The Bills have a (difficult) No. 1 mission: Slow down Derrick Henry. Time to 'put your big-boy boots on'

Quickly, the play was equal parts over for the Buffalo Bills and just getting started for the Baltimore Ravens.

Same with the game in September, which was a 60-minute muscle-flex by Derrick Henry.

Received handoff.

Peeked outside.

Shifted left and then right.

Split between blocks by tight end Mark Andrews and right tackle Roger Rosengarten.

Made Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas pay for taking a poor angle.

Ravens running back Derrick Henry plowed through the Bills defense for 199 yards in his teams 35-10 win in Week 4 at M&T Bank Stadium on Sept.

29.

Henry, the runaway human bulldozer, was off to the races for an untouched 87-yard touchdown, part of a 199-yard tour de force in the Ravens 35-10 rout.

Sixteen weeks later, slowing down Henry is again top-of-mind for the Bills, who host Baltimore on Sunday.

Corral Henry, and the Bills will advance to next weeks AFC championship game.

At stake for the Bills on Sunday night: Avoid becoming the first team in NFL history to lose four consecutive divisional round games.

Let Henry go crazy and the Bills will set an NFL record with a fourth consecutive divisional round loss.

Sometimes, in pro football, things really are that simple.

In his first year with the Ravens, Henry, who turned 31 on Jan.

4, carried 325 times, gained 1,921 yards and scored 16 touchdowns.

How did he and Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley not generate more MVP buzz? Henry carried 26 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns in last weeks win over the Pittsburgh Steelers; poor safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, like so many others before him, met Henrys stiff arm.

What hes done this year has been amazing to watch, Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones said.

In their first year under defensive coordinator Bobby Babich, the Bills run defense steadily dug themselves out of the un-amazing statistical crater created by Henry, rising from 30th (156.5 yards per game) in the league after the loss to Baltimore to a final ranking of 12th (115.5).

The Buffalo Bills will take on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

in an AFC divisional playoff matchup.

Since the Bills' first playoff game (a 26-8 AFL divisional playoff loss to the Boston Patriots at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo in 1963), the team has gone 6-9 in divisional games.

We just took a step back, reset and got back to our core fundamentals of what we do as a defense and we refined a few things, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said.

We always had it, it was just tweaking it.

And now, the biggest test of that tweaking and refining and improving.

Have fun, Bills defense.

Have fun tackling the 247-pound power/speed combination.

Have fun diagnosing the Ravens unique run-game system that is full of plays and eye candy.

Have fun focusing on Henry and quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Have fun with all of it.

You have to put your big-boy boots on, buckle your chinstrap and get ready to brawl, Bills defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson said.

I love games like this.

Ravens running back Derrick Henry.

Adjustments required The Ravens rushed for 271 yards against the Bills in the first meeting, third-most allowed since coach Sean McDermott was hired in 2017.

Henry averaged 8.3 yards per attempt and had carries of 25, 38 and the aforementioned 87 yards.

Jackson averaged 9.0 yards per carry.

The Bills knew what Baltimore would run, and it didnt matter.

A defense without linebackers Terrel Bernard (pectoral) and Matt Milano (biceps) and nickel corner Taron Johnson (forearm) had no answers.

A key adjustment for the Bills against Baltimore will be matching personnel.

If the Ravens go heavy a fullback or two tight ends the Bills should put Dorian Williams on the field more often as a third linebacker.

Play a traditional 4-3 front instead of the usual five-defensive back package.

Dont be stubborn.

Be pliable.

Yes, it takes an elite player in Johnson off the field, but tough.

The playoffs are no time for feelings.

Plus, solid early-down run defense will lead to late-down takeaway opportunities for Johnson and the secondary.

Johnson is one of the best nickels in the game, but it becomes hard going against (fullback Patrick) Ricard or Andrews or (tight end Isaiah) Likely, said NFL on CBS analyst Matt Ryan in a phone interview.

Thats one of the things Im curious to see, how (McDermott) and Bobby Babich decide to attack that portion of the Baltimore offense.

Williams led the Bills with 114 tackles before giving way to Milano after 11 games.

The most misleading statistic entering Sundays AFC divisional playoff game at Highmark Stadium is the fact the Baltimore Ravens ranked 31st in the NFL in passing yards allowed this season.

Im ready; I played the whole season, so Im ready to go out and play, Williams said.

Williams was told he would add a run fast/hit hard dimension to the Bills defense if he gets regular work.

Every game where you get to tackle somebody is my type of game, he said with a grin.

Getting bodies on (Henry) is the biggest thing.

Hell run through an arm tackle.

Henry enters Sunday with 49 rushes of at least 10 yards, and The Buffalo News analyzed each play.

Broken tackles were a theme.

On the 49 carries, he broke a combined 39 tackles.

