Buffalo is gearing up on a short week to travel to Baltimore to face a formidable attack that features a backfield of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Head coach Sean McDermott knows plenty about the tall task that's in front of them, and has nothing but the highest of praise for their opponent in Week 4.
"That one's an easy one. Not to answer, but to address," McDermott said when asked how to prepare for stopping or slowing down Henry. "I don't know that anybody's ever stopped him. It's an all day affair when you have the weapons that they have on offense. I was watching the game on TV the other day as we were prepared for meetings that night prior to our game. And I mean, talk about controlling the line of scrimmage and physicality. I know Coach [John] Harbaugh, I'm sure he's preaching that, because I know just being around him what he believes in, at least to a certain extent. They're a really, really well coached team and they were in full effect against Dallas. That's a good team, Dallas. We're going to have our work cut out for us. That's for sure."
Derrick Henry brings a new dimension to Baltimore
Henry brings an element to the Baltimore Ravens that they've been searching for in recent years. They thought they had that bruiser, big-play running back in J.K. Dobbins when they selected him in the 2020 NFL Draft, but due to injuries, he was never able to get rolling in Baltimore outside of a few big games.
Enter Henry, arguably the best running back of his generation, and this team is a nightmare to prepare for.
"I mean, it's incredible what he's been able to do with his career. He's a future Hall of Famer, a first ballot hall of famers, and he's a once in a lifetime type of running back. Really hard to stop. It seems like it's a marriage made in heaven with what they do and how Coach Harbaugh wants to play," McDermott said.
Henry currently sits at 9,783 rushing yards. He's above the likes of Joe Perry, Chris Johnson, Shaun Alexander, and Earl Campbell on the all-time list. So far this year, Henry ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing yards with 281 through three games, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Barring injury, Henry will become the 32nd player in NFL history to crack 10,000 career rushing yards at some point this season. Henry is also three touchdowns away from 100 career regular season touchdowns.
In five career matchups against Henry, the Bills have held him to 71.8 rushing yards per game, but he does have one monster performance from 2021 that saw him rack up 143 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Henry has seven total touchdowns in five career games against the Bills.
Buffalo also has, historically, kept Jackson in check. The two sides have met three times, with Jackson averaging only 104.3 passing yards per game, with four passing touchdowns and three interceptions. Jackson averages 50.7 rushing yards per game against Buffalo and has never scored a rushing touchdown.
The ground game is the key to stopping Baltimore, and everyone knows it. The difficulty is lining up and executing against a team that takes great pride in controlling the line of scrimmage and has so much dynamic ability in the backfield.
"It's always a challenge, even when you have veteran players, so with our new players that are playing this year that have never played against Lamar [Jackson], it'll be an adjustment for them. [We're] trying to get them to understand the techniques that you have to use, and how on point you have to be. You're never going to stop a player like that. He's just too good, and you just hope that you can win more than you lose in terms of the plays. But they're just so so powerful, as I said, and then he's just so explosive," McDermott said.
The Ravens are going to be a tough test, and we're going to learn a lot about a Buffalo team that has blown out their last two opponents. Baltimore's two losses this season were by a combined 10 points, while last week's victory over Dallas was a three point win. Bills fans should expect a close game, with a ton of reliance being put on the defense to win the attack point and shut down the best run game in the league.
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