Derrick Henry can be a difference-maker down the stretch as the Baltimore Ravens resume their effort to break down the Super Bowl door, says Ndamukong Suh.
Henry arrived to bolster the Ravens’ backfield this offseason as he signed a two-year, $16m deal with the AFC North team following eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans.
Baltimore asserted themselves as one of the NFL’s leading Super Bowl contenders in 2023 as they built a league-best 13-4 record during the regular season, only to fall short against the eventual champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Super Bowl champion defensive tackle Suh, who rejoins the Sky Sports NFL team this season, believes Henry’s introduction could take the Ravens over the line.
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“I think we’re gonna get a big year out of the Ravens, seeing what they’ve been able to do in the offseason,” Suh told Sky Sports.
“They have got Derrick Henry as a running back and Lamar Jackson is looking to be a lot more fit and be able to take that offense to a new level,.
“Their defense is always elite every single year, I think that’s something that the Ravens pride themselves on.
“They had a hard loss to the Chiefs this past playoffs, so I think they want to get revenge for that.”
Henry has led the league in carries in four of the last five seasons, as well as being the back-to-back rushing yards champion in 2019 and 2020. He enters to form a frightening tandem alongside the league’s most dangerous dual-threat quarterback in Jackson, who ran for 821 yards last season within a more expansive Todd Monken offense that has placed a greater emphasis on showcasing the league MVP’s passing talents.
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“It’s going to be interesting because you have got a two-headed monster. You have Lamar Jackson and you have Derrick Henry.
“But just Derrick Henry as a collective, he’s just a big and elite back. He catches the ball out of the backfield, can obviously run downhill against your defense.
“What I’ve learned when I played against him and been able to keep him under 100 yards rushing in multiple games when we played against Tennessee Titans in previous years, you have to gang tackle and that defensive front has got to not let him get started, because once he gets started, it’s very, very hard to stop him.”
It was ultimately on the ground where the Ravens seemingly fell short in the playoffs, with Baltimore running the ball just 16 times against a dominant Kansas City Chiefs defense.
Suh believes the true impact of Henry’s presence could become evident during the business end of the season.
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“It’s huge. If you don’t have a running game, especially in this day and age, it’s going to be very difficult because people just pin their ears back and are able to get after your quarterback,” Suh added.
“There are now very athletic defensive lines that are able to get after great quarterbacks. You don’t want to have your running back or your quarterback running for their life all the time.
“So if you can have that running game it opens up and it makes it a lot easier to be able to score touchdowns and make big plays.”
So often it has been Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense at the heart of Kansas City’s recent Super Bowl success, but Steve Spagnuolo’s defense would prove a defining factor in their 2023 triumph as they spearheaded the franchise to a second straight Championship.
Trent McDuffie and the now-departed L’Jarius Sneed starred at cornerback, while Chris Jones and George Karlaftis led pass rush boosted by personnel rotation as the Chiefs ranked second in yards and scoring.
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“That defense is one of a kind and carried them the entire way through that season, and so you have got to give a lot of kudos to the elite players they have on that team,” said Suh.
“Chris Jones got paid at the end of the season, he’s going to be hungry to carry on and go for another Championship. He’s a big linchpin within that defensive front.
“They had great corners last year, they lost Sneed, so it’s about being able to replace him and have the next guy step up.
“I’ve always believed that defense wins championship at the end of the day. Yes, Mahomes and Travis Kelce and all the great talent they have over there, but when you get into the heart of battle and into the playoffs if your defense doesn’t show up you’re going to be in a world of hurt.”
Watch the new NFL season live on Sky Sports, starting with reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Baltimore Ravens from 1.20am in the early hours of Friday September 6. Also stream with NOW.
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Source : Sky Sports
