh seemed to second-guess him as the team's workhorse on the ground.
"We didn't bring Derrick [Henry] in here to be the guy that gets the ball 30 times a game," Harbaugh said, citing the other playmakers in the offense. "He's done that before. That's really not the plan."
Having balance and keeping opponents guessing is all well and good, but limiting Henry's touches doesn't make sense. He's the second-best player in this offense behind Lamar Jackson. He gets more touches than the other guys in the cast because he's better at moving the chains than they are.
So finally the Ravens looked in the mirror, and things have changed with heavier sets, more snaps under center and more physicality. The Ravens have rushed 79 times in the last two weeks, giving 49 of those carries to Henry. Yes, it's easier to run while playing ahead, but the Ravens have been playing ahead they've been establishing the run.
That's what Ravens football is all about.
It's Jackson, nimble as in his Louisville days, bouncing outside on a keeper and taking an exaggerated leap into the end zone. It's Justice Hill twirling out of a tackle, dancing down the sideline for a key third-and-long conversion. It's the physical Ravens blockers mauling their defenders and leaving the green path open for business.
And it's Henry, maybe not taking 30 carries (he had 24 for 199 yards), but carrying the ball a whole hell of a lot as he plows through defensive lines as he has for years. After all, he is the King.
"I feel like we're establishing our identity," Hill said. "The coaches are getting comfortable calling those plays, calling those runs, scheming up everybody, and it's been a nice transition from the first couple of games to what we're doing now."
This is not to say the Ravens can't throw. Of course they can. If anything, Jackson's efficiency has benefited from the defensive attention being paid to the run game (25-for-33, 338 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs in the team's two wins).
After Jackson had a career-best passing season on the way to an MVP last season, of course you'd like to see more ambitious passes than hitting Hill in the flat. But, if Hill can carve up 78 yards in a 25-point blowout, Jackson can uncork the downfield throws when the Ravens really need them.
If the Ravens want to win, the path of least resistance is doing what this team was built to do: cram the ball down a defense's throat. Everyone can see that now, most of all Henry, who has spent the past few weeks working hand in hand with the offensive line, figuring out how to unleash all the potential this rushing attack has.
"This is why I came here — because of the culture," Henry said. "Our back was against the wall, 0-2. We just kept believing, kept fighting, and now we're back where we want to be."
After that inauspicious start, Henry leads NFL rushers with 480 yards. Ironically, he was 1 yard shy of his seventh career 200-yard game, which he ruefully attributed to his goal line fumble that Pat Ricard recovered for a touchdown.
"I might not sleep tonight," Henry said, smiling and rolling his eyes while crediting Ricard for doing the dirty work and securing the score.
All the Ravens need to do is stay committed to Henry. He'll keep the rest of the NFL from sleeping soundly.
