ExtremeRavens Posted November 3 Posted November 3 The massive jumbotrons behind either end zone at M&T Bank Stadium flashed to a tranquil Derrick Henry. Sitting on the bench having just come off the field, he raised his right hand toward the home crowd but didn’t so much as smirk as a graphic displayed beside him acknowledged his double-milestone day. He eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the seventh straight season, tying the second-longest streak in NFL history. He reached triple-digit career rushing touchdowns, now at 101, good for sole possession of eighth on the all-time list. “I give the credit to the guys who are blocking to make my job easier,” the always bashful Henry said after the Ravens trounced the Denver Broncos, 41-10. “All I have to do is just make my reads, get north to south and make the most out of the play.” Henry — who leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,052), rushing touchdowns (11) and rushing attempts (168) — is chasing more than his contemporaries. He’s quite possibly tracking toward the greatest season of any running back on the wrong side of 30 years old. Curtis Martin holds that particular single-season record, having rushed for 1,697 yards at age 31. Tiki Barber, Walter Payton and Thomas Jones were all 31 when they rushed for more than 1,400 yards. After nine weeks, Henry is on pace for a would-be-record 1,987. John Riggins leads the pack in single-season rushing touchdowns for 30-somethings. The former Washington star had 24 touchdowns on the ground in 1983, his age-34 season (Priest Holmes turned 30 in October 2003 and rushed for 27 touchdowns). Raheem Mostert is next in line, rushing for a league-leading 18 scores at age 31 last season. Henry is already at 11 just past the halfway mark of the season. Ravens vs. Broncos, November 3, 2024 | PHOTOS As for career totals, he’s nine rushing touchdowns from tying Walter Payton for fifth on the all-time list — a number possibly attainable this calendar year. Twenty-two more and he could tie Marcus Allen for third. Emmitt Smith has the record with 164. Against Denver on Sunday, Henry logged 106 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns. Coach John Harbaugh later stood at the lectern adjacent to the home locker room and tried to put this in perspective. Their ability to run the ball has been a staple of Ravens football since the dawn of the organization nearly 30 years ago. “But he is different,” Harbaugh said, now in his 16th year coaching in Baltimore. “He is adding a dimension that we have not had before. I don’t know, you go back to Jamal Lewis, maybe. Maybe. This is different.” Ravens running back Derrick Henry scores a touchdown in the third quarter Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. (Staff) When it was Henry’s turn to field questions about his own prowess, one reporter noted his reaching a league-high 13 total touchdowns on the year. Lamar Jackson was sitting off to the side waiting his turn. The quarterback’s forehead was buried in his hands. He heard “13,” lifted his eyebrows and whispered, “damn.” Then it was noted Henry’s 100th career rushing touchdown passed Hall of Famer Barry Sanders. Jackson perked back up with a toothy smile. Henry called Sanders a “running back superhero.” Henry is looking more like a superhero himself. His outstretched arms crossed the goal line in the first quarter despite a Broncos defender grasping his legs. Then in the third, Henry nearly tripped over a crashing defender and outran two more to put the Ravens up, 31-10. CBS broadcast cameras panned to a fan sign that read, “22 is gonna run through you!” Each Ravens win this season is accompanied coaches and teammates racking their brains for new ways to describe Jackson’s dazzling performances as he seeks a third NFL Most Valuable Player Award. They talk about Henry with the same reverence as he evades Father Time’s edict for aging running backs. “I grew up watching him when I was in high school and college,” rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten said. “Now I get to play with him and block for him.” “It never gets old when you see him break the gap and chug along,” left tackle Ronnie Stanley added. And fullback Pat Ricard called blocking for him “a dream.” Henry turns 31 on Jan. 4, the day before Baltimore’s regular-season finale. His contract holds him in Baltimore through next season, and he shows no sign of slowing down. The greatest running back after passing 30 was longtime San Francisco 49ers star Frank Gore. He sealed his Hall of Fame candidacy by rushing for 7,161 yards between that milestone birthday and his last NFL carry at age 37. Alongside Payton, Sanders and Martin, Gore is on the short list of players with nine 1,000-yard rushing seasons. These are all figures that could again accompany a stoic Henry on the jumbotron. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor Tim Schwartz at timschwartz@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/timschwartz13. View the full article Quote
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