Ravens' dynamic duo of Henry and Jackson help lead a rushing renaissance in the NFL

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The running game has had a bit of a renaissance early this season thanks in part to a dynamic duo in Baltimore off to a historic start.

NFL teams are rushing at the highest rate through six weeks since 2008, with teams averaging a record-high 4.5 yards per carry and the most yards rushing per game at this point in a season in 40 years.

The average of 121.7 yards rushing per game for teams is the highest through six weeks in a non-replacement player season since 1984, when it was at 124.6.

The Ravens are playing a big part in that thanks to the predictable success of pairing perhaps the NFL's best rushing quarterback with the most prolific running back of his generation.

Derrick Henry has 704 yards rushing and nine total touchdowns in his first six games since signing with Baltimore, while Lamar Jackson has run for 403 yards.

Only one other team since at least 1948 has had one player rush for at least 400 yards and another for at least 600 yards in the first six games of a season. Joe Perry (501) and J.D. Smith (604) did it for San Francisco in 1959.

Baltimore’s 1,232 yards rushing this season are the fourth most through six games since 1980, trailing the 2006 Falcons (1,333), the 1984 Bears (1,330) and the 1980 Lions (1,299).

The Ravens have been the NFL's top rushing team every since Jackson took over as starter in 2018 and have two of the three longest streaks in NFL history of rushing for at least 100 yards. Baltimore just did it for the 39th straight game. The Ravens are tied for the longest streak with 43 from 2018-21. The Steelers also did that from 1974-77.

Jackson is averaging 254.8 yards passing per game and 67.2 on the ground and is on pace to join Michael Vick as the only players in history to average at least 250 yards passing and at least 50 rushing for a season. Vick did it in 2010 for Philadelphia.

Jackson moved past Cam Newton into second place in career yards rushing for a quarterback last week with 5,661. He needs 449 more to break Vick's record of 6,109.

The Davante Adams era in Las Vegas ended less than halfway through his third season with some individual highs but no team success when he was traded to the New York Jets.

That's not a new situation for the Raiders, who have traded away a first-round pick for a proven veteran four times in the past 20 seasons without making a single playoff appearance with the acquisitions.

There was the 2005 trade for Randy Moss, the 2009 deal for Richard Seymour, the 2011 one for Carson Palmer and now the trade that sent first- and second-round picks to Green Bay in 2022 when Las Vegas got Adams.

According to trade records on Pro Football Reference, there have been 35 trades that featured a first-round pick being swapped for a veteran in the last 20 seasons. Of those, only eight of the deals didn't lead to a single playoff berth with the acquisition still on the roster, with the Raiders accounting for four of them.

The others were Tampa Bay acquiring Darrelle Revis in 2013, Indianapolis trading for Carson Wentz in 2021, Arizona getting Marquise Brown in 2022 and Denver trading for Russell Wilson in 2022.

The latest deal reunites Adams with Aaron Rodgers, his quarterback in Green Bay for eight seasons. Adams has caught 615 passes from Rodgers for 7,517 yards and 68 touchdowns — the most in all three categories between any combination of active players.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones celebrated his 82nd birthday by watching his team endure its most lopsided home loss in his 36 seasons in charge of the Cowboys.

The 47-9 drubbing by Detroit was the biggest loss at home for the Cowboys since they fell 43-3 to Minnesota on Nov. 13, 1988, just months before Jones bought the team.

The struggles at home have been a problem for Dallas ever since the Cowboys saw their 16-game home winning streak snapped with a 48-32 loss in the wild-card round to Green Bay last season.

Dallas has dropped three home games to open this season, losing 44-19 to New Orleans in Week 2 and 28-25 to Baltimore in Week 3. The 167 points allowed by the Cowboys in their last four home games are the fourth most ever in a span of four home games, according to Sportradar. Only the 1948 Giants (177 points) and 1972-73 Oilers (176) allowed more.

Dallas isn't the only NFC East team struggling at home. The New York Giants have lost all three home games this season and Daniel Jones dropped to 0-5 with nine turnovers, no TDs and a 57.9 passer rating over the last two seasons at MetLife Stadium following a 17-7 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. There are 20 players who have thrown a TD pass at MetLife more recently than Jones has.

The New Orleans Saints have followed a historic start to the season with a nearly unprecedented collapse. New Orleans opened the season by beating Carolina by 37 points and Dallas by 25 — becoming the 13th team in the Super Bowl era to win each of the first two games by at least 24 points.

