GREEN BAY, Wis. — By the end of his history-making night, Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry put on a cheese grater foam hat on the sideline and waved goodbye to the Lambeau Field fans.
It was a lasting image considering how Henry shredded the Green Bay Packers’ defense to carry the Ravens to a 41-24 victory, which kept their playoff hopes alive. Baltimore (8-8) needs Pittsburgh to lose at Cleveland on Sunday to keep the Ravens in contention for the AFC North title.
With two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson sidelined because of a back injury, Henry made sure the Ravens wouldn’t be eliminated Saturday night, powering his way to 216 yards rushing and four touchdown runs.
“It’s one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “I mean, it was hard, downhill running, but also a lot of making guys miss.”
Here is a look at the many crowning moments on Saturday for the player known as King Henry:
* Henry moved into 10th on the NFL’s all-time rushing list, passing Tony Dorsett. With 12,892 career yards rushing, Henry is 368 yards from moving past Eric Dickerson.
* He climbed into fourth for the most rushing touchdowns in NFL history with 122, which put him ahead of Adrian Peterson. Only Emmitt Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson and Marcus Allen have scored more rushing touchdowns than Henry.
* Henry set a record for most rushing yards by a visiting player at Lambeau Field.
* Henry set an NFL record with his seventh game of 200 or more rushing yards, which broke a tie with Peterson and O.J. Simpson.
“As a kid, [I was] growing up hearing those names and idolizing those guys,” Henry said. “For my name to be mentioned with theirs, it’s a surreal moment for me and something that I always cherish.”
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Henry’s dominating game came after the Ravens were criticized all week for not giving him the ball enough. He didn’t receive a carry in the final 12 minutes of Sunday’s 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots.
When it was brought up about how there was so much talk made about him not getting the ball six days ago, Henry smiled and said, “Oh, I got it today.”
On Saturday night, Henry carried the ball a career-high 36 times. He touched the ball on 48.6% of Baltimore’s offensive snaps.
Capitalizing on those opportunities, Henry produced 216 yards rushing, which are the fourth-most rushing yards of his 10-year career and the third most by a player this season.
On when he could tell Henry was in for a big night, Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley said, “When Derrick touched that ball, I was like, ‘Yes, they’re not ready.'”
Henry reached the end zone on Baltimore’s first two drives, scoring on runs of 3 yards and 1 yard. He then closed out the first half with a 3-yard run.
On his 36th and final carry, Henry showed he still had his burst when he raced 25 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown to seal the must-win.
“He’s a beast,” Ravens tight end Mark Andrews said. “He’s one of one, and it’s really just a joy to be able to block for him.”
Now, Baltimore has to sweat out Sunday’s game between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The Ravens need the AFC North-leading Steelers (9-6) to lose at the last-place Browns (3-12) to stay in contention for the division title. It’s Baltimore’s only chance at a postseason spot.
If the Steelers lose on Sunday, the Ravens would play for the AFC North title next weekend at Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale.
“I’ll be watching and praying, for sure,” Henry said of Sunday’s Steelers-Browns game. “I’m going to pray as soon as I get on the plane, when I get home in the morning when I wake up, and hopefully we get blessed for the opportunity to have to play for something Week 18. But at the end of the day, we’re still going to focus on finishing out the season strong, but we do need a little favor from Cleveland.”
