Baltimore Ravens fans have had a hard time moving past what happened last week, but in Saturday night's game against the Green Bay Packers, it was even tougher not to look back.
Running back Derrick Henry totaled a whopping 216 yards on a career-high 36 carries while getting into the end zone four times. It was a vintage performance from one of the league's best running backs over the last decade.
After the Ravens' victory over the Packers, the broadcast crew caught up with both Henry and quarterback Tyler "Snoop" Huntley, who started in place of the injured Lamar Jackson. Asked how it felt to hand the ball off to Henry on nights like this one, Huntley said it pretty plainly:
"He can get the ball every play if he wants to."
It might sound hyperbolic, but Ravens fans have been screaming this sentiment for weeks now.
John Harbaugh learned the Derrick Henry lesson way too late, and it could cost the Ravens
Heading into this game, Henry had notched less than 20 carries in three out of his last four contests. At the beginning of the year, Ravens fans remember Henry starting out on a dreadful note. Having those fumbling issues and taking six games to get himself over the 20-carry mark in a game, Henry was not the guy we saw against the Packers.
But, like he does seemingly every year, Henry comes a live more so as the season goes on. In December and January, he is unstoppable. Averaging a healthy 5.0 yards per carry on the season, you'd think head coach John Harbaugh would have learned his lesson by now.
It's all pretty simple. If you give the ball to Henry on a regular basis, good things happen. Yet, we all remember what happened the week prior to Baltimore's win over the Packers. Harbaugh didn't have Henry on the field when it mattered most and offered an inexcusable reasoning as to why.
To simply not have him out there in crunch time seemed hilarious, but Harbaugh heard the message lound and clear this time around. 36 carries against Green Bay should be more than enough to appease fans, but it could be too late.
In the end, the Ravens' season is over if the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The massive win over the Packers, huge game from Henry included, means nothing in the grand scheme of things.
If only Harbaugh had given the ball to one of his best players more often, and more regularly, throughout the season.