The New Orleans Saints cannot let Derrick Henry build momentum Sunday, defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said this week ahead of the Week 2 trip to face the Baltimore Ravens.
Henry ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries in last Sunday’s 41-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Baltimore rushed for 202 yards as a team.
Godchaux said the key is stopping Henry before he reaches the second level.
“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,” Godchaux continued. “Because this is a guy, once he gets to the second level, it’s lights out.”
New Orleans already has one rough rushing performance on film.
The Detroit Lions ran for 165 yards in their 31-30 overtime win over the Saints. Jahmyr Gibbs carried a career-high 29 times for 156 yards and two touchdowns.
Godchaux traced some of that damage to his own defense. He said Baltimore likes to play the bully, and the Saints have to flip that dynamic.
“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.”
Henry does not carry the load alone. Lamar Jackson completed 17 of 25 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown against Indianapolis and added 40 rushing yards and a score on seven carries.
Baltimore finished with 506 total yards in the opener.
The Saints’ front has been thinned since training camp. Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee tore his ACL over the summer, and defensive end Chase Young is questionable with a calf injury after being added to the report Thursday.
Cameron Jordan could help offset those losses. The 37-year-old defensive end missed time in camp with a hamstring injury and signed a one-year deal in June for what he has called his final season.
New Orleans has given no indication it plans to change its approach up front. Godchaux’s message focused on alignment and assignment rather than scheme.
Should the Saints repeat the lineup mistakes that opened lanes for Gibbs, Henry and Jackson present a harder problem to chase down.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium on CBS.
