Making smarter use of Derrick Henry should be the priority for the Baltimore Ravens ahead of a run of 3 games in 10 days, beginning with a trip to face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in Week 15, and ending with a road game against the Houston Texans on Christmas Day.
How the Ravens use workhorse running back Henry will largely determine how the team fares across its next three games. It’s worrying then the Ravens have been overloading their leading rusher even when games have been all but won.
That’s something the Ravens “absolutely cannot do” against a 2-11 Giants team they are expected to beat with room to spare. The argument comes from Sharp Football owner Warren Sharp.
He pointed out how “when the Ravens are leading by 14-plus points in the second half of games, they have given 80 percent of their rushing attempts to Derrick Henry. That absolutely cannot happen in this game. It cannot happen in this game.”
Sharp explained how the Ravens need to manage the schedule because they “will not earn a first-round bye” in the playoffs, so face the likelihood of “seven-straight weeks of football” en route to a Super Bowl berth.
He isn’t guaranteeing the Ravens will win or even contest this season’s Super Bowl, but Sharp is saying they must take advantage of a unique opportunity to rest Henry and snap a curious trend.
Heavy Favorite Ravens Have Terrific Opportunity vs. Giants
Sharp explained the Ravens “are not gonna to get another opportunity to be a 16 and a half point favorite against the New York Giants.” To put that into perspective, the odds “make the Ravens the sixth-largest road favorite in the last 30 years and make the Giants the NFL’s largest home underdog since 1966, according to ESPN Research,” per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
The Giants aren’t built to play catch up against the Ravens, so the road team should keep Henry fresh for facing the Pittsburgh Steelers “on Saturday, on a short week,” according to Sharp.
Finding a solution for preserving Henry means the Ravens “must get Justice Hill involved” against the Giants. It’s a reasonable strategy against Giants defense allowing 4.9 yard per rush, the second-most in the NFL. The Giants will also be missing natural run defenders like nose tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches and middle linebacker Bobby Okereke, according to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News.
Hill could work the Giants over, but the problem with Sharp’s argument is Henry’s different to most backs around the league.
Ravens Can’t Waste Derrick Henry
While the majority of runners wear down during the business end of games, Henry is usually at his strongest. The 30-year-old has ripped off some of the longest and best runs of his career against battered and bruised defenses softened up during the first and second quarters.
That trait made Henry and two-time NFL rushing champion with the Tennessee Titans. It’s also maintained his star status since he signed with the Ravens last offseason.
You only need to look at a snapshot of Henry’s brief but brilliant Ravens career to see examples of his enduring talent as a closer. Examples like this 81-yard scamper late in the third period against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7, highlighted by SportsCenter.
Or when Henry powered for 27 yards on 4th-and-1 in the dying stages of the third quarter during a dominant performance in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12.
It makes sense Henry’s at his best later in games. The 247-pounder’s brute force simply wears opponents down.
Hill isn’t the same type of runner, and the Ravens don’t possess another punishing back. It doesn’t help somebody like exciting speedster Keaton Mitchell hasn’t figured much since returning from a knee injury.
Mitchell was inactive for Week 13’s 29-14 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles and “didn’t have an offensive snap” vs. the Chargers, according to Hensley.
The Giants present the Ravens with an opportunity to get Mitchell, 2024 NFL draft fifth-round pick Rasheen Ali or Hill more involved. Yet it might be simpler to continue letting Henry do what he does best.
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