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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterOct 14, 2024, 01:05 PM ET
- Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
BALTIMORE — Standing in the middle of the locker room following the Ravens’ 30-23 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, Baltimore running back Derrick Henry playfully cut off a reporters’ question about how the exact play — a pitch run to the left side — sealed a victory for the second straight week.
“Shush, shush, shush,” Henry said with a smile about his 27-yard run. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
For the Ravens, there are no secrets anymore about their success. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense carried the team to a fourth straight victory to keep the Ravens (4-2) atop the AFC North, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2).
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Baltimore has developed a grit to finish off games, closing out Sunday’s win by scoring on its final five drives before taking a knee to run out the clock. The Ravens are playing with so much confidence that it doesn’t matter where they start on the field, putting together touchdown drives of 93 and 94 yards.
In this hyped showdown of the NFL’s highest scoring teams, the Ravens’ offense came away with bragging rights — even if they chose not to use them.
So, how good is this Baltimore offense?
“We came in here humble,” Henry said. “We’re being humble.”
With the Ravens being so effective running and passing the ball, how versatile is this attack?
“We’re being humble,” Henry repeated.
A reporter then asked: Humility aside, is this the type of production Henry envisioned when he signed with Baltimore?
For the third straight time, Henry replied, “Being humble.”
Lamar Jackson has helped lead the Ravens to four consecutive wins, including a win over the Commanders on Sunday. Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
The Ravens have been just as consistent on the field, clicking at a historic rate. Baltimore’s offense has totaled 2,722 yards, the most in the NFL and the most after six games in franchise history.
Jackson is compiling another MVP-like season, throwing for over 300 yards in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. Zay Flowers is looking like a No. 1 wide receiver, recording a career-high with 132 receiving yards — all of which came in the first half. Tight end Mark Andrews made his biggest impact in the passing game, delivering a season-best 66 yards receiving and scoring his first touchdown in nearly a year. Henry became the second player in NFL history to total over 600 yards rushing and eight-plus touchdown runs in his first six games with a new team, joining Eric Dickerson (1983 with Rams).
“It’s definitely what I expect from us because we’re capable of it,” offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “We have all the pieces necessary. Smart physical guys [who] can do their job at a high level.”
For a franchise that has long been defined by Hall of Fame defensive stars like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, the Ravens have been among the highest-scoring teams since Jackson became their starting quarterback midway through the 2018 season. Jackson remains the catalyst this season, becoming the only player in NFL history to produce over 1,500 passing yards and 400 rushing yards through the first six games of a season — and he’s done it twice. The other time occurred in 2019, Jackson’s first NFL MVP season.
But Jackson doesn’t have to do it all. He can get the ball quickly to Flowers, who posted the first consecutive 100-yard receiving games by a Ravens wide receiver in eight years. He can hand the ball off to Henry, whose 704 yards rushing lead the league.
“I think we are extremely versatile in what we are doing,” Andrews said. “We are going to take this game and get better from it and keep it going week by week to become the machine that we know we can be.”
Jackson is among the top passers in the league. He’s one of three quarterbacks to throw for over 1,500 yards and 10 or more touchdowns this season, joining Joe Burrow and C.J. Stroud.
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It’s difficult to slow Jackson when he’s spreading the ball around so much. Nine Ravens have caught at least one pass, and seven have touchdown receptions.
When Jackson sees the defense in man coverage, his first thought is: “Who am I going to throw it to?”
“Because I know whoever gets the ball on that play — somebody [is] going [to] come back and be like, ‘I was open,'” Jackson said. “It’s like, ‘bro [there’s] only one football.'”
The passing game has been set up by a dominant ground game. The Ravens are the first team since the 1971 Raiders to have 150 rushing yards in each of their first six games of a season.
Two weeks ago, in an overtime game in Cincinnati, Jackson pitched the ball to Henry, who ran wide left for 51 yards to set up the game-winning field goal. On Sunday, late in the fourth quarter, Jackson pitched it again to Henry, who ran wide left for 27 yards and put Baltimore in a position to win the game.
Like Henry, Jackson downplayed a Ravens attack that is averaging 29.5 points.
“[We’re] just proving we can win games,” Jackson said. “[We’re] just playing Raven football right now. I don’t think that really proved anything like we [are] the best offense. There’s always room for improvement.”
