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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Derrick Henry saw the end zone was in sight Monday night after he faked Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. off his feet and outran Yaya Diaby down the sideline. But Henry was stopped short of another touchdown when cornerback Zyon McCollum cut him off and knocked him out of bounds.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh congratulated Henry for the 81-yard run on the sideline and didn’t get the response he expected.
“He’s mad that they got him at the 11-[yard line], and I appreciate that,” Harbaugh said after a 41-31 win in Tampa. “To me, that’s what greatness looks like.”
The Ravens repeatedly showed what greatness looks like on offense this season. Flourishing under offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s creative playcalling, Baltimore has shredded defenses at a historic clip with every stiff arm, juke and long touchdown throw. The team leads the league in total offense per game (461.4) and rushing yards (210.9).
With Henry’s powerful running and Lamar Jackson‘s dual-threat playmaking ability, Baltimore is on the path to become the NFL’s most prolific offense. Through seven games, the Ravens are on pace to produce 7,844 total yards, which would surpass the 2011 New Orleans Saints for the most in NFL history. The Saints recorded 7,474 yards in 16 games.
The only ones who don’t seem impressed are the Ravens themselves.
“I think we’re playing pretty well,” Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “I think we’ve shown sparks. But I think we still have a lot more to do and think we can score even more. We can play better; we can execute better.”
If you take away the high number of penalties and the occasional turnover, the Ravens have been unstoppable with the ball. When defenses load up the box to stop the run, Jackson is beating them by throwing over the top of them. When defenses go with their nickel formations, Henry is gashing them with another big run. And when defenses get pressure on Jackson, he’ll either buy time to make a throw downfield or scramble for a first down.
Jackson is on pace to become the first NFL player to throw for over 4,000 yards and run for over 1,000 yards in the same season. He ranks fifth with 1,810 passing yards and 11th with 455 rushing yards through Week 7, which has made him the favorite to win NFL Most Valuable Player for a third time.
“Sometimes, I get in trouble — I’m not going to lie — because I try to watch him play and play at the same time,” Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman said. “I have to stop doing that, but it’s hard; it’s really hard, because I want to watch and see what he’s doing, too. I watch it on film, but it’s definitely better to watch it live, for sure.”
Defenses can’t focus solely on Jackson because Henry has been the best running back in the league. Averaging 124.7 rushing yards per game, he is projected to finish with 2,120 yards, which would break Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old record. Dickerson ran for 2,105 yards in 16 games in 1984.
Henry has been helped with blocking from a revamped offensive line and even Jackson, who led the way for a 39-yard run in the fourth quarter. Baltimore outrushed their opponent by 100 yards for the seventh straight game, tying the 1949 Eagles for the third-longest streak all-time, according to ESPN Research.
“It takes all 11 guys,” Henry said. “[The] offensive line is doing a hell of a job; I mean a hell of a job. Receivers are blocking; [fullback] Pat [Patrick] Ricard being the beast [and] the juggernaut. It takes all of us — we [are] all tied in together to have success and hopefully it keeps going.”
On Monday night, the Ravens offense had their worst start of the season. For the first time this season, Baltimore didn’t score in the first quarter. And, for the first time in Jackson’s 84 starts, he was sacked twice on the opening drive.
But Baltimore didn’t panic. The Ravens players also didn’t make any emotional speeches on the sideline. They responded by putting up 34 unanswered points, scoring on six straight possessions.
The pressure is on the Ravens offense to be great because of the struggles on defense. Baltimore is 5-0 when scoring 24 or more points and is 0-2 when held under 24 points.
“Our mind is just focused on the drive, focused on the play and just go from there — try to put points on the board,” Jackson said. “We don’t really look at it like, ‘Oh, we’re clicking. We have them.’ It’s like, ‘We have to score each and every time we’re out there.'”