The 2024-25 Bills' newfound rushing ability is doubly dangerous to opponents when coupled with quarterback Josh Allen.

The most common personnel group by the Ravens on those carries was two receivers and one tailback, fullback and tight end apiece (17 times), including the long touchdown against the Bills.

The second most common grouping was two receivers, one back and two tight ends (11 times).

Occasionally, the second tight end is masked as a sixth offensive lineman.

Defenses literally tried everything against Henry on the 49 carries, save for putting 14 men on the field.

He had 25 carries of at least 10 yards against a four-man line, 11 against a three-man line, seven against a five-man line and six against a two-man line.

Hes a strong dude I can only imagine how it feels for a (defensive back) to try and tackle him in the cold, said Jones, who was Henrys teammate with the Tennessee Titans.

Benefiting the Bills run defense was an overpowering offense that made opponents one-dimensional.

In 18 regular-season/playoff games, opponents had 149 more pass attempts than rushes.

But still, Seattle gained only 32 yards, Kansas City only 78, Detroit only 48 and New England 77 against mostly Bills backups.

What changed? A look at the three non-Bills playoff games in the divisional round.

We have professional men that understand when there is something that needs to be fixed, they fix it, defensive line coach Marcus West said.

Thats what pros do, and thats whats awesome about coaching professionals.

They created a mindset to fix an issue and they have.

Run defense can be divided into two parts: 1.

Want-to, the willingness to fight through double teams and a variety of blocks; and 2.

Teamwork, the front (or entire 11-man unit) working together and playing off each other, instead of freelancing.

Kansas City provided an ideal example in its Week 1 win over Baltimore when Henry was held to a season-low 46 yards.

The Chiefs muddied the middle.

On Henrys 13 carries, the Chiefs used four down linemen 12 times, and when they used a 4-3 front, Henry was limited to 28 yards on nine carries.

Defensive tackle Chris Jones and the other big fellas would move laterally to clog the interior, forcing Henry to stop, shuffle and re-group, allowing the Chiefs linebackers to pursue.

If you Google it, thats what everybody would say (is the key), West said.

If you asked Derrick Henry, he would probably say the same thing.

The key is to get as many people to the ball.

Four statistics to keep in mind as the Bills and Ravens prepare to meet Sunday in the AFC divisional playoffs.

Said Phillips: Hes a guy you definitely want to have him restart his feet to get going, because if he hits the hole, he goes from good to great.

Even if the Chiefs provided a blueprint, it didnt work for other teams the Ravens were 9-0 when Henry rushed for at least 100 yards.

He enters the Bills game with at least 138 yards in each of the last four games.

Its a great opponent and a really good team, Henry told reporters.

Yes, its going to be a heavyweight fight.

Ravens running back Derrick Henry rushed for 199 yards in a Week 4 win over the Bills, including an 87-yard touchdown on his first carry.

Matching physicality At opposite ends of the Bills locker room following Wednesdays walk-through practice, Jefferson who was signed along with Phillips on Nov.

6 was told this game is why he was asked to return to Buffalo for a second tour.

Were going to see, Jefferson said with a laugh.

Its going to be a physical game.

You have a quarterback (Jackson) who is super dynamic, and a running back (Henry) who is super dynamic.

They run a lot of different personnel and formations.

As a collective, we have to be physical and put our hands on them.

Jefferson has played 116 snaps, including only three last week against Denver.

But he and Phillips will be required to spell starters Jones and Ed Oliver in the middle.

Theyve played great, West said of Jefferson and Phillips.

Theyve brought the wisdom of being the veterans they are, and theyve fit perfectly because theyre great people and easy to coach.

Dawuane Smoot also is able to slide inside in certain situations, giving the Bills a minimum of five interior options to rotate in.

My brand of football, for sure, Smoot said.

They say, Hey, were running it here, stop us.

In six career games five with Tennessee and one with Baltimore against the Bills, Henry has averaged 17.8 carries for 93 yards and scored eight touchdowns.

Henry-Ravens appeared to be the perfect match when he signed in the offseason, and the last 18 games have confirmed it.

The Bills were sent packing the last two postseasons by Cincinnati and Kansas City, who rushed for 172 and 146 yards, respectively.

The Ravens present a different kind of problem in Henry.

There will be no secrets.

If he gets the ball and they have their pull blocks and hes coming downhill, its a long game, Jefferson said.

This is about as old school as it get it is every time I play the Ravens.

They arent tricking anybody.

They run the ball.

And we have to stop it.

Improved run defense Since losing to Baltimore in Week 4, the Bills have steadily climbed the rush defense rankings: Henry vs.

Bills A game-by-game look at how running back Derrick Henry has fared against the Bills.

The games from 2018-22 were with Tennessee, and the 2023 game was with Baltimore.

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