Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry is one of the most powerful running backs in the league, and Minkah Fitzpatrick found out just how tough Henry can be to bring down in Pittsburgh’s AFC Wild Card Round loss to the Ravens last Saturday. Henry ran over Fitzpatrick with a vicious stiff arm during a first-half run, and the Raw Room podcast reacted to the play, with Panthers assistant special teams coach Darren Bates saying Fitzpatrick “had to meet Thanos.”
“I hate it for my boy Minkah. Minkah had to meet Thanos,” referencing the villain who’s one of the most powerful people in the Marvel comics and films.
Bates said Fitzpatrick tried to turn himself into a speed bump after getting stiff-armed.
“You can’t do that. I know it seems so easy to say…you just try to turn yourself into a speed bump. It’s all you can do. You just be like, shit let me just throw my body like this, let my legs don’t trip him,” Bates said.
The “let my legs don’t trip him” part, Bates said sarcastically, and that’s exactly what wound up happening, and CB Donte Jackson was able to help finish the play.
It wasn’t the best season for Fitzpatrick, which has led to speculation the Steelers could cut him, but he was still solid at taking away the deep part of the field in the passing game, even if he had just one interception to show for it. There aren’t many people who can stop Derrick Henry once he gets a head of steam, especially one like he had on that run, which came off a direct snap. It led to a Ravens’ touchdown as they opened up a 7-0 lead over the Steelers that grew to 21-0 before the half.
Derrick Henry is having one of the best seasons of his career, and the Steelers simply had no answer for him or the Ravens’ rushing attack at large. Baltimore ran for 299 yards against Pittsburgh in the playoff win, sending the Steelers packing after their first playoff game for the fifth season in a row. It’s hard to fault Fitzpatrick too much for getting run over like that, but it’s undoubtedly a highlight-reel-worthy play.
Derrick Henry’s penchant for putting opponents in the ground on stiff arms led to him being asked this week by the Baltimore media if teammates are asking him for stiff-arm advice. To which he answered that he’s not the “stiff arm coordinator,” per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, and while he might not believe it, there’s no one in the league doing it better than him right now, and there hasn’t been for a long time.
Fitzpatrick found that out the hard way.
