As achieved by Ravens, Titans and Cowboys
The aerial game dominates in the modern NFL, but attacking on the ground, doing so in a variety of ways and directly into the heart of opposing defenses is still a good way to pull out a win, as the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys did in Week 2.
In today’s NFL, short, safe passes, known as high-percentage passes, replaced what until about 10 years ago was used to mount sustained attacks or eat up time on the play clock: attacking on the ground.
In Week 2, the Ravens, Titans and Cowboys decided to run for big wins and each did so with their best weapons.
Derrick Henry, a blitzing machine
Mike Vrabel’s Titans might currently be the team that employs the most “old school” style in the NFL with physical dominance on both sides of the line of scrimmage as a goal and with a devastating running back like Derrick Henry who fits that style like a glove.
And Tennessee seems to have a quality that is rare to find: PATIENCE.
After going down 30-16 with 13:06 minutes to play in the fourth period against the Seattle Seahawks, the Titans did not panic, on the contrary, they stayed true to their style and turned to their best weapon, Henry, who from that moment, ran 13 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns, including a 60-yarder with 12:17 on the clock, to start the comeback that ended with their victory in overtime.
Tennessee won the battle in the trenches after Seattle imposed conditions. In the first quarter, Henry was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on five of its six runs and then on just six of its 29 runs. In the second half of the game, the running back accounted for 147 of his 182 yards and recorded all three of his touchdowns that way.
Staying true to his style was key for the Titans to come away with the win in noisy, struggling Seattle.
Ravens return to their ‘roots
The Kansas City Chiefs’ run defense is bad and the Ravens showed it in a variety of ways, most notably with the core of their offense, namely what Lamar Jackson is most comfortable with: zone reads in the Pistol formation.
In total, Baltimore totaled 251 yards on the ground against the Chiefs on Monday night and reached that total with 17 runs on zone reads and when Jackson was left with the ball in this situation, he ran for 72 yards on 10 carries, including his two touchdowns in the fourth period to take the win on Monday night.
The dominance of Baltimore’s offensive line over Kansas City’s weak Kansas City ground defense was reflected in the 216 yards on the ground they totaled before first contact for a 5.3-yard average, meaning the Ravens had plenty of manageable situations on second and third downs.
After using Jackson more conventionally in Week 1 and perhaps forced by injuries to their top running backs, the Ravens resumed the style that has given them the most success the last few years: have their quarterback run when he deems it necessary, which is to say, almost always.
Cowboys attack hard and direct
The Cowboys picked up an important win on the West Coast, and they did so in large part by attacking the Los Angeles Chargers head-on.
Dallas balanced its offense by throwing 27 times and running 31 times, a scheme that took a lot of weight off Dak Prescott, who also benefited from the way the ball was distributed in the ground game, where they totaled 198 yards (average of 6.4 yards per run).
Ezekiel Elliott with 16 runs and Tony Pollard with 13 shared the duties in the ground game, for 71 and 109 yards, respectively, and Dallas attacked the Chargers’ defense through the middle of the formation, where they totaled 105 yards, their highest total in that area since 2011.
A balanced offense that also offers variety in the ground game will be of great help to the Cowboys and Prescott will be the one who will be most grateful for it.