The Saints have followed that up with four straight losses, scoring 76 points the past four weeks after having 91 the first two games. Only two other teams in NFL history won the first two games by at least 20 points and then lost four straight, with Dallas doing it in 1965 and the Cleveland Indians in 1921.

New Orleans reached a new low this past week in a 51-27 loss to Tampa Bay when the Saints scored 27 points in the second quarter and none in the other three. They allowed the Buccaneers to become the fifth team in NFL history to gain at least 300 yards through the air and 275 on the ground.

The loss dropped coach Dennis Allen's career winning percentage to .342 — fifth worst out of 148 coaches with at least 75 games.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen gestures during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) is sacked by Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) recovers from being sacked by Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, left, in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones stands on the field during warmups before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs for a 33-yard gain as Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) defends during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) scores past Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin and safety Jeremy Chinn, right, during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are holding steadier following better-than-expected profit reports from Morgan Stanley, United Airlines and other big companies. The S&P 500 was flat in early Wednesday trading, a day after sliding from its all-time high because of tumbling energy and technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite were also little changed. Exxon Mobil and other energy producers stabilized a day after tumbling with the price of crude oil. Stocks in the chip industry also held up better a day after a warning from Dutch supplier ASML shook the high-flying industry. Treasury yields eased in the bond market.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street is largely unchanged before the opening bell, a day after retreating from record highs as technology slipped and companies in the oil sector tumbled in tandem with oil prices.

Futures for the S&P 500 are up less than 0.1% Wednesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average are flat. Oil prices are retreating for the fourth straight day and have declined about 7% this week.

Morgan Stanley shares rose 2% after the New York investment bank topped Wall Street's third-quarter revenue and profit targets on the strength of a red-hot stock market and its wealth management segment.

Trucking company J.B Hunt soared after it easily beat sales and profit projections, even as both declined from a year ago. Investors were encouraged by the Arkansas company's improved profit margins and sent shares up 7.4% before the bell.

United Airlines ticked up about 1.2% in extended hours trading after the carrier easily beat third-quarter profit forecasts and announced a $1.5 billion share buyback.

In Europe at midday, Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.7% after the government reported that inflation in the U.K. fell to 1.7% in September, its lowest level in more than three years. That reinforced expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates at its next policy meeting.

In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.5%, while Germany's DAX slipped 0.3%.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.8% to 39,180.30, leading the declines, as tech stocks fell after Dutch computer chip equipment supplier ASML warned of a slower recovery in demand for semiconductors outside of the AI boom.

Chip maker Tokyo Electron sank 9.2% and Lasertec Corp., which makes equipment to inspect chips, lost 13.4%.

In reporting ASML’s latest quarterly results, its CEO Christophe Fouquet said AI continues to offer strong upside potential, but “other market segments are taking longer to recover.” ASML’s stock traded in the United States fell 16.3%.

“Anxiety has also intensified with reports that the U.S. is considering new restrictions on chip exports to specific countries, particularly targeting Nvidia and AMD, citing national security concerns,” Anderson Alves of ActivTrades said in a commentary. Traders are watching for an earnings report from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., due Thursday. TMSC’s shares fell 2.3% on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4% to 8,284.70.

In Seoul, the Kospi shed 0.9% to 2,610.36, while Taiwan's Taiex slipped 1.2%. India's Sensex lost 0.5%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng bounced between gains and losses and closed 0.2% lower, at 20,286.85, while the Shanghai Composite index edged less than 0.1% higher, to 3,202.95.

The central banks in the Philippines and Thailand cut their benchmark interest rates, moving to relieve pressure on their economies.

The SET in Bangkok rose 1.3% after the Bank of Thailand cut its main rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.25%, saying it intended to help alleviate the growing burden of household debt that has been weighing on the economy.

Crude prices have been weakening as China’s flagging economic growth raises concerns about demand for oil. At the same time, worries have receded about Israel possibly attacking Iranian oil facilities as part of its retaliation to Iran’s missile attack early this month. Iran is a major producer of crude, and a strike could upend its exports to China and elsewhere.

Oil slipped back into losses early Wednesday, with benchmark U.S. crude oil giving up 29 cents to $70.29 per barrel. Brent crude declined 30 cents to $73.95 per barrel.

The dollar inched down to 149.19 Japanese yen from 149.22 yen. The euro rose modestly, to $1.0896 from $1.0892.

The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

The Charging Bull statue in New York's Financial District is shown on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)