Lamar Jackson Is a 'Little Bit Sore' After Chiefs Game
Lamar Jackson missed practice Monday as the Ravens got a head start on their preparations for the Las Vegas Raiders following last Thursday's opener versus the Chiefs.
It's not worth losing any more sleep over, however, as NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday morning that Jackson is "a little bit sore" but the expectation is that he’ll return to practice Wednesday.
Jackson's 16 carries (for 122 yards) against the Chiefs were the most he's had in a game since the 2021 season. He was tackled on 13 of his 16 carries, hit in the backfield twice as a passer and sacked once.
Though it was clear Jackson was going all-out to beat the Chiefs, it reignited chatter about his long-term durability, especially considering his offseason weight loss.
"Lamar Jackson won't make it 17 games if he keeps absorbing — and delivering — hits like that," wrote Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio in this week's power rankings.
"He doesn't really surprise me, because I guess we've seen it so much, and it's just been a gift to Baltimore and to the Ravens and to all of our fans and all of us," Head Coach John Harbaugh said Monday.
"But being in there with him every day, I recognize how much it means to him, how competitive he is, what kind of a fighter he is. I mean, this guy wants to win, he wants to make plays, he wants to lead his team; that's what I saw on Thursday night. And all the football stuff, we just keep coaching, and he's the leader in that. But I'm proud of him. I have nothing but admiration for Lamar Jackson."
Derrick Henry Hasn't Lost a Step Despite Low Rushing Total
Derrick Henry's first game as a Raven wasn't necessarily fit for the "King," but there were indications that better days are ahead for the four-time Pro Bowler.
"Of Henry's 46 yards on Thursday [in the Ravens' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs], 33 of them came after contact, and his yards per carry after contact (2.54) would have ranked in the top 10 in the NFL last season, proving that he is still difficult to bring down once he gets going," The Baltimore Sun’s Brian Wacker wrote. "His rushing yards [per carry] over expected (0.33), per Next Gen Stats, were on par with last season's (0.31), too.
"And Henry's 2.8 seconds behind the line of scrimmage — the amount of time a back spends before crossing the line of scrimmage as the ball carrier — was identical to last season's mark, showing that he hasn't slowed down just yet."
There was a lot of talk this offseason about how Henry would adjust to going from an offense in Tennessee that mostly had its quarterback under center to a Ravens offense that regularly uses the pistol and shotgun formations. The early returns were encouraging.
"How did Henry fit in the Ravens' shotgun- and pistol-heavy looks? He had six carries for 28 yards in the formations, and seven under-center carries for 18 yards and the score," The Baltimore Banner's Jonas Shaffer wrote. "Last year, Ravens running backs Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, and Keaton Mitchell combined for 30 total under-center runs."
The biggest question coming out of Thursday about the 30-year-old Henry was his usage. He had 13 carries in the game — five of which came on the opening drive, including a 5-yard touchdown run — and was on the field for just 37 snaps, less than half of the offensive plays.
Henry had just five carries in the second half and was not on the field for the Ravens' final drive.
"It was a big departure from years past," Wacker wrote. "Henry had logged the fifth-most snaps among running backs since entering the league in 2016. And in four of the past five seasons, he was on the field for at least 64% of the Titans' snaps."
Head Coach John Harbaugh addressed Henry's workload yesterday.
"It's not just the one guy. We didn't bring Derrick [Henry] in here to be the guy that gets the ball 30 times a game," Harbaugh said. "He's done that before. That's really not the plan. The plan is Derrick, Lamar, Mark [Andrews], Isaiah [Likely], Zay [Flowers], Bate [Rashod Bateman] 'Nelly [Nelson Agholor]. That's kind of the plan in this offense going forward, so I think that evaluation will be best made over the course of the season.
"And I'm very confident, there are going to be games where Derrick is going to go for 100-plus [yards] or more, and you're going to be asking me, 'Why does Zay only have two catches?' That's probably going to happen during the course of the season, and that's going to be good for us. That's what we want to be. We want to be unpredictable that way. Where does the game take us as we get into the game?"
Likely Named PFF's Offensive Player of the Week
Fifteen NFL games were played after the Ravens' season-opening loss to the Chiefs, but Likely's outstanding performance Thursday night continues to be talked about. Likely was named Offensive Player of the Week by Pro Football Focus.
"Likely delivered one of the best performances of his career in the Ravens' season-opening loss to the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs," PFF's Gordon McGuinness wrote. "He averaged 3.17 yards per route run, earning a 90.0 receiving grade and an 89.9 run-blocking grade."
The Baltimore Sun’s C.J. Doon named Likely one of the winners of Week 1.
"In a game that required a Most Valuable Player-level performance from Lamar Jackson, it was Likely who emerged as the star quarterback's favorite target," Doon wrote. "The third-year tight end finished with nine catches for 111 yards, including a dazzling 49-yard touchdown that pulled Baltimore back within three early in the fourth quarter.
"For all the attention on the addition of running back Derrick Henry, the breakout potential of receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman and the steady presence of tight end Mark Andrews, it's Likely who showed the best chemistry with the reigning MVP and the potential to develop into the Ravens' top offensive playmaker."
Likely easily led all tight ends in receiving yards in Week 1, nearly doubling the second-leading tight end's output (58 yards on six catches by Las Vegas Raiders rookie Brock Bowers). Only Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (14 receptions) caught more passes than Likely.
Jackson Is No. 4 in Early MVP Rankings
As noted above, Jackson's performance against the Chiefs was MVP-like. Despite the loss, Jackson is already in the way-too-early MVP discussion.
The reigning and two-time NFL MVP was No. 4 in NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha’s weekly top five MVP rankings.
Jackson was the only player in the top five whose team did not win in Week 1. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was ranked No. 1, followed by Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was No. 5.
