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Jamison Hensley, ESPN staff essayist
OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Derrick Henry noticed the top zone in the eye Monday night and then faked Tampa Bay Buccaneers defenseman Antoine Winfield Jr. with his feet and beat Yaya Diaby on the bench. However, Henry was prohibited from making any further landings when cornerback Zyon McCollum cut him out of bounds.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh congratulated Henry on the 81-yard run on the sideline and didn’t get the reaction he expected.
“He’s angry because they caught him at 11-[yard line]and I appreciate it,” Harbaugh later mentioned a 41-31 win in Tampa. “To me, that’s what greatness looks like.”
The Ravens confirmed time and time again the greatness seen on offense this season. Thriving on the slick plays of offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Baltimore has shredded defenses at an old-fashioned pace with every stiff arm, juke and long landing throw. The team leads the league in overall offense per game (461.4) and rushing yards (210.9).
With the hard work of Henry and the dual-threat talent of Lamar Jackson, Baltimore is on its way to becoming the most prolific offense in the NFL. Through seven games, the Ravens are within a week of creating 7,844 total yards, which could surpass the unused 2011 Orleans Saints for the most in NFL history. The Saints recorded 7,474 yards in 16 games.
The only ones who don’t seem inspired are the Ravens themselves.
“I think we’re playing pretty well,” he mentioned the Ravens’ departure of Ronnie Stanley. “I think we’ve shown sparks. But I think we still have a lot more to do and I think we can score even more. We can play better; we can execute better.”
Strip away the wider variety of consequences and the occasional handoff, and the Ravens were unstoppable with the ball. When defenses crowd the field to block the run, Jackson hits them by dismissing their supremacy. When defenses continue with their nickel formations, Henry is attacking them with every other big run. And when defenses close in on Jackson, both will buy themselves a week to create a downfield shot or fight for a primary. I’m sick.
Jackson is within a week of becoming the first NFL player to throw for more than 4,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards in the same season. He ranks fifth with 1,810 passing yards and 11th with 455 rushing yards through Date 7, making him the favorite to win the NFL’s Most Deserving Player for the third week.
“Sometimes I get in trouble, I’m not going to lie, because I try to watch him play and play at the same time,” Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman said. “I have to stop doing that, but it’s hard; it’s really hard, because I also want to watch and see what he’s doing. I see it on film, but it’s definitely better to see it live, for sure.”
Defenses can’t just focus on Jackson because Henry has been the best running back in the league. Averaging 124.7 rushing yards per game, he is projected to finish with 2,120 yards, which would break Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old record. Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in 16 games in 1984.
Henry was helped to block a modified offensive design or even Jackson, who paved the way for a 39-yard run in the fourth quarter. Baltimore outscored its opponent by 100 yards for the seventh consecutive game, tying the 1949 Eagles for the third-longest streak of all time, according to ESPN Research.
“It takes all 11 guys,” Henry mentioned. “[The] the offensive line is doing a great job; I mean amazing work. The receivers are blocking; [fullback] Pat [Patrick] ricard being the beast [and] the giant It takes all of us: us [are] everyone united to be successful and I hope it continues like this.”
On Monday night, the Ravens offense got off to its worst start of the season. During the first week of this season, Baltimore failed to qualify in the first quarter. And, during the first week of Jackson’s 84 starts, he was sacked twice on the starting team.
Baltimore didn’t panic, though. The Ravens players also didn’t create any emotional speeches on the sidelines. They responded by hanging 34 unanswered things, scoring on six direct possessions.
The goal of the Ravens offense is to be superior because of the struggles on defense. Baltimore is 5-0 when scoring 24 points or more and is 0-2 when held under 24 points.
“Our mind is just focused on the drive, focused on the play and we just go from there, try to put points on the board,” Jackson said. “We don’t really look at it as, ‘Oh, we’re clicking. We’ve got them.’ It’s like, ‘We’ve got to score every time we’re out there.'”
