Losing two fumbles in the fourth quarter and fumbling three times in three games has tortured Derrick Henry’s soul, but has not diminished his work ethic.
The star running back is doing everything in his power to avoid putting the football on the ground. Henry is paying extra attention to his ball-carrying technique in practice this week, working to be the fumble-free back he wants to be, starting with Sunday’s game in Kansas City.
“I’m still pissed, mad at myself,” Henry said. “I don’t try to harp on it too much. At the same time, it’s a problem that’s got to be fixed. I’m working on it as hard as I can to get this issue resolved. It’s tough right now because it’s been consecutive weeks – back to back to back, which is crazy.
“Nobody can fix it but yourself. I accept it like a man. Everything that comes with it, I accept. It’s my responsibility to take care of the ball for this organization. It’s testing my faith right now. I’ve just got to keep believing and keep working. I feel like I let my teammates down, which I don’t want to do.”
Henry fumbled just three times in on 325 rushing attempts in 17 games last season. In 2023, he didn’t fumble once on 280 carries during his final season with the Tennessee Titans. Henry had never fumbled in three straight games.
With that track record, Head Coach John Harbaugh is confident Henry’s fumbling problems won’t continue.
“He said he’s his own worst critic, I like to say he’s his own best critic,” Harbaugh said. “He’s very, very accountable. When somebody cares so much about what they’re doing and they’re so accomplished, and so talented and so good and works so hard – as a coach you just can’t worry about that. I’m not worried about Derrick Henry at all.”