The Baltimore Ravens haven’t had the start to the season they would’ve wanted. Through four games, they sit with just a 1-3 record. This is largely due to their poor defensive performance. They are dead-last in points allowed with 133 and second-to-last in yards allowed per game with 406.8.
As if this start wasn’t bad enough, the Ravens were plagued with injuries in Week 4, including star players like Marlon Humphrey and Roquan Smith, who will both miss multiple weeks.
On the offensive side, they also lost Lamar Jackson to a hamstring injury, though he’s trying to play this week against the Houston Texans. While much of the blame has been on the defense, there is one mind-boggling statistic that puts the offense in a negative light as well.
Dan Orlovsky Tears Apart Ravens’ Coaching Staff Over Derrick Henry Usage
Ahead of the Ravens’ Week 5 matchup with the Texans, former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky found a statistic that he called “shocking and honestly unacceptable.”
“All right, found out something about the Baltimore Ravens this morning that shocked me,” Orlovsky said. “A month into the season, the Baltimore Ravens, with Derrick Henry, are the 32nd-ranked offense in the NFL when it comes to giving the ball to their running back on first or second down. Meaning, they run the football on first and second down with their running backs, the least out of everybody in the NFL.”
“The Ravens, when they do it, they’re second in yards per carry at six,” Orlovsky added. “So, to kind of just summarize it, the Ravens on first and second down give the ball to their running backs less than anybody in the NFL, but when they do, [they are] the second-best offense in doing that. The Baltimore Ravens with Derek Henry? That shocks me.”
In an offense where Henry is your running back, this is an unbelievable stat. The Ravens star has dipped below 1,000 yards rushing in a season just once since 2018, and he’s had nearly 100 rushing touchdowns during that span. Additionally, he averaged 5.9 yards per carry last season, which, in theory, would put Baltimore at 2nd and 4 on average if they ran him on first down.
This is shocking and honestly unacceptable pic.twitter.com/v3FFvTdrqW
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 2, 2025
Henry has faced a lot of backlash this season for two crucial fumbles late in games, but this stat shows that he’s not being used in the right places. Granted, ball security is important regardless, but it’s possible he’s not in that position in the first place if he is used properly.
Baltimore is gearing up to play the No. 1-ranked defense in points allowed, and it’s very possible they’ll be without Jackson. If this is the case, Henry will have to be the main player the offense relies on. Cooper Rush is a solid backup, but he’s not an MVP-caliber quarterback like Jackson.
With their defense’s continued struggles, the Ravens will need to score points against the Texans. If they do have to rely on Henry, it’ll be important that they get him going early in the set of downs.
Based on PFSN’s Defense Impact metric, Houston has the league’s third-best defense, and it will be interesting to see how Baltimore plays against them with or without Jackson.
