Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson thought the franchise signing star running back Derrick Henry in the offseason was “fake news.”

Henry, 30, won the Heisman Trophy in 2015, a year before Jackson did at Louisville, and headed to the NFL in 2016, where he was drafted 45th by the Tennessee Titans. The running back spent eight seasons with the Titans and even won AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2020 after scoring 17 touchdowns.

In those eight seasons in Tennessee, the Titans made the playoffs four times with Henry and only made the Conference Championship once in 2020 before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs. Henry hit free agency last offseason and received interest from NFL contenders but ultimately decided to sign with the Ravens on a two-year, $16 million deal.

Baltimore’s franchise quarterback Jackson admitted he didn’t believe the news when he saw Henry would be joining the Ravens. “I heard about it just like everybody else,” Jackson said after the Ravens defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 35-34 on Thursday Night Football. “I did, man,” he continued. “And then when I seen it pop up on the screen, I’m like, ‘This got to be fake news.’”

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Henry hasn’t disappointed in his debut campaign in Baltimore. The 30-year-old has 12 touchdowns in 10 games and has racked up over 1,100 yards. He’s on pace to record his best NFL season to date, and the Ravens are Super Bowl contenders.

Last season, Jackson and Co. fell short in the AFC Championship game to the Kansas City Chiefs, who went on to beat the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas to retain their title. The Ravens have tasted defeat three times in 2024 and almost lost a fourth on Thursday night.

Jackson had to inspire his team to overcome a 14-point deficit to defeat the Bengals, who failed to convert a two-point play to win the game. “I was telling my guys on the sideline, ‘We have to score. If they score, we have to score — that’s the type of game it’s going to be,’” Jackson said. “We’ve seen that from the first snap, but I’m proud of my guys because we finished [and] we came through.”

“He brings a different level of intensity and carries the team on his back week in and week out,” tight end Mark Andrews added. “And for us, again, it’s belief, it’s not quitting and understanding that we have the best player in the world on our team and we’re never out of it.”

Baltimore plays at the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) on Nov. 17 which could play a major part in who tops the AFC North. But even if they find themselves behind, the Ravens locker room say they have a leader who can pull them out of the hole.

“We’ve got Lamar Jackson,” Rashod Bateman said. “I [am not] going to lie to you — if [he’s] on the field we got a chance to win the game, period.”