(This story has been updated to fix a typo.)
The Dallas Cowboys couldn’t afford Derrick Henry, Jerry Jones said. That was after the owner of the most valuable franchise in sports watched Henry, wearing a Baltimore Ravens uniform, light up his team, as the Cowboys fell to the Ravens 28-25 on Sunday.
Baltimore ran all over the Dallas defense to the tune of 275 yards on 45 attempts for nearly 75% of their plays from scrimmage. The Cowboys are surrendering an average of 185.7 rushing yards per game through three games.
Henry finished with 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had barely more passes (15) than carries (14), and he scored on the ground while rushing for 84 yards.
The loss of former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, now the head coach of the Washington Commanders, seemed bound to lead to some regression in areas such as turnover margin. The beginning of the Mike Zimmer era went smoothly with a Week 1 beatdown of the Cleveland Browns.
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In New Orleans last week, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s unit hung 432 yards on the Cowboys defense, with 190 coming on the ground in the 44-19 rout.
‘I think definitely the last two weeks, it’s going to be a clear target on us,’ head coach Mike McCarthy said. ‘We’re going to have to stop it.
‘Our run defense and the attempts on our run offense are clearly not where we need to be right now.’
When it came time for the Ravens to ice the game – finishing games has been a challenge for this team – they needed 9 yards on a second down. Jackson rushed to the left for 10, as the Dallas defense provided limited resistance one final time.
Jones said his confidence in Zimmer to right the ship is ‘very high.’
‘I’m glad we have him,’ he said.
In the first half, Jackson passed for 161 yards while Baltimore rushed for 111. The Ravens offense attacked from kickoff and scored on the unit’s first two possessions for a quick 14-0 lead. From there, Henry took over and was what the Ravens envisioned when they signed the 2020 Offensive Player of the Year to a two-year, $16 million contract this offseason.
‘I like our personnel,’ Jones said.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are averaging 73.7 rushing yards per contest. Rico Dowdle led the Cowboys in carries (eight), and veteran back Ezekiel Elliott, who reunited with the team that took him fourth overall in the 2016 draft, had three attempts for 6 yards. Dalvin Cook sat on the bench.
Henry lives in Dallas during the offseason and was hoping for a call from the team. It never came.
‘If Baltimore wasn’t interested, then I was thinking maybe Dallas because I live there,’ Henry said last week. ‘It’d be a convenient spot. But Baltimore was interested and I’m thankful.’
Both offensive lines for the Cowboys and Ravens experienced changes this offseason. Even with three new starters, the Ravens – thanks in large part to Jackson’s unworldly abilities – entered with more than 150 yards on the ground in each of their first two games.
And the Cowboys defense proved to be no reason to not run with the guy Jones opted against paying.