What happened to Derrick Henry? Exploring Ravens RB's quiet night vs Buccaneers
Derrick Henry had a quiet night for the Baltimore Ravens against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in terms of touches and not the end product, and people were left wondering what had happened. The running back was coming into this game on the back of five straight games of more than 90 yards, all of which Baltimore won, and he had at least 15 carries in every one of those matches.
However, going into the third quarter, Derrick Henry had six touches for 34 yards. With the Buccaneers struggling against the Ravens, the question was why the running back was not being given more touches.
Ravens RB Derrick Henry had season-low first half vs. Bucs
The reason was how both teams were playing. Tampa Bay was blitzing often and getting into the backfield, which meant there were more throws and designed runs for Lamar Jackson. In the middle of the third quarter, when Derrick Henry had just five touches, the quarterback boasted a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
He had three rushing touchdowns at the point and was connecting on throws short and long. Therefore, the Ravens could bask in the luxury of saving Derrick Henry.
And the wisdom of saving the running back became immediately clear in the next couple of plays. He took off an 81-yard run from deep in Baltimore territory and set them up for their next touchdown, which was a result of another perfect throw from Lamar Jackson on a fourth down. Derrick Henry himself would later get a receiving touchdown after having come into his own in the second half.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh stays true to his Derrick Henry promise during Week 7 Buccaneers game
While some people would have been surprised by Derrick Henry not being used much, it is something that John Harbaugh had already told us when the Ravens first acquired Derrick Henry. The head coach sees the running back as part of a larger offensive scheme than everything going through him. He said:
“We didn’t bring Derrick in here to be the guy that gets the ball 30 times a game. He’s done that before. That’s really not the plan. The plan is Derrick, Lamar, Mark, Isaiah, Zay, Bate, Nelly. That’s kind of the plan in this offense going forward.”
That is kind of how the offense was spread around against the Buccaneers as well, with Baltimore relying on Lamar Jackson's arm and setting Derrick Henry free only when needed. However, the running back is so good that a lack of touches did not slow his output in the slightest as he got yet another 100-yard game this season.