One of my favorite scenes from The Wire was D’Angelo explaining the game of chess to Bodie and Wallace in season 1. He explains that pawns can ultimately become almost every other piece on the board if they survive long enough except for the king. Because the king, stays the king. For Derrick Henry, that means nothing has changed except the city he plays for.
Henry got off to to a slow-ish start in Baltimore the first two weeks, as John Harbaugh and company figured out how exactly to fit him in with Lamar Jackson. After being mostly a non-factor in a season opening loss to Kansas City, Henry got more involved last week against the Raiders, gaining 84 yards on 18 carries, but the Ravens went away from him late in the game when they had a chance to ice it.
At 0-2, Baltimore was desperate for a win heading to Dallas in Week 3, and they rode the former Alabama Heisman Trophy winner to victory. He put together a vintage performance, and reminded everyone that he’s still the King.
There were a lot of doubts about what Henry had left in the tank this offseason when the Titans were comfortable letting him leave Nashville after 8 seasons and 9500 rushing yards. The average running back has a short shelf life, and Henry turned 30 in January, an age long thought to be the end of the line for backs.
But Henry is far from the average running back. As the kids say, he’s built different. He’s a physical freak who takes care of his body, and somehow, someway, gets better as the game goes on. When everyone else is tired, Henry is just getting going. 240+ pounds running downhill at you is a terrifying sight, and armed with one of the most devastating stiff-arms the league has ever seen, he’s tough to bring down when he’s got a head of steam.
Henry surely had something extra in the tank for the Cowboys today. Dallas was one of those teams who undoubtedly thought his best days were behind him. It’s a place Henry had interest in signing this offseason, but the call never came.
Cowboys fans could have been watching Henry with the star on his helmet, slicing and dicing and pile-driving through defenders for an offense in sore need of a spark on the ground. Instead, they got to watch Henry run through their defense, spiking defenders’ heads off the turf.
Henry carried the ball 25-times for 151-yards and scored a couple of touchdowns. He still looks like one of the best backs in the league. Later this year, he’ll eclipse 10,000 career rushing yards, and another good couple of seasons will make the Crimson Tide legend a shoe-in for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
