After another fumble, Derrick Henry walked back to the Ravens sideline with his hands on his head, in utter shock. When he got to the bench, he couldn't resist slamming his helmet.
Henry had three fumbles all last season. He now has three in the Ravens' first three games, including two in the fourth quarter.
It's one of the most inconceivable aspects of the Ravens' early-season frustrations as they fell to the Bills, 38-30, at M&T Bank Stadium on "Monday Night Football" and dropped to 1-2 on the season. After the game, Henry apologized to teammates, coaches, and fans.
"I'm at a loss for words," Henry said. "It's not a good feeling. I'm going to keep working to get it fixed."
Henry was caught from behind by Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who landed a perfect punch on the ball to pop it out of Henry's hands. It came on the first play after the Ravens defense got a much-needed stop and Baltimore was trailing by four points, in position to take the lead in a back-and-forth contest.
It's too familiar to Henry's fumble in Buffalo, which started the Bills' ferocious 16-point comeback in the final minutes. This time, Henry's fumble with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter gave the Lions a crucial field goal that extended their lead back to a touchdown.
Henry's three fumbles last season came on 325 carries. In 2023, he had zero fumbles. In 10 seasons, he's had more than three fumbles just twice.
"It's just crazy," Henry said. "Three fumbles straight. I try every day to fix the problem, and it just keeps occurring, so I'm going to try and work on it, man."
Henry got the Ravens rolling at the start of the game with a 28-yard rushing touchdown. But he was mostly bottled up after that, gaining just 22 more rushing yards on his 11 other carries.
It comes after a game in which Henry was held to just 23 yards against the Cleveland Browns, his lowest output as a Raven. Henry's fumble in the first half of that game was recovered by teammate Tylan Wallace.
Henry had a monster start in Buffalo to open the season, rolling for 169 yards and two touchdowns, but the fumble stained the performance. After a tough first three games, "The King" will look to rule Sunday in Kansas City.
