Mike Tomlin spent 17 years trying to tackle Derrick Henry. Now he analyzes him on television, and he still will not say the man’s name.
On NBC’s Football Night in America coverage around Sunday’s Ravens win over Atlanta, Tomlin broke down Baltimore’s game plan and referred to Henry only as “the Big Runner.” Every time.
The Segment
Tomlin, who stepped down as the Steelers head coach in January and joined NBC as an analyst, was explaining how Baltimore won without Lamar Jackson. The answer was the ground game, which meant the answer was Henry.
“They ride the Big Runner,” Tomlin said. He then went to the numbers: “The Big Runner is 4.2 per carry. Last year he was 5.2.”
Asked directly to say the name, Tomlin gave three words. “I cannot say it.”
Host Maria Taylor summed up the bit for the audience: “He still will not say his name because he sends a shiver down his spine.”
Tomlin later posted on X: “So much respect for The Big Runner.”
The Numbers Check Out
Tomlin’s 4.2-versus-5.2 comparison is accurate. Henry, 32, has carried 113 times for 476 yards and seven touchdowns through five games in 2026, averaging exactly 4.2 yards per attempt with a long of 32. He has added two catches for 24 yards and a receiving touchdown. Baltimore is 4-1.
Tomlin also noted a structural change around Henry: Patrick Ricard, the 300-pound fullback who spent years clearing lanes for him in Baltimore, now plays for the Giants. That is a real explanation for a yard-per-carry drop, and it is the kind of detail that separates a coach doing television from a personality doing television.
Where the Respect Comes From
This is not a new gag invented for the broadcast. Tomlin’s history with Henry runs through Henry’s Tennessee years, when the Titans repeatedly ran him at Pittsburgh defenses and repeatedly got what they wanted. Henry has been the kind of back who decides how a defensive game plan feels by the fourth quarter, and Tomlin coached against that version of him more than most.
The bit works because it is affectionate rather than evasive. Tomlin is not refusing to credit Henry. He is crediting him by refusing to name him, which is a strange and effective piece of television.
What It Says About the Ravens
Baltimore winning in Atlanta without Jackson is the real story under the joke. The Ravens are 4-1 and they got there in that game by leaning on a 32-year-old running back whose efficiency is down a full yard per carry from last season.
Seven rushing touchdowns in five games is still elite volume production. The 4.2 average is a flag worth watching, and Tomlin flagged it on national television while declining to attach a name to it.
Henry has not commented on the segment. The clip went viral within hours.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.