The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on the NFL's opening night on Thursday, September 5, 2024. The game was highly anticipated and ultimately came down to the wire, adding that much more excitement to a back-and-forth contest. As exciting and heartbreaking as that game was, it's time to move on and look ahead to Week 2's matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.
No team wants to start their season 0-2, which is why it's paramount that the Ravens adjust their game plans accordingly. Adjustments are never an exact science which makes the tinkering all the more difficult. Speaking of difficulty, making the playoffs becomes much harder when starting 0-2.
To avoid a 0-2 start to the season and get back to .500, Bleacher Report's Alex Kay offers one adjustment the Ravens must make to "dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge" the dreaded winless 0-2 start to the 2024 NFL season.
B/R suggests in order to avoid 0-2 start Ravens must utilize Derrick Henry more
Kay argues the Ravens didn't properly utilize Henry in their Week 1 loss to the Chiefs. For paraphrasing purposes, Kay suggests Henry’s debut with the Baltimore Ravens was lackluster, despite a rushing touchdown. He wasn't able to effectively wear down the Kansas City Chiefs' defense, which is what he did best with the Tennessee Titans.
Kay outwardly says, "The Ravens need to feed Henry more often going forward. He's a volume-based back who gets better as the game goes on. Limiting the star back's touches and barely utilizing him as a receiver won't allow Baltimore to unlock his true potential."
It's not hard to see where Kay is coming from. Henry has been a high-volume back his entire career. He's been most effective when he can get a lot of touches, bruising, and breaking down the defense throughout the game before eventually exposing opposing defenses late in games. It's been a sound recipe for success for Henry, however, it hasn't necessarily brought team success.
In Henry's eight seasons in Tennessee, he went to the playoffs four times and appeared in one AFC Championship game. While Henry's ground-and-pound style might be great for wearing down defenses, it's safe to assume it also takes a toll on him. Relying on a soon-to-be 31-year-old for significant touches throughout the season might defeat the purpose of getting him which is to help them win the Super Bowl.
Henry does need to be featured more in the offense, which we definitely agree on. However, Henry was the free agent this offseason for the Ravens. Losing him in the regular season because he was overworked would be a terrible look.
Additionally, it doesn't seem like him being the bell cow was why Derrick Henry was brought to Baltimore. Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh expressed Henry was never going to get 30+ touches a game.
John Harbaugh chatted about Derrick Henry and how many carries he got against the Chiefs#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/TqRQcutiL1
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 10, 2024
Derrick Henry has always been a big workload back, so it's very interesting Harbaugh would move away from Henry's bread and butter in favor of a rushes-by-committee approach. Luckily for the Ravens, Henry doesn't and shouldn't need crazy amounts of touches for the running game to be dominant. Lamar Jackson is more than capable of contributing and he should be contributing.
The Ravens need to find a proper balance of Jackson and Henry while maximizing their efforts on a week-to-week basis. The Ravens finished Week 1 with 185 rushing yards, good enough for second-best in the league. If they want to be number one, they'll have to figure out the balance of power.