ExtremeRavens Posted 8 hours ago Posted 8 hours ago Lamar Jackson went down clutching his back, and with him went the Ravens’ increasingly thin margin for error. The crowd noise inside M&T Bank Stadium faded into unease Sunday night as the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player rolled onto his side after Patriots safety Craig Woodson’s knee connected with Jackson’s lower back. In that moment, the Ravens’ path forward should have been unmistakable. Future Hall of Fame running back Derrick Henry flattened the heavyweight Patriots all evening. Early in the fourth quarter, he ripped off four straight runs for 32 yards, punctuated by his 2-yard rushing touchdown that pushed Baltimore ahead 24-13 with 12:50 remaining. With Jackson sidelined and an 11-point fourth-quarter lead in hand, the Ravens looked positioned to close. Then Henry disappeared. Vanished. Poof. Like Casper the Friendly Ghost. But it wasn’t his own doing. Over Baltimore’s next two possessions — nine offensive plays representing the most important moments of the season — Henry did not receive a single touch. Perhaps more troubling, he did not see the field again for a single snap. Zero touches. Zero snaps. Zero! The Ravens didn’t lose this critical Week 16 prime time contest because Jackson went down with his fifth reported injury this season. Baltimore lost because the coaching staff inexplicably stopped feeding the King. That failure falls squarely on offensive coordinator Todd Monken, whose decisions turned a manageable situation into a self-inflicted crisis. For whatever reason, Monken veered away from the simplest, safest option available to him. It’s not the first time Monken wasted Henry in a devastating loss either. “Looking back, would I rather have had Derrick starting the drive? Yes,” coach John Harbaugh said. “But Derrick was kind of ready for Keaton Mitchell to start that drive. And then he was planning on coming in next. So, they were working that rotation.” A rotation? With the season hanging in the balance and backup quarterback Tyler Huntley in? C’mon. Rolling out a running back rotation with your backs against the wall is some type of comedy. To Mitchell’s credit, the 5-foot-8 speedster has provided some juice as a change-of-pace tailback over his three seasons, but don’t get it twisted — he’s not even a fraction of the challenge that Henry, a 6-foot-2, four-time All-Pro, consistently presents. Treating those options, even reserve Rasheen Ali got on the field again before Henry, as being interchangeable was a reckless decision that brought consequences Baltimore will now suffer from. The Mitchell experiment also wasn’t even working. Mitchell touted the football a season-high nine times against New England, but averaged just 1.4 yards per attempt, representing a single-game career low. Along the way, Baltimore’s offense stalled while its most physically imposing weapon stood idle on the sideline. Despite not seeing the field again after his second rushing touchdown, Henry finished with a game-high 128 rushing yards across 18 carries (7.1 average). Those final 12 minutes and 50 seconds might ultimately define Baltimore’s highly disappointing season. With everything on the line, the Ravens handed a winnable game away like an early Christmas gift for the visitors. The defense folded like wrapping paper against Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, but let’s be real, Henry should’ve been draining the clock rather than riding the bench. Harbaugh, at least, acknowledged the season-defying mistake. “I don’t like the drive at all,” Harbaugh said in reference to Henry not playing over the offense’s final two possessions. “But we’re rotating those guys throughout the game as two backs. But yes, [on a] game-winning drive, do I want Derrick Henry on the field? Sure, I do want him on the field.” Why not step in then? Monken might dial up the personnel and call the plays, but Harbaugh owns the operation. Leadership in tense moments should require intervention. Henry sat out nine straight plays before wide receiver Zay Flowers coughed up his NFL-leading third lost fumble to effectively seal the team’s bitter fate. The damage, though, was done long before the ball was punched from Flowers’ apparently loose grip. Monken, Harbaugh and the Ravens had already surrendered their advantage. With Henry glued to the sideline, the Patriots rallied for a comeback victory that secured New England a playoff berth and shrunk Baltimore’s playoff chances from small to improbable. Was Henry surprised to not be on the field for most of the fourth quarter? “No,” he said. “We’ve been doing a rotation for I don’t know how many weeks. Keaton has been doing a great job in the run game, and we are both in there doing the best we can. “Any player would just like to be able to have the ball in their hands and make plays for the team just to give ourselves a chance to go win. I think any player would have that same response, if you’re a competitor, and you love the game — and I definitely love the game — but this didn’t go our way tonight. They were the better team, and that’s where they won.” Kudos to Henry for taking the high road. But Baltimore, even without Jackson, was in fact, the better team for much of Sunday’s contest. It’s a shame the coaching staff didn’t realize its wrongdoings once again as it all unfolded with Jackson and Henry together on the home sideline. With everything on the brink, the Ravens neglected to keep pounding the rock with Henry. It was certainly quite the choice this turbulent season may not survive. Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. Ravens running back Derrick Henry scores on a 21-yard run against the Patriots in the first quarter Sunday. Henry ran for 128 yards, but he didn't receive a touch over Baltimore's final two drives. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) View the full article Quote
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