Derrick Henry can make the difference in the final minutes as the Baltimore Ravens resume their Super Bowl push, according to Ndamukong Suh.

Henry joined the Ravens’ defense this offseason, signing a two-year, $16 million contract with the AFC North team after eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans.

Baltimore was positioned as a top contender for the NFL’s 2023 Super Bowl. They posted a league-best 13-4 regular season record, but lost in the AFC Championship Game to the eventual champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Super Bowl champion defensive tackle Suh, who returns to the Sky Sport NFL team this season, believes Henry’s arrival can help the Ravens get over the line.

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“I think we’re going to have a great year from the Ravens, seeing what they’ve been able to do in the offseason,” Suh said. Sky Sport.

“They have Derrick Henry at running back and Lamar Jackson looks like he’s a lot fitter and can take the offense to the next level.

“Their defense has been top notch year after year, I think that’s something the Ravens pride themselves on.

“They lost badly to the Chiefs in the last few playoffs, so I think they want to get revenge for that.”

Henry has led the league in carries in four of the last five seasons and was the back-to-back rushing yards champion in 2019 and 2020. He forms a fearsome duo alongside the league’s most dangerous dual-threat quarterback in Jackson, who rushed for 821 yards last season in a beefed-up Todd Monken offense that has placed more emphasis on showcasing the league MVP’s passing talents.

“It’s going to be interesting because you’ve got a monster with two heads. You’ve got Lamar Jackson and you’ve got Derrick Henry.

“But just Derrick Henry as a collective, he’s just a big, elite back. He catches the ball out of the backfield, can obviously run downhill against your defense.

“What I’ve learned from playing against him, holding him under 100 yards in previous games against the Tennessee Titans, is that you’ve got to make a gang tackle and the defense can’t leave him in the starting blocks. Because once he’s in the starting blocks, it’s very, very hard to stop him.”

Ultimately, the Ravens were the losers on the ground in the playoffs, with Baltimore running the ball just 16 times against the dominant Kansas City Chiefs defense.

Suh thinks the true impact of Henry’s presence won’t be known until late in the season.

“It’s huge. When you don’t have a running game, especially in this day and age, it’s really tough because people can keep their ears back and get after your quarterback,” Suh ​​added.

“There are very athletic defensive lines now that can tackle great quarterbacks. You don’t want your running back or your quarterback running for his life all the time.

“So when you have that running game, it opens up opportunities and it makes it a lot easier to score touchdowns and make big plays.”

It was often Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense that provided the foundation for Kansas City’s recent Super Bowl success, but Steve Spagnuolo’s defense would prove to be a defining factor in their 2023 triumph, leading the franchise to a second straight championship.

Trent McDuffie and the now departed L’Jarius Sneed starred at cornerback, while Chris Jones and George Karlaftis led the pass rush, bolstered by personnel rotation. The Chiefs ranked second in yards and scoring.

“That defense is one of a kind and has carried them all season long, so you have to give a lot of credit to the elite players on that team,” Suh said.

“Chris Jones got paid at the end of the season, he’ll be hungry to go on and go for another championship. He’s a key part of that defensive front.

“They had great corners last year, but then they lost Sneed. It’s about replacing him and the next player taking a step forward.

“I’ve always believed that defense ultimately wins championships. Yeah, Mahomes and Travis Kelce and all the great talent they have there, but when you’re in the thick of it and you’re in the playoffs, you’re going to be in a world of hurt if your defense doesn’t show up.”

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