The Baltimore Ravens have arguably the best one-two-punch tandem in the NFL in quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. We've seen plenty of great quarterback-running back combos in NFL history but very few, if any, have offered the type of running threat that these two do on a weekly basis for the Ravens.
Henry is one of the most dominant backs in NFL history, with no doubt. He checks in at 6-foot-2, 247 pounds and he's a ball of pure muscle and athleticism. He's the “hammer” as a runner, always delving out punishment rather than taking it. Henry is an aggressive and angry runner who seems to get better as the game goes on. At the same time, he has a blend of speed and athleticism that should be against the rules.
Fully trained and grown NFL defenders (not named Cooper DeJean) have struggled to tackle Henry for years. He's a weapon to have in your backfield.
And then there's Jackson, who is an enigma when it comes to NFL quarterbacks. For years, you were either a pocket passer or a runner as an NFL quarterback, and there was barely ever overlap in that.
Michael Vick was the most recent example of a quarterback who could punish defenses as a passer but also be an elite threat as a runner, but his career went off the rails for off-field reasons. Nobody since Vick has had that type of dual-threat ability until Jackson showed up on the scene in 2018. He won a Heisman Trophy at Louisville but still fell to the 32nd pick of the 2018 NFL Draft to Baltimore because there were concerns about his ability to win games as a quarterback and not just as an athletic marvel.
Jackson dispelled those rumors and more, to the tune of two league MVP awards…so far. More could be on the way for Jackson, but his blend of running ability and passing prowess got lost in the sauce in Week 13 when the Ravens fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-19.
Jackson passed for 237 yards and two touchdowns and he rushed eight times for 79 yards, but 39 of those rushing yards came on the last drive with 22 seconds left on the clock in what was essential “garbage time”. Without that run, he would have rushed seven times for 40 yards, which is just not enough for the Ravens to win those types of big-time games.
In fact, Jackson said even his mom knew that he left some opportunities out there as a runner against Philly. There were rushing lanes available, but according to his mom, he didn't attack those.
“My momma just told me that. She just cussed me out,” Jackson told the media after the game. “I'm mad. We're going to get after it. I'm not going to lie to you, we're going to get after it. I can't wait for this bye to get on. We got the Giants coming up, I'm ready to go. She said there were lanes I should have taken and ran. I was just trying to let guys develop routes. We had developing routes. I was just trying to go through my progression, but yeah, she [was] right.”
If Jackson's mom can see it — and no offense to her because she raised a two-time NFL MVP — that's something Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken will see when they flip on the film as well. They'd also be able to take a quick look at the stats to see that Henry touched the ball only 19 times as a runner. That's a lot for most running backs, but Henry isn't most running backs. Again, he seemingly gets better as the game goes on.
Derrick Henry has to touch the ball for Ravens more often than not

Sure, the Ravens were playing from behind for much of the fourth quarter, but this was a 14-12 ballgame in favor of the Eagles heading into the fourth. Baltimore didn't have to air it out or abandon the run to try to score quickly at that point, but that's exactly what ended up happening.
Henry touched the ball three times straight on Baltimore's first drive of the fourth quarter, but then the Ravens called three pass plays in a row and ended up punting. Their next drive started with 7:54 to go in the fourth after the Eagles scored and made it a 21-12 game. It was a five-play drive that saw Henry touch the ball twice as a runner and the Ravens turned it over on downs.
The point is this: Henry has rushed far closer to 25 times in some of Baltimore's biggest wins this season. He had 24 carries in a win against the Los Angeles Chargers, 23 carries in a blowout against the Denver Broncos, 24 carries against the Washington Commanders and 25 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Henry averages 20 touches per game in Baltimore's wins and 14.8 in their losses, so the formula is clear.
More touches for Henry as a runner and more options for Jackson to take off as a runner means more wins for the Ravens. It's a tried and true formula and it works because there's no other team in the NFL that has that type of duo.
That's an advantage the Ravens didn't really push against the Eagles and it led to a tough loss. With games against the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns still remaining after the bye, we'll have to wait and see if the Ravens and just and get back to their dominant ground game to close out the season.