BALTIMORE (AP) — Derrick Henry is chugging along, and the Baltimore Ravens are on track following a rough start thanks to a tried-and-true recipe of running the ball early and often.
Henry's 87-yard touchdown Sunday night was just the beginning of a 35-10 rout of the Buffalo Bills that gave the Ravens a second consecutive victory and got them back to .500. Henry, fellow running back Justice Hill and quarterback Lamar Jackson combined to rush for 271 yards — a ground game that reestablished Baltimore's identity at the perfect time to turn their season around.
“That’s kind of always what we’ve been about,” coach John Harbaugh said. "Running the ball and playing great defense. ... The run game is massively important to us.”
Who better to lead that charge than Henry, the 247-pounder signed away from Tennessee in free agency to give Jackson a dependable runner. While Baltimore's first two games brought a couple of touchdowns and mixed results, the past two have shown the good stuff that can happen when Henry has the ball in his hands.
The 30-year-old followed up his 151-yard, two-touchdown performance at Dallas with 199 yards on the ground against Buffalo. He also caught the fourth TD pass of his NFL career and first since 2019 and looks to be fitting in seamlessly in Baltimore's offense.
“Everybody’s blocking,” said Henry, who has 49 carries over the last two weeks. “Everybody’s just being unselfish for me to have success, and I want to do the same for those guys.”
Henry ran roughshod over the Bills even with the banged up offensive line missing starting left guard Andrew Vorhees. Right tackle Patrick Mekari slid over to take his spot, rookie Roger Rosengarten made his first pro start and Henry and the Ravens did not miss a beat.
“He doesn’t need much to run: You give him a little sliver of space, he’s going to take advantage of it,” Rosengarten said. “He’s ‘King Henry’ for a reason and he shows it week in, week out. We just got to give him a chance, and he’ll do the rest.”
Unlike the previous two games, there was no real concern about blowing a late lead. Still, a three-and-out and a Buffalo touchdown to open the second half and cut the score to 21-10 got players worrying on the sideline.
“Everybody was like, ‘All right, we don’t need to do this again,' so I think everybody locked in,” said safety Kyle Hamilton, who recovered Josh Allen's fumble after Kyle Van Noy forced it. "Offense did their thing, and I think the defense settled down. There was a mistake that happened, but I think we did a good job of resetting and then doing what we needed to do to finish.”
From that point forward, the Ravens expanded their lead by 14 points and cruised.
After a turnover-free game against the Cowboys, Jackson lost a fumble and Henry lost the ball at the goal line before Patrick Ricard fell on it for a touchdown. Jackson was kicking himself for the mistake afterward.
“I was ticked off about that because in the NFL a lot of games are momentum type of games," he said. "We scored three times, and then that fumble happened. It slows us down, but our defense was playing lights out.”
Fresh off signing a two-year, $6 million contract extension, Hill was Baltimore's leading receiver with six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, along with a handful of carries. He is showing to be the perfect backfield complement to Henry and a nice safety valve for Jackson, who said Hill “makes himself look good," not the other way around.
“Justice Hill has been very integral,” Harbaugh said. "I’m just really glad we got him re-signed before he broke out in the last two games. That was nice.”
Mark Andrews was one of Jackson's favorite options the past six seasons, a stretch that including being the All-Pro choice at tight end in 2021. He had an open-field drop Sunday night after Isaiah Likely made a 26-yard grab, and Andrews might be losing his grip on the top spot at the position on his own team.
In addition to Vorhees, nose tackle Michael Pierce missed the Bills game because of a shoulder injury. Cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring) went on injured reserve and is out at least the next three games.
21 — Number of prime-time wins for the Ravens in 24 games since Harbaugh took over in 2008.
Harbaugh and his players wanted to turn the page quickly to their next game, on Sunday at AFC North rival Cincinnati, after the Bengals picked up their first victory of the season. The Ravens opened as 2 1/2-point road favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl