The Baltimore Ravens going back to basics by feeding Derrick Henry the ball over and over raised questions about who called the offense during Week 17’s 41-24 win over the Green Bay Packers, coordinator Todd Monken or head coach John Harbaugh?
Many thought it was the latter making the calls at Lambeau Field on Saturday, December 27 for two reasons. First, the change in approach summed up by Henry getting 36 carries after the two-time NFL rushing champion was controversially left on the sideline for the decisive drive against the New England Patriots last week.
Monken bizarrely ignored Henry in the clutch moments against New England, but somebody let No. 22 rush for 216 yards and four touchdowns on an historic night in Green Bay. That somebody might’ve been Harbaugh, based on his holding a play sheet, something former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz noted “seems new.”
Harbaugh was told by The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer how “Some fans took note of the play sheet that you were holding. I don’t know if you normally do that on a week-to-week basis, but did you have any more kind of oversight of the offense tonight?”
The implication of the question was clear. Had Harbaugh taken play-calling duties away from Monken? It would make sense since the latter had already been accused of favoring the pass this season.
Yet, Harbaugh gave Shaffer’s question an emphatic response, “No. No. It’s just the same play sheet I always have.”
Whether Harbaugh’s comments should be taken at anything more than face value is up for debate, but there’s no doubt the Ravens overhauled their offensive approach with the season on the line.
Ravens Made Necessary Re-Commitment to the Run
The Ravens didn’t have much choice but to re-commit to the running game. Not when franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson was nursing a back injury, prompting backup Tyler Huntley to take the reins again.
Harbaugh likely also knew his own position was being questioned after the way Henry was mysteriously omitted from the game-plan late on against the Pats. The man in charge acknowledged as much when he agreed with reporters about a greater commitment to the run this week: “I do think that. We were intentional about committing to the run, for sure. I’m not going to downgrade that. I mean, it was our main deal. It was the [weeks] before too, but we did a better job of it,” per Ravens Vault co-host Sarah Ellison.
There was no mystery about the way the Ravens approached attacking the Packers’ defense, it was straight-ahead, brute-force football led by Henry.
Derrick Henry, Tyler Huntley Responded the Right Way
Henry was disappointed about his lack of work when it mattered most in Week 16. Just like the veteran knew he needed to make amends for a key fumble in that game.
Fortunately, Henry responded the right way by answering the call with bullish determination and elite skills to truck several Packers defenders. No matter where he ran, Henry found joy en route to “his 4th career game with 100+ rushing yards inside and outside the tackles. No other player has one such game in the NGS era (since 2016),” according to Next Gen Stats.
One of Henry’s best outside runs accounted for his fourth touchdown, this 25-yard run to seal the victory.
Plays like this one are why Harbaugh called what Henry did “one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen. It was hard, downhill running, but also, a lot of ‘make miss.’”
Henry was also helped by Huntley’s mature control of the run-first offense, as well as the Pro Bowl signal-caller’s ability to make key throws and scramble for tough yards in clutch situations.
Harbaugh couldn’t ignore how well Huntley performed, grading the QB2’s performance as “A+. A+. Give [Tyler Huntley] two pluses on top of that, maybe three. That’s how it was. It couldn’t have been any better.”
Huntley and Henry delivered by making the Ravens’ ground-based strategies work. Whoever designed those strategies, Harbaugh, or Monken, who has abandoned the run in big games before, the Ravens kept their faint playoff hopes alive by returning to their core identity.
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