The Baltimore Ravens held off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 41-31 Week 7 victory. The Ravens have now won five straight games to improve to 5-2 on the season. Tight end Mark Andrews became the franchise touchdown leader after scoring twice on Monday night and running back Derrick Henry ran wild on the Bucs. The nine-year veteran carried the ball 15 times for 169 yards and added a 13-yard touchdown catch for good measure.
With the remarkable effort in Week 7, Henry now has 873 rushing yards on the season – that’s over 200 yards more than the next closest RB, Jordan Mason. Henry has been so dominant that he actually has more rushing yards so far this season than 23 NFL teams, according to insider Andrew Siciliano on X.
That mind-blowing stat is difficult to truly grasp. Only nine teams in the league have more total rushing yards than Derrick Henry alone after seven games in 2024.
The Ravens landed Henry on a two-year, $16 million contract prior to the start of the season. He’s been a huge piece of an offense that seems to improve each week. Baltimore started out 0-2 before going on a five-game rampage. The Ravens are now on top of the AFC North. They’re tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 5-2 but their Week 5 win over the Cincinnati Bengals gives them the edge in the division.
During the victory over the Bengals, Henry reached an incredible career milestone, scoring his 100th career touchdown. After Week 7, the four-time Pro Bowl RB is up to 103 scores in his career – 98 rushing touchdowns and five receiving scores. It’s just a (likely small) matter of time before he notches his 100th career rushing touchdown.
Henry has been on a tear since joining the Ravens. In the team’s Week 6 win over the Washington Commanders, King Henry joined an exclusive club, becoming just the second player since 1970 to score a touchdown in each of his first six games with a new team. Henry, of course, made it seven straight scoring contests with his touchdown reception against the Buccaneers on Monday night.
After a rocky start to the season, the Ravens are now in great shape. Baltimore takes on another division foe, the 1-6 Cleveland Browns, on the road in Week 8. The Browns have 660 total rushing yards through seven games this season, well below Henry’s total. Cleveland’s ground game ranks 27th in the league while the Ravens are, predictably, first overall.
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The Packers are banking on the offensive line making big strides this season, but may have suffered a setback during one of the first practices of training camp. According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Aaron Banks went down with some sort of injury midway through Thursday’s practice. “Left guard Aaron Banks, who signed a four-year, $77 million contract in the offseason, did not finish the practice,” Demovsky noted for ESPN. “He appeared to drop out halfway through the one-hour, 54-minute session. He remained on the field with a helmet on but did not return.” The severity of whatever ailment Banks suffered is unknown at this time, but if he is forced to miss any meaningful practice time it could deal a blow to the Packers trying to build a strong chemistry and cohesion up front. Last season, for the San Francisco 49ers, Banks allowed just one sack but his 25 pressures ranked 105th in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Shake Milton has found a new home. More news: Lakers’ Luka Doncic Has Reportedly Already Agreed to Massive Contract Extension With LA Days after the Lakers waived him, Milton will take his talents overseas. The 28-year-old is signing a two-year deal with Partizan Belgrade in Serbia. Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews shared the news via X. More news: Lakers Insider Urges Team to Make Major Change to Starting Five Milton spent most of the 2024-25 season with the Lakers after being acquired in a trade in late December from the Brooklyn Nets. Milton was reportedly in advanced talks to sign with the team as early as Thursday morning. The two sides were discussing a possible deal, and both parties came away satisfied with the talks. The former 2018 second-round pick will take his talents overseas for the first time in his professional career. Milton started his career with the Philadelphia 76ers after he was drafted and traded by the Dallas Mavericks. He has played for five other NBA teams, including the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Nets, and the Lakers. In 30 games for the purple and gold this past season, Milton averaged 3.9 points per game, 1.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.3 steals per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from beyond the arc in 11.5 minutes of action. He started in one game for the Lakers. Overall, in his NBA career, Milton has played in 359 games, averaging 8.1 points per game, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from 3-point range. The Lakers waived Milton in order to make room for former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. More news: Lakers Confident in Luka Doncic Signing Massive Long-Term Extension: Report For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.
The Chicago Bears thought they secured the center position when they signed Drew Dalman to a three-year deal worth $42 million in free agency. He and the new-look interior offensive line have much to show early in training camp. Dalman is set to be the fifth-starting Week 1 center in six seasons. The others were Coleman Shelton, Lucas Patrick, Sam Mustipher, and Cody Whitehair. Dalman was thought to be the best center in free agency this offseason, but he’s struggling with the most important duty a center has: Snapping the football. Drew Dalman is having a hard time snapping the ball Per Zack Pearson of Bear Report, there were several bad snaps at Thursday’s practice. “There were actually a couple of bad snaps on the day,” Pearson said. “You can just tell that the cadence isn’t fully there yet for this offense. Neither is fortification that was expected when the Bears traded for veteran offensive guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney, a future Hall of Fame lineman. The Chicago Bears’ new-look interior OL has the same problem In addition to Dalman airmailing snaps to Williams, the interior offensive line had issues blocking defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft could have easily been injured while falling to avoid pressure early in training camp. “It was another tough day for the offense on Thursday,” Pearson wrote. “They had a rough 11/11 period to open up the practice which included: Grady Jarrett pressure, reset to get re-huddled, bad snap over Williams’ shoulder, incompletion, scramble that saw Williams fall down trying to escape. It went about as bad as it could have gone without a turnover.” It was expected that an offense with young players like Williams, Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III, and Ozzy Trapilo would have hiccups in the early part of camp. However, it’s a little concerning that an interior offensive line that was handed $145.5 million this offseason is struggling this poorly in July. Overall, the offense has started poorly through the first two days of practice. On the flip side, Jarrett and the defense look good!
As trade whispers grow louder, new info reveals that any deal involving Jason Robertson would likely bring back a top-pairing defenseman and premium draft assets to the Dallas Stars. The Dallas Stars are facing one of the biggest questions of the offseason as speculation about Jason Robertson's future continues to swirl. With his contract situation looming and teams calling about his availability, new reports suggest that potential trade packages could bring in elite blue-line help, something Dallas badly needs. According to a recent piece by The Hockey News, the Stars would only consider moving Robertson if they can land cornerstone defensemen and multiple premium assets. You can see their full discussion about possible returns in their breakdown right here. Dallas Stars could demand top defensemen like Rasmus Andersson or Moritz Seider in Jason Robertson trade talks One scenario gaining traction involves the Calgary Flames sending Rasmus Andersson, a reliable right-shot defenseman, alongside a first-round pick and a high-end prospect. This would give Dallas a proven top-four defender while freeing cap space for other priorities. Another proposed package centers around the Detroit Red Wings. Multiple insiders believe Moritz Seider, along with a conditional first-round pick and one of Detroit's top forward prospects, could headline a deal. This move would instantly bolster the Dallas blue line while providing long-term flexibility, though it would come at the steep cost of losing their leading scorer. Stars General Manager Jim Nill is expected to let the early part of the season play out before committing to a decision, but these scenarios underline what it would take for Dallas to even consider parting ways with their 26-year-old star. I think Jim Nill might be forced to explore one of these trades if Robertson pushes for a contract comparable to Mikko Rantanen's $12 million annual deal.
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