The New Orleans Saints do not need much film study to understand what happens when Derrick Henry gets rolling downhill.
Saints defensive lineman Davon Godchaux made that clear ahead of New Orleans’ Week 2 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, delivering a blunt assessment of what his defense must prevent against one of the NFL’s most punishing runners. Henry is coming off a dominant season opener in which he rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries as Baltimore piled up 202 rushing yards in a 41-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
For Godchaux, the priority is simple: Do not allow Henry to build momentum.
“You can’t let him get started,” Godchaux said. “When he gets to the second level, he’s dangerous. You want to make him stop his feet, and stop. Because once he can keep going forward he’s a train. So we have to do a good job getting off blocks, being disruptive and bringing whatever call that [defensive coordinator Brandon] Staley calls to get us home. Because this is a guy, once he gets to the second level, it’s lights out.”
Davon Godchaux Knows Saints Cannot Let Derrick Henry Get Rolling
That warning carries additional weight after New Orleans struggled to contain the run in its season opener. Detroit rushed for 165 yards in the Saints’ 31-30 overtime loss, including 156 yards from Jahmyr Gibbs. Baltimore now presents an even different challenge because Henry shares the backfield with Lamar Jackson, forcing defenses to account for two dangerous runners on nearly every snap.
Godchaux acknowledged Baltimore’s physical identity and made it clear that New Orleans cannot afford to be the team absorbing the punishment.
“Baltimore has always been a tough team to play because they like to be the bullies, but we have to bring the fight to them and be the bullies on them,” Godchaux said. “We need to play solid football. It’s not magic. Line up and play football. Last week, we had a couple of mental errors lining up, and a couple of those runs gashed us.”
The Saints should have additional help up front. Veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan was a full participant in Friday’s practice after being limited earlier in the week with a hamstring injury, putting New Orleans in a stronger position to attack Baltimore’s rushing game.
Saints Face Different Problem With Lamar Jackson Beside Henry
Stopping Henry alone would already be difficult. Doing it while accounting for Jackson makes the assignment significantly more complicated.
Jackson threw for 324 yards against Indianapolis while adding 40 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Baltimore finished with 506 total yards and averaged 7.9 yards per play, showing how quickly the offense can punish a defense that becomes too focused on any one threat.
That leaves New Orleans with little margin for the alignment and assignment mistakes Godchaux referenced. If the Saints allow Henry to reach the second level cleanly, they risk spending Sunday chasing one of football’s hardest players to bring down.
Godchaux already knows what that can look like. In his words, once Henry gets rolling, it can become “lights out.”
Saints Veteran Sends Blunt Derrick Henry Warning Before Ravens Clash