LISTEN: Derrick Henry expects a physical battle against rival Steelers in matchup for first place

Ravens five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry discusses Baltimore’s upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for first place in the AFC North, how he’s sustained excellence for a decade in the NFL and being nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

Various NFL Players: Hey, this is Russell Wilson. This is Joe Montana. This is Dak Prescott. Hey, this is Jason Kelce. You’re listening to Rob Maaddi. Rob Maaddi, Rob Maaddi, Rob Maaddi.

MAADDI: Welcome to On Football. I’m Rob Maaddi. It’s Week 14. Playoff races are heating up in the NFL. Gotta give credit to the schedule makers. There are three division games this Sunday for first place: the Packers-Bears, Colts-Jaguars, Steelers-Ravens. And here’s the great thing. They’re all gonna face each other again later this season. Other great matchups, including the prime-time games, more about that in Pro Picks. Our guest this week is Ravens running back Derrick Henry. Stay tuned for a special conversation.

The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles are reeling, two straight losses to the Cowboys and Bears, and some of the people who wanted Nick Sirianni fired last year before he led the team to a Super Bowl championship. Well, they’re starting up again. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s first season calling plays isn’t working out. The offense looks predictable, it lacks creativity. Jalen Hurts and the passing game have struggled. Saquon Barkley isn’t close to running like he was last year. Much of that has to do with the offensive line, but there really shouldn’t be any conversation about Sirianni getting fired. He’s one of the most successful coaches in NFL history. A .700 winning percentage, top five all time, made the playoffs his first four seasons, two Super Bowl appearances, one championship. The Eagles are still 8-4. They have a shot at the number one seed. He’s got to make changes to the offense, whether that’s calling plays himself or something else. But can we just stop firing a coach who’s done nothing but win? Now, as for the fans who threw eggs at Kevin Patullo’s house in Moorestown, New Jersey, you gotta get a life. Seriously. That should never happen.

Derrick Henry is one of the NFL’s all-time greatest running backs. He’ll be in Canton one day receiving a gold jacket. But right now, he’s trying to help Baltimore beat Pittsburgh this week. He’s also the Ravens’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. You guys started one and five, and here you are, Week 14. You’re playing for first place in the AFC North. How were you guys able to kind of stay in that moment, stay in that belief and turn things around?

HENRY: We gotta sit together. We’re the only ones that can turn it around by our approach and how we’re gonna work every day and let it translate from meetings to the field and to the game. We gotta stay locked in to a long season and you know adversity strikes us at some point during the season, just gotta overcome it and be better from it. I think that’s what we was focused on.

MAADDI: How much does having a a guy like Coach Harbaugh, who’s been through ups and downs, who’s been a champion, who knows what it takes, how much does he help you guys get through the tough times and the adversities?

HENRY: Of course, Harbaugh’s been here 10-plus years, been in the league a long time. So I mean he’s been through some similar things like this with some of the teams he’s had in the past. And, you know, he’s been a great head coach in the league for a long time. So he’s the leader of men. So you know, it just, we just gotta weather the storm and you know you need to make sure we stay locked in and keep focused on what we need to do week after week and each opponent and not get too far ahead of ourselves.

MAADDI: Derrick, you’re playing a team, it’s a rival, the Steelers. You’re, you guys are both fighting for that first spot in the AFC North. They gave up a lot of yards last week against the Bills on the ground, but it’s still the Steelers, still tough defense. How much are you able to kind of glean from that, from what you saw last week? Also knowing that they are a pretty great defense.

HENRY: It’s a week-to-week league. Some weeks gonna be better than others. The Bills had a great, great game plan that they executed and did a great job and sure they learned from that on film. You know, I’m not going to the game expecting anything. They’re a great defense, got a great coach and a great coaching staff that are probably having well prepared. The rivalry’s always a fourth quarter battle, so you know, just looking forward to going into a game, physical game and doing my job the best way I can.

MAADDI: Derrick, you’re 10 years into your career, you’re having another excellent season. Your work ethic is legendary, your diet, everything. We’ve everybody’s talked about that. How have you been able to maintain your success for so long?

HENRY: I think it’s just focusing on hard work and wanting to to to be better, better myself in any way I can to be the best player I could be. That’s what pride myself on, just this hard work and just having discipline in my routine and keep doing those doing those things and being the best teammate I can be and and let my play speak for itself.

