Coffee with Crawford | Even the greats drop the ball. What we can learn from Derrick Henry | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There are certain guys in sports you just don't expect to see in that moment.

Not lying on the turf after a late fumble. Not on the sideline slamming his helmet. Not wearing the look of a man trying to understand how he, of all people, had just let the ball — and the game — slip away.

But that was Derrick Henry on Monday night.

With the Baltimore Ravens trailing Detroit late and needing a score, Henry took a handoff, churned through traffic, and — for the third time in as many games — coughed it up. Detroit recovered. The game was over.

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

And for a moment, it felt like something more was, too.

That was Henry's third fumble in three weeks — something that's happened only once before in his Hall of Fame career. Understand this. Henry has fumbled three times in 43 touches this year. In the previous two seasons, he fumbled only three times in 694 touches.

When it happened Monday, you could see it all on his face: not just pain, but confusion.

This is Derrick Henry. If you asked 100 fans who they'd trust most to hang onto the football with the game on the line, he would win that poll going away. Big. Powerful. Dependable. Not prone to lapses, mental or physical.

Here's the truth. Even the greats fumble.

Maybe it's mental.

Maybe it's age — Henry turned 31 in January, and even freight trains lose momentum eventually. He's the oldest starting running back in the league and the oldest who is regularly excelling at a position with a shorter shelf life than any in the league. Maybe defenders are just getting better at knocking the ball out — they drill it constantly.

Or maybe it's just football. The kind that doesn't care who you are or what you've done, how legendary your offseason workouts are or your in-season work ethic is.

Whatever it is, Henry found himself at a low point on national TV. And then?

Then he gave us something to remember.

After the game, he didn't make excuses. He didn't blame the play call or the blocking or the weather or the refs. He also didn't duck the question. He faced the cameras and spoke candidly. He didn't get defensive.

"I'm at a loss for words," he said.

He apologized to Ravens fans. He apologized to his teammates. He said he would get to work to fix it.

That was his message. Simple, sincere, professional.

It was, to me, the most impressive play he made all night.

This is why we watch. Not just for the touchdowns or the stiff arms or the highlight reels.

We watch to see how people respond. To failure. To pressure. To pain.

You don't have to be a Hall of Fame running back to relate. We all fumble. At work. At home. In the places that matter most.

And when we do, we have a choice: Make excuses, or make corrections. Hide from it, or face it. Whine, or work.

Henry didn't just drop the ball Monday night. He picked up something even more important.

Responsibility. Perspective. Resolve.

That's something we can all carry forward, no matter what game we're in.

Quick Sips

Injured Kentucky Derby winning jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. underwent surgery to stabilize some broken ribs on Tuesday and took to social media to update fans afterward. He has remained upbeat, but faces some work to get back to the racetrack. The horse who threw him on Sunday, Sgt. Garcia, was euthanized. Read the update here.
Jordan Travis was a Heisman Trophy candidate at Florida State before a tragic career-ending injury. But before that, he was a freshman quarterback at Louisville whose experience was a tough one. He opened up about his Louisville experience, and the people who helped him before transferring. Louisville AD Vince Tyra, who tried to help Travis at the time, and checked in with a word of support after Travis' comments. Tyra always said he hated to see Travis go, but was glad to see him succeed at FSU. You can read about it in yesterday's Coffee with Crawford.

The Last Drop

"It's just crazy. Three fumbles straight. I'm trying every day to fix the problem that just keeps occurring, so I'm trying to work on it. I'm my worst critic, so I'm not going to try to beat myself up too much. But it's hard not to when it's consecutive and consistent cases of me doing the same thing."

Ravens running back Derrick Henry