Derrick Henry fumbles: How Ravens star’s uncharacteristic turnover cost Baltimore in fourth quarter vs. Lions

Daniel Mader

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Derrick Henry fumbles: How Ravens star’s uncharacteristic turnover cost Baltimore in fourth quarter vs. Lions image

Even at age 31, Derrick Henry has remained one of the NFL's elite weapons. But there may be growing concern for the Baltimore Ravens' superstar running back.

While the 6-foot-2 Henry has typically been as reliable as they come on the ground, dominating opponents with his long runs, stiff arms and broken tackles, he may be developing an issue with turnovers. In Monday's 38-30 loss to the Detroit Lions, which moved Baltimore to 1-2, Henry had a critical fumble.

With the Ravens seeking to take the lead in a 28-24 game, Henry afforded Detroit an easy field-goal opportunity by coughing up the football.

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Here's a look at Henry's fumble against the Lions on "Monday Night Football" and how the Ravens star has already struggled with turnovers early in 2025.

MORE: Highlights from Ravens vs. Lions on "Monday Night Football"

Derrick Henry fumble vs. Lions

In a back-and-forth Monday night game, the Lions and Ravens were both trying to avoid their second loss of the season. With both teams expected to be playoff contenders, with ceilings of even contending for a Super Bowl, Detroit and Baltimore met with some fairly high Week 3 stakes.

When the Ravens got the ball at the 8:31 mark of the fourth quarter, they had an opportunity to take the lead with a touchdown, trailing 28-24. They even could have run the clock down a bit in the process. But on their first play of the drive, Henry lost the football.

Lions star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson snuck up behind Henry, forced the ball out of his arms, and Detroit recovered it. Shortly after, the Lions added another three points with a short field goal.

It was an extremely rare blunder for Henry, but also an increasingly problematic one. Fumbles have become an issue for him early in the 2025 season.

Henry was then visibly frustrated on the sideline, throwing his helmet at a bench then rolling onto it.

After the game, Henry told reporters that he already apologized to his teammates and coaches, and he apologizes to Ravens fans as well. Per Jonas Shaffer, Henry said the feeling after another fumble "sucks right now."

"All I can do is keep working," Henry reportedly said.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh also said that when it comes to Henry's fumbling issues, the team has "got to get it fixed," per Jeff Zrebiec.

Derrick Henry 2025 fumbles

Just three games into the 2025 season, Derrick Henry has three fumbles. It's been one in each Ravens game for the star running back. Otherwise, Henry has been his usual self, rushing for 192 yards and two touchdowns entering Week 3. But ball security has been a real problem for Henry.

In Week 1, a Henry fumble allowed the Buffalo Bills to complete a fourth-quarter comeback.

In Week 2, Henry also fumbled against the Cleveland Browns. It took him just 43 touches in 2025 to reach three fumbles; according to Ian Hartitz, Henry had just three fumbles over 652 touches from 2023-24.

Derrick Henry career fumbles

Henry is fairly easily on track to set a career-high in fumbles, should his struggles protecting the football continue. His current career-high in turnovers is six, which came during a 2022 season with the Tennessee Titans in which Henry lost two fumbles as a receiver and four more as a rusher.

Here's a look at Henry's total fumbles by season:

SeasonTeamTotal Fumbles
2016Titans0
2017Titans1 (0 lost)
2018Titans1 (1 lost)
2019Titans5 (3 lost)
2020Titans3 (2 lost)
2021Titans1 (0 lost)
2022Titans6 (3 lost)
2023Titans0
2024Ravens3 (1 lost)
2025Ravens3 (2 lost)
Career:--23 (12 lost)

Daniel Mader

Daniel Mader is a Content Producer for The Sporting News. He joined SN in 2024 as an editorial intern following graduation from Penn State University. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. Daniel grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that’ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.