The Baltimore Ravens have plenty of reasons to keep Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker up at night for their Week 3 game in Brazil.
Parker has to worry about defending players like Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. If Zay Flowers is healthy and can play through the hamstring injury, there’s another problem for Dallas to deal with.
Dallas will face its biggest challenge of the season in stopping this Ravens offense. One player, in particular, will command most of their attention.
Dallas Cowboys Talk Ravens Offensive Weapon
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer discussed the Ravens’ offense and how they plan to defend Henry. Schottenheimer knows it will be a headache for them.
“Very unique. I’ve competed against him a couple of times,” Schottenheimer said via Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris. “I laugh because you don’t realize how big he is unless you’re truly standing out there on the field watching this guy. The fans, unfortunately, unless they’re down there field level, they don’t realize how big Derrick is, but the speed is real. The violence that he runs with is real. His stiff arm is real. We all remember the clip where he stiff arms Josh Norman in Tennessee and he buries him into the ground. He’s a unique individual. He’s a unique athlete. The key to Derrick is, in my opinion, you have to not let him get started. If he gets seen and he gets started, he’s able to press the hole and put his foot in the ground, that’s a problem because of what I’ve said. You have to junk up the front for him and make it to where he can’t press his hole and build up the full speed because he is a big guy. So if you slow him down a little bit, it’s harder for him to get to top speed. Now, once he gets to top speed, I don’t know if many people are going to catch him. So, that’s the big thing for us is we can’t give them seams in the running game. We have to create some knock backs, some movement, display some color for them so the reads aren’t clean.”
“Very unique. I’ve competed against him a couple of times. I laugh because you don’t realize how big he is unless you’re truly standing out
Henry is second in the NFL in rushing yards with 414 on 40 carries and tied for first in touchdowns with 4. The Cowboys’ defense is ranked 30th in rush defense, allowing 173.5 yards per game on the ground.
Cowboys Better Be Ready to Stop Derrick Henry at All Costs
This Cowboys defense has been torched on the ground through the first two weeks. It does not help that they are about to face a future Hall of Famer.
Henry has shown zero signs of slowing down, so the Cowboys’ defense has some work to do. The defensive line, like Quinnen Williams, will need to stuff the run right away.
This has been an area that has killed the Cowboys through two games. It doesn’t help that they also have to account for Jackson running the football. Dallas has allowed opposing quarterbacks to run for at least 54 yards in each of the first two games.
It’s a challenge that will prove where the Cowboys stand on defense. If they hold Henry in check, that could be the momentum they need to carry through the rest of the season.
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