The Dallas Cowboys can’t afford Derrick Henry, Jerry Jones said after the owner of the most valuable franchise in sports watched Henry light up his team in a Baltimore Ravens uniform as the Cowboys lost 28-25 to the Ravens on Sunday.
Baltimore overran the Dallas defense on 45 attempts and managed 275 yards on nearly 75% of its offensive plays. The Cowboys have given up an average of 185.7 rushing yards per game through three games.
Henry finished the game with 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Quarterback Lamar Jackson barely had more passes (15) than runs (14) and scored running points on one 84-yard run.
The loss of former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who is now the head coach of the Washington Commanders, seemed inevitable to lead to some decline in areas like turnover margin. The start of the Mike Zimmer era went smoothly with a win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 1.
Last week in New Orleans, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s unit forced the Cowboys’ defense to gain 432 yards, including 190 yards on the ground, in a 44-19 loss.
“I think that’s clearly going to be our goal in the last two weeks,” said head coach Mike McCarthy. “We have to stop it.”
“Our run defense and our run offense attempts are clearly not where we need to be right now.”
When it was time for the Ravens to end the game — ending games was a challenge for this team — they needed 9 yards on a second down. Jackson rushed left for 10 yards as the Dallas defense offered little resistance one last time.
Jones said he has “a lot of confidence” in Zimmer that he can turn things around.
“I’m glad we have him,” he said.
In the first half, Jackson threw for 161 yards while Baltimore rushed for 111. The Ravens offense attacked from the kickoff, scoring on the unit’s first two possessions, quickly building a 14-0 lead. Henry took over from there and was exactly what the Ravens envisioned when they signed the 2020 Offensive Player of the Year to a two-year, $16 million contract this offseason.
“I’m happy with our staff,” Jones said.
The Cowboys average 73.7 rushing yards per game. Rico Dowdle was the Cowboys’ best player (eight) and veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott, who returned to the team that selected him fourth in the 2016 draft, had three attempts for 6 yards. Dalvin Cook sat on the bench. Henry lives in Dallas during the offseason and hoped for a call from the team. But it never came.
“If Baltimore wasn’t interested, I might have thought of Dallas because that’s where I live,” Henry said last week. “That would be a convenient place. But Baltimore was interested and I’m grateful.”
Both the Cowboys and Ravens offensive lines have seen changes this offseason. Even with three new starters, the Ravens managed to gain more than 150 yards on the ground in their first two games, thanks in large part to Jackson’s otherworldly skills.
And the Cowboys’ defense was no reason not to play the man Jones didn’t want to pay.
