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Derrick Henry started Saturday’s game the same way he ended it: by following Patrick Ricard to daylight.

On his first carry against the Green Bay Packers, the Ravens’ Pro Bowl running back lined up in the I formation behind Ricard, their Pro Bowl fullback, took an inside handoff from quarterback Tyler Huntley and wasn’t touched until he was maybe 7 yards into a 12-yard run.

On Henry’s last carry against the Packers, he lined up in the I formation behind Ricard, took a pitch from Huntley and was never touched on his way to a 25-yard touchdown.

Almost everything about Henry’s performance in Saturday’s 41-24 win was a throwback: the workload (a career-high 36 carries for 216 yards and four touchdowns), the running style (146 yards after contact, his most in a game since 2022, according to Pro Football Focus), the setting (near-freezing temperatures inside the iconic Lambeau Field).

But Henry’s formational usage was decidedly old-school, too. His 18 runs out of the I formation were the most in a single game by any ball carrier since at least 2015, according to Sports Info Solutions. His 140 yards were the second most. (Ironically, only Josh Jacobs, Green Bay’s starting running back Saturday, had more in that span, rushing for 144 yards in a 2022 game with the Las Vegas Raiders.)

With the Ravens needing a win Saturday to keep their playoff hopes alive, and quarterback Lamar Jackson sidelined by a back contusion, offensive coordinator Todd Monken turned to an increasingly reliable downhill running game. Lead zone plays were especially potent: Henry rushed for 123 rushing yards (7.7 per carry) on carries using the concept, according to SIS.

The Ravens’ lead zone runs unleash Ricard as a blocker at the point of attack, normally tasked with clearing out the play-side linebacker. But, like most zone run schemes, in which blockers move in unison to block an area rather than a man, execution can be fragile. The Ravens need their offensive line to get good push up front and their wide receivers and tight ends to win in tight quarters, or else plays can fall apart quickly.

When all the pieces click into place, ground games like the Ravens’ can make explosive plays look easy. Wideout Devontez Walker, whose listed weight is 198 pounds, had the key block on Henry’s 25-yard score in the fourth quarter by walling off Packers defensive end Rashan Gary, whose listed weight is 277 pounds.

“I think our coaches do a really good job of scheming up the run game and presenting all the different types of schemes,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday.

“But even just the zone versions — presenting it different ways, there’s different ways to tag it in terms of how you’re blocking the edges, how you’re blocking the linebackers, who you’re working toward and that sort of thing, whether it’s an inside zone, an outside zone, a cut-back play, a bounce play. These are all things that are part of it that I think have been put together really well. But really, the main thing is the execution. The blocking and the running have made them work.”

Whether the Ravens can port Saturday’s game plan into Sunday’s de facto AFC North title game is unclear. In a Week 14 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Henry had eight I formation carries for 47 yards (5.9 per attempt). But he finished with 25 carries for just 94 yards overall.

Despite having to defend Henry without injured rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, one of Pittsburgh’s key run stoppers, and despite having to account for Jackson’s run threat (two designed carries for 15 yards), the Steelers hit Henry at or behind the line of scrimmage 10 times, according to SIS. He had just one run for at least 10 yards.

Harmon, now healthy, is expected to have a significant role Sunday. Jackson’s status is still to be determined.

Henry, meanwhile, joked Saturday night that he might be a little sore early this week. But he should be back up and running at Acrisure Stadium.

“If you get this guy a head of steam, he’s a tough guy to bring down,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Sunday of Henry. “He proved that last night.”

Defensive downturn

The Ravens’ pass defense wasn’t expected to supply so many superlatives to opposing quarterbacks this late in the season.

But the Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers passed for 284 yards in Week 14, which is still a season high. The New England Patriots’ Drake Maye passed for 380 yards in Week 16, a career high. And Green Bay’s Malik Willis, making only his sixth career start, passed for 288 yards Saturday, another career high.

The Ravens’ starting cornerbacks, Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins, have been targeted relentlessly over the past month. According to SIS, entering Monday, Humphrey had given up the third-most yardage in coverage since Week 14 (234), while Wiggins had given up the fifth-most yardage (218). The 2024 first-round pick gave up four catches on four targets for 88 yards in Saturday’s game alone.

“It was really the outside-lane throws that you saw made,” Harbaugh said Monday, referring to Willis’ 200-plus yards on throws outside the numbers Saturday. “They were just too easy. We didn’t cover them well. And then the quarterback getting out of the pocket. We got [Willis] a few times, but he got out a few times. He’s elusive, but a couple of those were more our fault. Our rush lanes weren’t as good as they needed to be, and sometimes it was getting him down, too. He got out of our grasp once or twice. So those are the two things that were very much pinpointed to the problem in terms of the yards that were given up.”

The level of difficulty should drop Sunday. Steelers star wide receiver DK Metcalf, who had seven catches for 148 yards in Week 14, will miss Week 18 while finishing a two-game NFL suspension. Fellow starter Calvin Austin is dealing with a hamstring injury. Pittsburgh’s leading wide receiver in Sunday’s upset loss to the Cleveland Browns was Scotty Miller (three catches on seven targets for 25 yards).

Harbaugh on Monday praised Pittsburgh’s running backs and tight ends, but even that position room took a hit Sunday. Tight end Darnell Washington, the Steelers’ fourth-leading receiver this year (364 yards), broke his arm and is unlikely to be available for the regular-season finale.

“They have guys,” Harbaugh said, “so you game-plan for the guys that they have.”