Losing two fumbles in the fourth quarter and fumbling three times in three games has tortured Derrick Henry's soul, but has not diminished his work ethic.
The star running back is doing everything in his power to avoid putting the football on the ground. Henry is paying extra attention to his ball-carrying technique in practice this week, working to be the fumble-free back he wants to be, starting with Sunday's game in Kansas City.
"I'm still pissed, mad at myself," Henry said. "I don't try to harp on it too much. At the same time, it's a problem that's got to be fixed. I'm working on it as hard as I can to get this issue resolved. It's tough right now because it's been consecutive weeks – back to back to back, which is crazy.
"Nobody can fix it but yourself. I accept it like a man. Everything that comes with it, I accept. It's my responsibility to take care of the ball for this organization. It's testing my faith right now. I've just got to keep believing and keep working. I feel like I let my teammates down, which I don't want to do."
Henry fumbled just three times in on 325 rushing attempts in 17 games last season. In 2023, he didn't fumble once on 280 carries during his final season with the Tennessee Titans. Henry had never fumbled in three straight games.
With that track record, Head Coach John Harbaugh is confident Henry's fumbling problems won't continue.
"He said he's his own worst critic, I like to say he's his own best critic," Harbaugh said. "He's very, very accountable. When somebody cares so much about what they're doing and they're so accomplished, and so talented and so good and works so hard – as a coach you just can't worry about that. I'm not worried about Derrick Henry at all."
Harbaugh Says Offensive Line Has Graded Out Well
Asked about the possibility of making changes to the starting offensive line, Harbaugh said the unit has graded out well when evaluated by the coaching staff.
"I look at [Offensive Line] Coach [George] Warhop's grades, they're pretty good," Harbaugh said. "You look at the whole game, coach has those guys playing pretty darn well. That one series [Lions' goal-line stand] was disappointing, but we're trying to get better."
Jackson was sacked seven times against the Lions, but those included some coverage sacks and times when Jackson tried to run to beat the Lions' spy. Harbaugh said the Ravens would look at making some adjustments to lower that sack total against the Chiefs.
"We have a lot of offensive options," Harbaugh said. "That's a game-to-game thing. We've been down this road before. I think we had the same conversation last year. We'll be fine. We're going to play really good on offense, I promise you. Our offensive line is going to play really good. We're going to work really hard at it."
Odafe Oweh Talks About Defending Patrick Mahomes as a Runner
Patrick Mahomes has the most rushing yards of any quarterback in the league through the first three weeks – seven more than Lamar Jackson.
While he's not nearly as fast as Jackson, Mahomes also presents different tough challenges for defenders.
Mahomes often pump fakes to get defenders concerned about his throws on the runs to leave their feet. He sometimes slows up near the sideline to draw penalties. But if a defender gears down, Mahomes may try to truck him.
Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh said the Ravens have already talked this week about how to defend Mahomes as a runner.
"Stay on your feet when he pump fakes. And when you get there, try to hit him legally – as legally as you can in today's NFL," Oweh said.
"We have to respect his playmaking ability, but at the same time be physical. He does a lot of things where he's running out of bounds and he's trying to hit guys. So we've got to be smart, but at the same time show him we're not scared to hit him."
Oweh pointed to his stomach and said the objective is to legally hit Mahomes there.
"Don't pat your feet. That's when he's going to try to dance with you," Oweh said. "Just beeline it. I feel like that's the best answer."
Harbaugh Hopeful Isaiah Likely Returns to Game Action This Week
Tight end Isaiah Likely has missed the Ravens' first three games, but he has a chance to play Sunday in Kansas City.
Harbaugh said he's hopeful that the playmaking tight end can retake the field. Harbaugh joked that Likely could have a "huge role" and be on the field for every snap, "or he might not be." The head coach isn't going to tip his hand.
Likely was limited in Wednesday's practice estimation.
"He's out there practicing. He looks good," Harbaugh said. "He had a good day, but we weren't at full speed today. We'll see how he does tomorrow when we get up to speed. I'm looking forward to that."
