Derrick Henry faces his former coach when the Ravens host Mike Vrabel and the Patriots
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Mike Vrabel knows as well as anyone how difficult it is to stop Derrick Henry.
“He’s a very unique player. Great speed, great power, strength,” Vrabel said. “He’s just a different body type than what anybody would go against, and so it’s unique in that regard. … We know what he’s about. Build speed and stiff arm and all that other stuff.”
Vrabel was Henry’s coach with the Tennessee Titans from 2018 through 2023, and now he’ll face his former running back Sunday night when the Baltimore Ravens host the New England Patriots. Henry is in his second season in the Ravens’ backfield, and Vrabel is in his first at the helm of the Patriots.
“He’s a great coach. He does a great job, and they’ve been doing a great job this year,” Henry said. “That’s why they’re in the conversation and the running for the top seed in the AFC.”
Baltimore (7-7) trails Pittsburgh by one game atop the AFC North. The Patriots (11-3) lead the AFC East even after last week’s loss to Buffalo, and New England can clinch a postseason berth with a win this week or a loss by either Houston or Indianapolis.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will have a prime-time showcase to boost his MVP case. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, who has won that award twice, has struggled after returning from a hamstring injury but looked better the past couple of games.
Disrespect?
The Ravens were a three-point favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook as of Thursday night — despite New England’s vastly superior record. The Patriots split with Buffalo, but that’s their only victory against a team that currently has a winning record.
Of course, the Ravens don’t currently have a winning record themselves.
Road-field advantage?
The Ravens are home this weekend, but Baltimore is only 3-5 at home this season. A loss to New England would make this the worst home regular season in franchise history. The Ravens finished 3-5 at home in 2015.
Baltimore is 22-5 in home prime-time games under coach John Harbaugh, but 0-2 this season.
New England, meanwhile, is 6-0 as a visitor this season, the only team in the league without a road loss.
You again?
For teams that aren’t in the same division, the Patriots and Ravens have played their share of memorable games. In 2007, Baltimore came close to ending New England’s unbeaten regular season, falling 27-24 at home when Tom Brady threw a last-minute touchdown pass.
Beginning with the 2009 season, the Patriots and Ravens had four playoff meetings in a six-year span, with each team winning two. New England won 23-20 in the AFC title game in January 2012 when Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal that would have tied the game. A year later, Baltimore went on the road and beat the Patriots 28-13 for the AFC championship en route to winning the Super Bowl.
The teams haven’t played as much lately. Baltimore won the last meeting 37-26 in 2022.
Going deep
One of the things that’s made Maye so dangerous this season is his ability to throw deep passes.
According to Sportradar, entering this week Maye ranked second in the NFL behind Matthew Stafford (32) and was tied with Sam Darnold, Dak Prescott and Jordan Love with 26 completions that traveled 20 or more yards in the air.
Maye said he’s had to weigh the potential of deep passes against shorter, safer throws since college.
“I’m just trying to take the plays that the defense gives me and realize that moving the chains and being second-and-4 versus second-and-10 is better — so just challenging that,” he said. “But at the same time, you’ve got to keep the defense on its toes for not squatting on routes and let them know that we can hit one over their head.”
Jackson’s status
Jackson hasn’t missed a game since Week 8 but hasn’t had a full week of practice since early November. This week he missed Wednesday’s practice because of an illness but proclaimed himself good to go Thursday.
“We just have to win this game and win out, basically,” Jackson said. “I’m not going to say it’s a playoff game, because I feel like every game is a playoff game. We’re trying to win.”
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AP Sports Writer Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl