Running backs the center of attention when Barkley and Henry face off in an Eagles-Ravens tilt

Sport

Running backs the center of attention when Barkley and Henry face off in an Eagles-Ravens tilt

2024-11-30 00:20 Last Updated At：00:30

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Derrick Henry makes his presence felt with a stiff-arm — sometimes more than one on a single play.

Saquon Barkley provided perhaps the highlight of the year in the NFL: He hurdled a defender backward in a game against Jacksonville a few weeks ago.

Henry and Barkley are leading a renaissance of sorts for featured running backs, and now the sport's top two rushing stars go head to head when the Baltimore Ravens host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. With more than 1,300 yards apiece on the ground, those two are even stealing headlines from Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts entering this matchup.

“Obviously, both great football players,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "A lot of respect for Derrick Henry. ... He's able to hit a home run and make you pay if not everybody is on the same page, if you're not tackling well, if you're not getting off blocks well, if you're not hustling to the football.

“So that part of it reminds you of Saquon because it's similar.”

The Ravens (8-4) and Eagles (9-2) signed Henry and Barkley as free agents last offseason. At a time when running backs are considered more and more interchangeable, these two still stand out.

Barkley rushed for 255 yards as the Eagles beat the Los Angeles Rams last weekend. Then Henry ran for 140 the following night in Baltimore's victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Barkley leads the NFL with 1,392 yards rushing, just ahead of Henry's 1,325.

This is the first-ever matchup between two 1,300-yard rushers this early in the season.

“I knew Saquon from high school. We were in the All-Star game together. He jumped over somebody’s head, so I pretty much (saw) him before I even got to the league,” Jackson said. “With Derrick Henry — King Henry — I’m with him every day, and I’m seeing what he’s capable of, so it’s going to be a great matchup.”

This game pits the NFL's No. 1-ranked offense (Baltimore) against the top-ranked defense (Philadelphia). The Eagles and Ravens are also ranked 1-2 in rushing. Baltimore has the No. 2-ranked rushing defense.

“It’s a challenge for us, a challenge for our run defense — yes — because they do it with their offensive line, they do it with their back, they also do it with their scheme — which the quarterback is a part of, too,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "And they can throw off the runs. So, there’s a lot going on there.”

The running backs are receiving a lot of attention for good reason, but both these teams can move the ball through the air. Jackson is No. 1 in the league in passer rating, yards passing and touchdown-to-interception differential. Hurts' passer rating of 102.3 so far is the best of his career.

Jackson is 23-1 in his career against NFC teams.

The Eagles lost the heart of the team when defensive end Brandon Graham announced after the game that he was out for the season with a torn triceps. He said previously this would be his final season.

Even at 36, Graham was still producing at a Pro Bowl level. He was among the team leaders in snaps played and had 3 1/2 sacks this season, his 15th with the Eagles.

“I hate losing him for a lot of reasons. One, it might be his last year. Two, his leadership,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “Most importantly, he was playing really good, and guys playing really good are hard to replace.”

After opening the season in Brazil, and road games at stops ranging from Los Angeles to Tampa Bay, the Eagles have a short bus ride to Baltimore before they play four of their final five games at home. The only other road game is another bus ride to play the New York Giants.

“At this time of the year, it’s a benefit. There’s no doubt,” Sirianni said. “To be in Philadelphia where you have these close teams next to you that you can take bus trips to, that’s huge. We played a lot of road games early on, but when you play a lot of road games early on, now you have the opportunity to play some home games."

The Ravens sacked Justin Herbert four times in their win over the Chargers. Baltimore has at least two sacks in 15 straight games, and if the Ravens can keep putting pressure on opposing QBs it could help a defense that has struggled against the pass.

Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy have eight sacks apiece this season.

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

British lawmakers give initial approval to a bill to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives

2024-11-30 00:21 Last Updated At：00:30

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers gave initial approval Friday to a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales following an impassioned debate that saw personal stories of loss and suffering shared.

Members of Parliament approved the assisted dying bill by a vote of 330 to 275. The vote signals lawmakers’ approval in principle for the bill, which is now sent on to further scrutiny in Parliament before it faces a final vote by lawmakers.

The vote came after hours of debate — emotional at times — that touched on issues of ethics, grief, the law, faith, crime and money.

During the debate, hundreds of people on both sides of the issue gathered outside Parliament. Supporters said the law would provide dignity to the dying and prevent unnecessary suffering, while ensuring there are enough safeguards to prevent those near the end of their lives from being coerced into taking their own life.

Opponents said it would put vulnerable people at risk of being coerced, directly or indirectly, to end their lives so they don’t become a burden.

The proposed bill would allow adults over the age of 18 who are expected to have fewer than six months to live to request and be provided with help to end their life, subject to safeguards and protections.

They would have to be capable of taking the fatal drugs themselves, and two doctors and a High Court judge will have to sign off on any decision. The bill will not apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Backers of the bill told heart-wrenching stories about constituents and family members who suffered in the final months of their lives and dying people who committed suicide in secret because it is currently a crime for anyone to provide assistance.

“Let’s be clear, we’re not talking about a choice between life or death, we are talking about giving dying people a choice about how to die,” the bill’s main sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, said as she presented the bill to a packed chamber.

She conceded that it wasn't an easy decision for lawmakers but that “if any of us wanted an easy life, they’re in the wrong place.”

Those opposed spoke of the danger that vulnerable, elderly and disabled people could be coerced into opting for assisted dying to save money or relieve the burden on family members. Others called for the improvement of palliative care to ease suffering as an alternative.

Danny Kruger, who led the argument against the bill, had cautioned lawmakers not to back a “state suicide service." He argued that no amount of safeguards will stop many vulnerable people feeling the pressure to make a request to bring their lives to an end.

Kruger voiced his disappointment at the outcome but said there's a chance that lawmakers will reject the bill when it comes back for a vote in the next few months. Many of those voting in favor on Friday said they only did so as they wished to examine the details further and could potentially vote in a different way in the future.

“I still think we can stop it,” he said.

Although the bill was proposed by Leadbeater, a member of the ruling center-left Labour Party, it was an open vote with alliances formed across the political divide.

The government is widely expected to come up in the next few months with assessments on how assisted dying will be funded and how it will impact the U.K.'s state-funded public health service, hospice care and the legal system.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not show his hand ahead of the vote, but backed the change. Others in his Cabinet, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood, voted against. There were similar divisions across other political parties.

Long-time British campaigner Esther Rantzen, who is terminally ill with lung cancer and played a leading role in advocating the need for a vote on assisted dying, voiced her joy at the “wonderful” outcome and said it will give people an “equal choice.”

When diagnosed with her terminal illness, Rantzen said she would travel to Switzerland to bring an end to her life, where the law allows assisted dying for non-residents.

Other countries that have legalized assisted suicide include Australia, Belgium, Canada and parts of the United States, with regulations on who is eligible varying by jurisdiction.

Assisted suicide is different from euthanasia, allowed in the Netherlands and Canada, which involves health care practitioners administering a lethal injection at the patient's request in specific circumstances.

Running backs the center of attention when Barkley and Henry face off in an Eagles-Ravens tilt

Sport

Running backs the center of attention when Barkley and Henry face off in an Eagles-Ravens tilt

Next Article

British lawmakers give initial approval to a bill to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives

Insurgents breach Syria’s second-largest city Aleppo, fighters and a war monitor say

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund takes a stake in Audi’s future F1 team

Stock market today: Stocks gain as Wall Street closes out strong November

Libraries are offering free health and wellness classes across the US

South Africa poised to beat Sri Lanka in 1st test after tons by Stubbs and Bavuma

Namibia’s decision to extend election voting due to technical issues draws opposition complaints

Middle East latest: 3 die in overcrowding outside Gaza bakery amid food shortage