During last season’s AFC Championship Game, Derrick Henry couldn’t help but think: What if?
“Sure,” Henry said this week when asked if he wondered what would have happened if the Baltimore Ravens had acquired him from the Tennessee Titans at the NFL trade deadline last season.
The Ravens had the NFL’s best regular season record at 13-4 in 2023. But in the AFC Championship Game, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated Baltimore 17-10 as the Ravens’ running backs combined for 23 yards on six rushing attempts.
Henry has nothing to worry about Thursday night. The former All-American running back from Alabama made it to Baltimore as an NFL free agent this offseason and will be in the backfield when the Ravens and Chiefs face off at 7:20 CDT at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
“I wish I could play in the game that day,” Henry said. “But yeah, it’s my turn now, so I’ve got to take advantage. It’s going to be a hell of a game. The Chiefs are always tough.”
Although it’s a different year, Henry said Baltimore officials, who were one win shy of the Super Bowl last season, will naturally feel Thursday night’s game a little more keenly.
“Obviously it will be,” Henry said. “They lost to them to get to the big game, so I’m sure they have that in the back of their minds and want to go out and play Ravens-style football to get a ‘W.’ But yeah, I’m sure they have that in the back of their minds, and I’m sure everyone is focused and ready to go.”
After beating Baltimore, Kansas City beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime in Super Bowl LVIII. The Chiefs have won the last two NFL championship games, have been in the last six AFC title games and have reached the Super Bowl four times in the last five seasons, including three.
But despite Kansas City’s success, Henry is 4-2 against the Chiefs, with 572 yards and eight touchdowns on 120 rushing attempts against the Titans. In four regular season games against Kansas City, Henry has averaged 5.73 yards per carry.
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“They’re a great team,” Henry said. “A great team for quite some time now. Their defense is solid. I think they’re solid from top to bottom, they’ve got willing tacklers, they’re disruptive, so you just have to play your best when you go up against those guys.”
“I was lucky to have success when we played against them.”
This has not gone unnoticed by Ravens coach John Harbaugh, whose team has won one of its last six games against Kansas City.
“It’s going to be a great feeling to have Derrick Henry on our side,” Harbaugh said. “It’s going to be a wonderful thing. I’m looking forward to it.”
Henry joined Baltimore as a free agent and received a two-year, $16 million contract. Although Henry was the most successful running back on the open market this season, he didn’t get the biggest deal after turning 30 on Jan. 4.
“My body feels the same,” Henry said. “It hasn’t changed much. I know the age difference, but my body still feels good.”
As last year’s league champions, Kansas City has the privilege of hosting the first game of this NFL season. NBC will televise the contest.
“At the end of the day, it’s just football,” Henry said. “I’ve been playing since I was five years old. But the atmosphere and it being the first game, at night, they’re just coming off the Super Bowl, it’s home at Arrowhead – you know the atmosphere is going to be loud and hostile – but that’s what you want, especially on opening night when everyone’s watching the first game of the year to kick off the 2024 season, so I’m excited.”
“It will be fun, I’m looking forward to it.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
