Regardless of whether they receive a final chance to sneak into the playoffs next weekend, the Ravens left Green Bay with a 41-27 win that John Harbaugh described as a “heart-defining” performance.
Unfortunately, they also returned to Baltimore early Sunday morning carrying a feeling of what could have been that goes beyond the health woes of two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson this season.
In the wake of last week’s collapse against New England and the criticism that ensued, it hardly took a genius to anticipate the Ravens giving Derrick Henry a season high in rushing attempts, especially with Jackson out with a back injury. But the five-time Pro Bowl running back far exceeded that expectation by carrying a career-high 36 times for 216 rushing yards — the most ever by an opponent at historic Lambeau Field — and four touchdowns to lead the Ravens to victory. It was needed on a night when Baltimore’s defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed until Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis left the game with a shoulder injury midway through the fourth quarter.
Henry and the ground game weren’t to be denied.
To say this was the formula Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken needed to be using all season is too simplistic when this maligned offensive line rarely performed and controlled the line of scrimmage to the degree it did against Green Bay on Saturday. But at a minimum, the dominant performance reinforced just how foolish the management of last week’s fourth quarter was when Henry was wearing down a banged-up Patriots defense and the coaching staff still stuck to a predetermined rotation and Keaton Mitchell for the penultimate drive of the eventual 28-24 defeat.
Not only did Henry play a season-high 47 snaps, but he even stayed on the field — or returned to it — for more third downs than usual. It was a refreshing departure from the counterintuitive approach of pulling a 252-pound monster in favor of third-down back Justice Hill or Rasheen Ali in all-too-many third-and-short situations this season. One doesn’t need to give the ball to Henry every time in such spots, but not even having him on the field in a short-yardage scenario only does the opposition a favor.
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There’s managing a player’s workload, and there’s losing the plot entirely. Harbaugh and Monken made sure not to let the latter happen for a second straight week, and Henry delivered one of the best performances of a future Hall of Fame career, moving into 10th place on the all-time rushing list and fourth for career rushing touchdowns in the process.
It’s exactly why the Ravens signed him two offseasons ago.
“I might be a little sore tomorrow, but I’m built for it,” said Henry about Saturday’s heroic effort. “This is what I train for. Like I said in the [on-field postgame] interview, my strength comes through the Lord, so I pray to him and go out there and do what I need to do.”
Henry didn’t do it alone as quarterback Tyler Huntley reinforced why he’s the perfect understudy to Jackson despite the organization’s efforts to upgrade from him over the last few years. Against the reeling Packers defense, Huntley ran for 60 yards — an element the Ravens have sorely missed with Jackson not being right physically for most of the season — and completed 80% of his passes, none bigger than the 10-yard touchdown to Zay Flowers on a critical third-and-8 in the final quarter that put the Ravens ahead by two scores for good.
Huntley’s ceiling hardly compares to a healthy Jackson, of course, but he’s now started Baltimore’s only two wins against opponents owning a winning record all season. That speaks both to his abilities and how badly the organization whiffed guaranteeing $4 million to ex-Dallas backup Cooper Rush, who never fit this offense and played poorly in two starts filling in for Jackson earlier this season.
Even after Rush’s unimpressive summer in the eyes of anyone watching on the back fields in Owings Mills, one could understand the Ravens going with him for the Week 5 tilt with Houston, a game they were very unlikely to win even with Huntley playing when citing the prominent names out with injuries for that embarrassing defeat. But starting Huntley against the Los Angeles Rams the following week would have given Baltimore a much better chance in what amounted to a frustrating 17-3 loss.
Earning just one more win by using Henry more wisely last week or turning to Huntley more quickly in October would have been the difference in guaranteeing a Week 18 AFC North title game in Pittsburgh rather than Baltimore needing to put all its hopes in the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon.
As Harbaugh said, the Ravens showed heart in flattening the Packers Saturday night. The problem was the faulty thinking that led to that point.
