Raven Country

Ravens' Derrick Henry Shares Massive Praise for Saquon Barkley

This weekend's game between the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles features the two best running backs in the game today.

Jon Alfano

Nov 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs off the field after win against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Nov 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs off the field after win against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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In the modern, pass-happy NFL, fans should cherish the running back matchup on display in Sunday's game between the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles.

Baltimore's Derrick Henry and Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley, both in their first year with their new teams, have taken the league by storm this season. Barkley leads the league with 1,392 rushing yards, while Henry is close behind with 1,325. Both have won Offensive Player of the Week in their respective conferences multiple times this season, and if they keep playing as well as they are, they could win Offensive Player of the Year in a couple months.

Ahead of Sunday's matchup, Henry had some high praise for his counterpart in green.

"I think [Barkley] is a generational back," Henry said Wednesday. "He's doing a hell of a job [and has] been a great back in this league since he came in. He's been playing well for them this year."

This isn't the first time Henry has sung Barkley's praises, not even the first time this week. After Barkley ran for 255 yards and two touchdowns Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams, Henry was among the first celebrating his outstanding performance.

As one might expect, there's some history with this matchup. This the first time the league's two leading rushers have faced off in Week 13 or later since 2009, when Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans met Steven Jackson of the then-St. Louis Rams. Additionally, it's the first time two players with 1,300+ ruhsing yards have faced off since 2012, when Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings met Arian Foster of the Houston Texans.

This matchup also represents a bit of a narrative shift in the NFL. Over the past few years, running back has become an increasingly-devalued position as teams opt to let stars go in favor of younger, more cost-effective options. Both Henry and Barkley are proving that running backs can be well worth the money in free agency, and they're not the only ones.

"I'm happy for those guys," Henry said. "They've been doing a hell of a job [of] playing the running back position [and] showing their value. We all just want to give other running backs behind us opportunities. So, they've been [doing] a great job [of] showcasing their talents, and we just want to keep doing that."

The two backs may be the stars of the show on Sunday, but for both them, it's just business as usual this week.

"I'm just going to do my job. I don't really try to focus on the outside noise," Henry said.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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