With Lamar Jackson set to miss the game against the Houston Texans, it felt like a safe bet that the Baltimore Ravens would run their offense through superstar running back Derrick Henry. As a one-man wrecking crew, Henry has shown multiple times in his career that he can carry an offense on his own.
The game against the Texans offered him such a chance. But through the first half of their clash, it had been far from the game that Ravens fans may have been expecting entering the contest. Add in the issues plaguing him all season long, and it quickly became a worrying sight for Baltimore.
What Happened to Derrick Henry?
Even though Saquon Barkley caught all the headlines, Henry was right on the Philadelphia Eagles superstar’s heels. Finishing the year with 1,921 rushing yards and a league-leading 16 rushing touchdowns, his impact in Baltimore was immediate.
However, through the first four games of the 2025 season, Henry wasn’t producing at nearly the same level. Tallying just 284 yards, he also had three fumbles to his name, a rare sight for a potential future Hall of Famer.
That worry continued against the Texans. With Cooper Rush at quarterback, the Ravens weren’t able to capitalize on the ground game in the first half, as Henry finished the half with just six carries for a total of eight yards.
It marked just the third occasion in his career that the five-time Pro Bowler had ended up with less than 10 yards in the first half in back-to-back weeks. The last time such a scenario took place, coincidentally, also came against Houston.
Derrick Henry at the half…
6 carries
8 yards pic.twitter.com/PrpV8sMrxH— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 5, 2025
That was in 2023, when he was still a member of the Tennessee Titans, and recorded under 10 yards against the Cleveland Browns in the first half, before following up with a 7-yard first half against the Texans the next week.
He was held to under 10 first-half yards in back-to-back games back in 2017 as well, with Tennessee, against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Seattle Seahawks — that was the only other time in his career under 10 in the first half.
For a team that is quickly hurtling towards its first 1-4 start in a decade, Henry’s disappearance has been startling, with the team ending the half down 24-3. If they want to pull off the miracle against Houston, then his numbers need to take a meteoric jump in the second half.
Unfortunately, that miracle did not come. The Ravens managed just seven more points in the second half, while the Texans added 20. Losing 44-10 was a brutal way for the team to reach 1-4 to start the season.
Derrick Henry TOUCHDOWN!
📺: CBS + @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/S2RHaXzLMb
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 5, 2025
Henry was the man to add the touchdown on the board. However, his night remained pedestrian, finishing with 33 rushing yards on 15 carries.
It was the second-worst total of his career as a Raven, after his worst outing came in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns when he finished with just 23 yards.
