John Harbaugh: ‘Whichever guy is playing better should get more carries’

The Baltimore Ravens got a great overtime win against the rival Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday. What they didn’t get was improved production from running back Ray Rice.

The Ravens have been horrible running the ball for much of the year, largely because Rice has been underperforming. He is averaging only 2.5 yards per carry this season, and carried the ball 18 times for only 30 yards against the Bengals.

Rice’s performance was so bad, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh blamed it on his Rice’s hip injury. Earlier this season, Rice missed one game with a hip flexor, but has said that he is completely healthy. Whether he is healthy or not, Rice’s lack of production means that he may be splitting more snaps with running back Bernard Pierce.

Harbaugh had the following to say about his running back situation, via the team’s official site:

Both of those guys are going to get a large number of carries, and I think whichever guy is playing better should get more carries as we go forward. Both of those guys have to play for us and play well. You can’t have one back carrying the ball 35 times these days. We don’t need to do that; we think we’ve got two very good backs.

On the other hand, Pierce is only averaging 2.8 yards himself, struggling with a hamstring injury. Still, the Ravens offense is built around their running game, and it needs to improve. Whoever can produce needs to be carrying the rock.