Lamar Jackson’s high ankle sprain has dominated the conversation in Baltimore, and for good reason. The Ravens are 1-2 without him and sit last in the AFC North at 4-3 after a 35-13 loss against Cincinnati. Derrick Henry’s fall is a separate issue, and Jackson’s ankle won’t fix it.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote in the network’s Week 8 insider notebook that Henry looked a step slow the first time around and was filling at a high rate in short yardage. The numbers prove that. Henry had 27 carries of 1 or 2 yards, most in the NFL, and converted just 11 of them, a 40.8% rate compared to about 65% for running backs across the league, according to the Ravens’ Late for Work roundup.
Where did Henry’s production go?
Next Gen Stats has Henry with six fewer first downs than expected on those runs, the worst mark in the league, and he has one touchdown on seven carries from inside the 2. Overall, he’s averaging a career-low 3.9 yards per carry, with 579 yards and seven touchdowns on 147 attempts, according to NFL.com. He ran 17 times for 45 yards Sunday.
It’s not all Henry’s. Baltimore just lost a key rookie on the line, and we argued after the Cleveland loss that Henry’s struggles there shouldn’t be pinned on him alone.
Graziano’s concerns go beyond the run game. Cincinnati scored touchdowns on its first five second-half drives Sunday, according to The Associated Press, and the Ravens have been outscored 48-0 in the second half in their last two games, according to the team’s site. Trey Hendrickson finished his first game against his former team with two quarterback hits and no sacks.
“We’re not in a great place. We’re in an OK place with our record being what it is,” Jesse Minter said Monday, according to the team’s transcript. “We control where we go from here.” He added that Jackson is “in a decent place, but we’ll know a lot more on Wednesday.”
Both division losses came without Jackson, and both gave tiebreakers to teams ahead of Baltimore. Having him back for Sunday at Buffalo will help, but the Ravens still need Henry to start winning the 2-yard game again.
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