Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are NFL’s most dangerous duo

Late in the first quarter of their Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens offense faced a 3rd and 4 in their own territory. Baltimore lined up in a 2x2 formation with two tight ends on the field, Mark Andrews in the slot on the left and Isaiah Likely in the slot to the right. Pittsburgh responded with five defensive backs, showing Jackson two deep safeties before the snap.

Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken called for a stick concept to the left, with Andrews running a stick route and wide receiver Tylan Wallace breaking toward the sideline on a quick out. To the right side of the formation, both Likely and Rashod Bateman ran in-breaking routes.

With Pittsburgh showing him a two-deep zone look before the snap, Jackson brought his eyes to Andrews in the slot on his stick route, anticipating that the tight end would find a crease against the underneath zone defenders. But as he was doing so, Pittsburgh spun their defense into Cover 1, putting linebacker Patrick Queen in man coverage on Andrews as a safety dropped down into that throwing lane. Jackson’s primary read was taken away, and the clock was ticking.

Jackson calmly brought his eyes to the middle of the field, layering a throw over the safety dropping underneath and in front of Likely on his crossing route.

In the blink of an eye the Baltimore tight end had a 25-yard gain, and the Ravens’ offense a fresh set of downs:

This was just one play, a snapshot in a single game let alone a whole season, but it is yet another example of the growth, development, and refinement of Jackson as a passer in the NFL. Of course, this has been a constant theme for the Ravens quarterback since he was drafted in 2018. After all, one of the first pieces I wrote since joining SB Nation centered on Jackson’s years of development as a pocket quarterback, and that was before I became a Formula 1 writer.

Life is funny like that.

But Jackson’s continued growth in that area, adding another club to an already-filled bag, is just one reason the Ravens are another victory away from their second consecutive AFC Championship Game. Another reason? The addition of Derrick Henry to their offensive backfield. The pairing of Jackson and Henry in Baltimore’s offensive gives the Ravens two of the most unique offensive players in the NFL today, and a pair of home-run threats on every single snap.

This is something the Steelers were acutely aware of heading into Saturday night, and Pittsburgh arrived at M&T Bank Stadium with a plan for dealing with that duo. When Baltimore flashed their zone read looks — with Jackson and Henry meeting in the backfield at the mesh point and the QB deciding whether to give or keep — a defender on the edge would crash down on the RB. This would be Jackson’s cue to keep the football and scamper to the edge, where a second- or third-level defender would “scrape” over the top and be waiting.

Frustratingly for Pittsburgh, the best schemes on the whiteboard may not translate to the field when dealing with this duo:

Then there is this frustrating fact for opposing defenses: With that offensive line and fullback Patrick Ricard in front of Henry, Baltimore can line up in heavy personnel packages like this and run the football over and over and over again:

All of which ultimately lead to the knockout shot. When as a defense you have the scheme dialed up that should stop a given play, in this case, another scrape exchange, but it does not matter because Jackson and Henry can just find a way to beat you:

On this snap, Pittsburgh’s scrape exchange has their defense in position to stop this play, if not exactly how the Steelers intended. Alex Highsmith crashes inside to react to Henry, but his explosiveness off the snap forces Andrews on the edge to block him, which slows up the Pittsburgh defender. That is enough of a window for Jackson to hand the ball off, but had he kept the football, Elandon Roberts was on the edge waiting for him.

No matter. Despite being forced to adjust his path behind the line of scrimmage, Henry deftly dips around Highsmith, spots a crease, and explodes upfield for a 44-yard touchdown. Any hope of a Pittsburgh comeback was erased in the process.

This is the problem for teams facing Baltimore this season. Even when you have the right answers, the Ravens’ pairing of Jackson and Henry might be too much to overcome. An evolving quarterback, the most dangerous run duo in the game, and an offense built to beat a defense in a multitude of ways is quite a challenge for a defense to overcome.

That challenge awaits the Buffalo Bills this weekend, with a spot in the AFC Championship Game at stake.