MAADDI: You’ve got an opportunity this year to move into the top ten in all-time rushing yards. I don’t know if you even know that. If you pay attention to these things, you certainly you’re going week to week and you’ve got a lot more on your mind. But have you thought about the career goals and the accomplishments and what you’ve been able to do and and what that means to you to be top ten?

HENRY: No, not right now. I’m just trying to stay present with what we need to do as a team and focus on this season and, you know, this game which with the Steelers this week and preparing the right way and doing everything that I can and that we can to to be ready for Sunday for a four-quarter battle. So but I think whenever I got time to, you know, reflect and I I’ll definitely do that. And it’s all it’s all been a blessing but just trying to stay in the moment straight present on what’s going on right now.

MAADDI: Derrick, you’ve won a a lot of individual awards. You’ve been an all-pro, five-time Pro Bowler, offensive player of the year to be nominated for what you’ve done off the field, not on the field, but the Walter Payton Man of the Year. It’s a tremendous honor. It really recognizes what you’re go doing in the community and how you’re giving back. Tell me about what that means to you.

HENRY: Yeah, I’ve been getting back in in the community, having my Two All Foundation, which is trying to level the playing field for the youth and all the adolescents in need. And you know, just trying to to give back, be a resource. Very blessed to have the platform that I have and you know, God has blessed me tremendously. So, you know, I just wanna do the Lord’s work of of giving back, being a positive influence, and reaching as reaching as many communities that I have that have had an effect on me and that I’ve that that I’ve been around and just trying to be a blessing to these kids. Thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ for, you know, giving me opportunity to to do something like this and this award is so so significant. Walter Payton and the Payton family, what they what they represent, what this award represents. I’m very appreciative and fortunate to be able to be up for this award, represent the Ravens and it’s it’s it’s definitely an honor.

MAADDI: It’s time for some Pro Picks. We were 3-1 straight up and against the spread last week. Overall, 39-12-1. That’s a .760 winning percentage. 32-19-1 against the spread. That’s a .625 winning percentage. For my best bet, I’m looking at the Eagles and Chargers game on “Monday Night Football.” Both teams are 8-4. Philly is currently a three-point favorite. That’ll likely change between now and game time, depending on Justin Herbert’s status. He had surgery on his left wrist. He’s gonna try and play. Whether he does or not, I still see the Eagles coming out of their funk. Saquon Barkley had 255 yards rushing, including touchdowns of 70 and 72 yards the last time he played at SoFi Stadium. That was against the Rams last year. This is against the Chargers. Still, I see the Eagles winning 24-18. The upset special is one of those matchups for first place. This one in the AFC South. The Colts, 8-4, at Jacksonville, they’re 8-4. The line is Colts minus 1.5. So they are a road favorite, even though they haven’t won in Jacksonville since 2014. The Colts are also 3-16-1 against the spread versus the Jaguars since 2015. Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor, and the rest of that high-scoring offense has been sluggish during a stretch where Indy has lost 3 of 4. The defense won’t have All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. That’s good news for Trevor Lawrence and Jakobi Meyers. He’s boosted the passing game since coming over at the trade deadline. Jaguars, 22-20. Next I’ve got a bounce back game. The Los Angeles Rams are 9-3. They lost last week to Carolina. They’re at Arizona. The Cardinals are 3-9. Rams are eight-point favorites. Matthew Stafford’s coming off a rare three-turnover game, and the Rams look to rebound from a poor defensive effort. They gave up 31 against the Panthers. The Cardinals, Jacoby Brissett is 1-6 as a starter filling in for Kyler Murray. He’s upgraded the passing game, but not enough to get W’s. The Rams are 26-11 overall and 25-11-1 against the spread in December under coach Sean McVay. The calendar has turned to December. Rams, 31-16. Lastly, I know if you bet bad teams, bad things happen, but I can’t resist this game. Tennessee 1-11 at Cleveland 3-9. The Browns are four-point favorites. Cam Ward’s rookie season has been dismal in Tennessee. The Titans have lost seven games by double digits. Now, Shedeur Sanders has brought some excitement to the Browns in his two starts. He’s shown some of his potential, some good, some bad. But Cleveland has a dominant defense led by Myles Garrett. He’s got 19 sacks. He’s going to make all the difference. Browns, 20-13.

That’s it for this week. Thank you to Derrick Henry. Thank you for listening to On Football, and thanks to Haya Panjwani and Guillermo Gonzalez for producing this episode. Please check out AP News.com for the full Pro Picks, On Football analysis and more NFL news.

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