{"id":21195,"date":"2025-01-22T01:08:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T01:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21195"},"modified":"2025-01-22T01:08:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T01:08:46","slug":"ravens-coach-wont-second-guess-use-of-derrick-henry-in-postseason-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21195","title":{"rendered":"Ravens coach won\u2019t \u2018second-guess\u2019 use of Derrick Henry in postseason loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry carries the football during an NFL playoff game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.(AP Photo\/Adrian Kraus)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Trailing the Buffalo Bills by eight points in an AFC Divisional Round game on Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens took possession at their 20-yard line with 5:21 left in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

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The Ravens ran the football on six of their next seven plays, with running back\u00a0Derrick Henry<\/a>\u00a0gaining 46 yards on five carries, including 17 yards on a third-and-1 snap and 5 on a touchdown tote with 1:37 remaining in the third period.<\/p>\n

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Trailing by two points, Baltimore bypassed the extra point in favor of a conversion attempt. Instead of another handoff to Henry, the Ravens chose to pass from the 2-yard line. The opportunity to tie the score failed when Bills linebacker Matt Milano knocked down quarterback Lamar Jackson\u2019s throw for tight end Isaiah Likely, who was open in the end zone.<\/p>\n

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Buffalo restored its eight-point lead with two fourth-quarter field goals, but Baltimore had one more touchdown drive in it. A scramble by Jackson followed by six straight completions moved the Ravens 88 yards for a touchdown with 1:33 remaining.<\/p>\n

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Again, Baltimore chose to pass with Henry in the backfield on its 2-point conversion attempt. Tight end Mark Andrews dropped Jackson\u2019s throw at the goal line, and the Bills held on for a\u00a027-25 victory<\/a>\u00a0and a spot in the AFC Championship Game.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a team effort,\u201d\u00a0Henry said<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s not on (Andrews). We\u2019re all in this together. He\u2019s a warrior, and there\u2019s a lot to be proud about from this season for us as a group. We\u2019re always going to back him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Henry ran for 1,921 yards \u2013 the 11th-highest total in NFL history — during the 2024 regular season, including\u00a0199 in a 35-10 regular-season victory over Buffalo\u00a0<\/a>on Sept 29.<\/p>\n

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On Sunday, Henry ran for 84 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries. He carried the football only twice after his third-quarter score.<\/p>\n

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In its first season with the former\u00a0Alabama\u00a0<\/a>All-American in its backfield, Baltimore posted an 10-0 record when Henry ran for at least 85 yards and a 3-6 record when he did not.<\/p>\n

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Ravens coach John Harbaugh was asked after Sunday\u2019s loss if Baltimore should have used Henry more.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t second-guess any of that,\u201d\u00a0Harbaugh said<\/a>. \u201cWe did what we tried to do to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Henry said<\/a>\u00a0the running-game-fueled, third-quarter touchdown drive happened because: \u201cWe were just executing as an offense and trying to get some things going, get in the end zone and give ourselves a chance. It don\u2019t matter, though. We lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Baltimore lost even though the Ravens outgained the Bills 416-273 in yardage. But Baltimore lost three turnovers, and Buffalo didn\u2019t have any giveaways.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou never want to have turnovers,\u201d\u00a0Henry said<\/a>. \u201cIt gives the other team momentum. We had three today. That hurt us. We fought back. It just wasn\u2019t enough. They were the better team.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jackson could wind up as the NFL Most Valuable Player for the 2024 season. But he had an interception and a fumble against Buffalo. During the previous 18 games this season, Jackson had four interceptions and five lost fumbles.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI came in being a teammate and found a brother,\u201d\u00a0said Henry<\/a>, who signed with Baltimore as a free agent in March. \u201cLamar is what makes this team go, and he\u2019s the reason why we still had a chance, so I\u2019d tell him the same thing: Hold his head high. He\u2019s a Hall of Fame player, had a great season. It\u2019s a team effort. We came up short together. It\u2019s not on him. Forget what anybody else outside of what we got going on says. We believe in him, and we\u2019re always going to be behind his back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On Sunday, Henry became the seventh NFL player with 1,000 postseason rushing yards. In nine playoff games, Henry has 1,002 yards and seven touchdowns on 198 carries. Every other player with 1,000 playoff rushing yards — Emmitt Smith, Franco Harris, Thurman Thomas, Tony Dorsett, Marcus Allen and Terrell Davis \u2013 is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry carries the football during an NFL playoff game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Highmark Stadium in… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nRavens coach won\u2019t \u2018second-guess\u2019 use of Derrick Henry in postseason loss - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21195\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ravens coach won\u2019t \u2018second-guess\u2019 use of Derrick Henry in postseason loss - 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