Ravens RB's Mistake Shouldn't Overshadow Bounce-Back

Sunday night's high-stakes matchup didn't follow the ending that anyone could have anticipated during the meat of the game, even though the Baltimore Ravens met their demise in an all-too-familiar environment.

In what once looked like a coronation for the Ravens' season of change, a summer spent with their taking contention as seriously as they have in recent years, they blew a 15-point lead in the final quarter of their season opener to the Buffalo Bills, completely flopping in their attempt to ward off their most recent playoff exit to the same team.

Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) runs with the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Derrick Henry certainly couldn't have seen the ugly collapse coming, with his late-game fumble eclipsing what'll go down as a strong statistical performance, even by his towering standards.

He crossed the 100-yard threshold with 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter in the Baltimore Ravens' last-second 41-40 loss to the Bills, totaling 167 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His first end zone strike was the team's first of the season, when he finished off one of his patented long runs by publicly dispatching several would-be tacklers.

Even with the various stars dotting the Ravens' roster and with his untimely mistake, he remained the most obvious tertiary playmaker in tilting the high-stakes matchup in Baltimore's favor through the first three quarters.

DERRICK HENRY STIFF ARM TOUCHDOWN.

BALvsBUF on NBC
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— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2025

That's the sort of level of play that many fans have grown desensitized to. The first-ballot Hall of Fame running back continues NFL records, now fully possessing the sixth spot on the all-time rushing touchdown leaderboard with 107, passing league legend Jim Brown to further solidify the Ravens' distinguished place in the history of the game and atop Baltimore's layered scouting report.

As highly as Henry's set expectations for himself, this was a far cry from the star's season debut from a year ago.

The Ravens were asked to start that season against their most recent playoff foil, making a trip to visit the Kansas City Chiefs in a situation that mirrors their kicking off this upcoming campaign in the Bills' territory. Henry, set to play his first-ever NFL game out of a Tennessee Titans uniform, made for one of the most anticipated players to watch in that 2024's opening night, and he disappointed.

He only managed 46 yards, a season-low when everyone was watching, as were his 3.5 yards per attempt on 13 carries. He still got his rushing touchdown, one of his 16 that helped him lead the league in scores on the ground, but failed to look the part of the big-name addition that he was flagged as.

The Ravens could have used that win, with Jackson falling to an all-time record of 1-5 to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that he's yet to make up for. Henry bounced back, though, going on to accumulate 2,114 all-purpose yards in yet-another appearance on one of the NFL's All-Pro teams.

He and Lamar Jackson went on to combine for one of the league's deadliest scoring tandems from then on, and picked up right where they left off before their team allowed one of the most clutch half hours of Josh Allen's professional career. The Bills needed the Ravens to cough up their costliest drop of the season in advancing to last winter's AFC Championship Game, but the Bills quarterback completely backed up his recent MVP win on the first chance he got.

The Ravens looked to prove their resilience with a team-wide get-back, and now fall to yet another conference rival in getting this season started as Henry's big night goes up in smoke.

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