SI

John Harbaugh Couldn’t Explain Why Derrick Henry Didn’t Play Final 12:50 vs. Patriots

Stephen Douglas

Derrick Henry did not touch the field after putting the Ravens up early in the fourth quarter.
Derrick Henry did not touch the field after putting the Ravens up early in the fourth quarter. / James Lang-Imagn Images
In this story:

Derrick Henry had his best performance since Week 1 against the Patriots on Sunday Night Football. Henry rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns with his second score giving the Ravens a 24-13 lead with 12:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.

And then he never stepped foot on the field again.

Henry was not injured, but taking turns with Keaton Mitchell who finished with nine carries for 13 yards. After the Patriots scored a touchdown to make it a three-point game with 9:01 remaining it was Mitchell that jogged onto the field and got Baltimore's final two carries of the game.

The Ravens punted the ball away and watched as Drake Maye marched the Patriots down the field for the go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes remaining in the game. While the Patriots, celebrated Henry was shown on the bench shaking his head.

Asked about the decision to not play Henry late, Harbaugh admitted it didn't look like a great decision and said that ideally you would want Henry in under those circumstances.

"You look back on it, I think it's pretty easy to say he should have been in there or he shouldn't have been in there," said Harbaugh. "But we're rotating those guys throughout the game as two backs. But yeah, game-winning drive, do I want Derrick Henry on the field? Sure, I do want him on the field."

Mitchell came into the game averaging 10 yards per carry in the previous two games, but was ineffective against the Patriots. While Henry was averaging 7.1 yards per carry on Sunday night, Mitchell entered the final drive with seven carries for just nine yards. With Lamar Jackson out with injury, Henry looked like the Ravens' best chance to win. Then he didn't play and they lost, which makes sense, unlike the decision to not play him.

Henry, who turns 32 in a couple weeks, is up to 1,253 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the season and averaging five yards per attempt in his 10th season.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark

feed

Published
Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

Home/NFL