It was late during the 2000 season when former Ravens coach Brian Billick started moving over to what he called “the dark side,” which meant he would rely more on running back Jamal Lewis than quarterback Trent Dilfer.

I’m starting to move over to the “dark side” as well.

This time, that means star running back Derrick Henry instead of quarterback Lamar Jackson. The preference here is balance with the run-pass ratio. I’ve preached it for years. But as the Ravens enter the last two games of the regular season against Houston and Cleveland, the “dark side” has more light, so to speak, at the end of the tunnel.

Jackson is different from Dilfer, who couldn’t hit the ground if he dropped the ball. But in big games, it’s just more logical to stick with a back who has rushed for more than 11,000 yards since entering the league in 2016 instead of a player who is 2-4 in the postseason. Henry’s age of 30 is no longer a factor.

The Ravens have kept him fresh all season. Before Saturday’s 34-17 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium, Henry had rushed for 1,474 yards and 13 touchdowns on 254 carries, which is about 18 attempts per game. That’s pretty modest for a player who has more than 2,000 career rushing attempts.

Then came Saturday. The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry rushed 24 times for 162 yards and caught two swing passes for 27 yards. He had a 44-yard run on a toss around the left end down to Pittsburgh’s 11-yard line early in the fourth quarter and the Ravens ahead, 24-17.

On the next play, Jackson attempted a short pass over the middle and into the right flat, which was picked off by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. As Fitzpatrick returned it 25 yards to the Pittsburgh 33, several thoughts crossed my mind, none of them positive. The TV cameras showed Ravens coach John Harbaugh shaking his head in disbelief.

Why?

If Henry was tired, just hand the ball off to another runner. Heck, bring Lewis out of retirement, but at least stick to the ground game. Fortunately, Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson threw a pass behind tight end MyCole Pruitt, which cornerback Marlon Humphrey intercepted and returned 37 yards for a touchdown to ice it.

Then there was nothing else to think about because it was time to turn “King Henry” loose. It’s time for some ground-and-pound. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin got the message.

“We didn’t do what we needed to do to secure victory today. So, I congratulate the Ravens on their performance in the victory,” he said. “Specifically, we didn’t control the run game. We never did. When you don’t, you’ve got to do some splash plays or win the turnover battle in a significant way, and we didn’t do that either. We had opportunities of some balls on the ground that we didn’t get. Then obviously, we turned the ball over going in. It took seven points off the board, and they had a pick-six. The rest is history, as they say.

“You’ve got to control the run, the line of scrimmage. The turnover game is always significant in matchups like this. We failed in both areas. So, when you do that, you should expect to lose. When you’re not controlling the run game, you’re not going to have a sense of comfort in terms of the flow of it. That was the case.”

That’s not to say the Ravens have to ignore the passing game or Jackson. In reality, opposing teams are going to stack the line of scrimmage and force Jackson to beat them throwing the ball downfield. That’s been the strategy since the Ravens drafted him in the first round seven years ago.

That’s understandable, but the Ravens should come into every game with a run-first mentality. That’s when they are at their best, when they can run and then mix in the play-action passing game with some run-pass option (RPO) plays. But there have been times this season when the Ravens seem intent on tossing the ball around, and that’s not always a good thing for this team, especially in the postseason or against good teams.

We’ve seen that in the past against Tennessee when Henry was a Titan, or against Kansas City the past couple of years when the Ravens forgot that running the ball was their strength. Against Pittsburgh on Saturday, they rushed for 220 yards on 38 carries and pushed around tackles Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton, who had led a defense that entered ranked No. 4 in rushing yards allowed per game (94.4).

Of course, the Ravens entered ranked No. 2 in rushing, averaging 178.4 yards per game, so it just makes sense to keep wearing the opposition down.

“I think they were controlling the line of scrimmage,” Pittsburgh outside linebacker Alex Highsmith said. “We didn’t do a good job controlling the line of scrimmage today. Embarrassing, to say the least, how they ran, the way they ran the ball against us.”

The Ravens don’t have to commit to the running game like they did during their 2000 championship season. That team had some playmakers, but not a strong-armed quarterback. They had Lewis, whose style was different than Henry’s (who runs up upright like former great Eric Dickerson) but just as punishing.

Like Lewis, once Henry gets to the edge and his shoulder pads square, opposing safeties and cornerbacks fear him.

The Ravens have many more playmakers compared with that 2000 team. They have speed on the outside in receiver Zay Flowers and perhaps the best tight end duo in the league in Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews. They also have a complementary runner in backup Justice Hill, who is an effective pass catcher out of the backfield.

And then there is Jackson, who is the best running quarterback in NFL history. He has improved dramatically as a passer, especially inside the red zone. But against teams such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, he has missed wide-open receivers several times. Zone defenses cause him problems, whether it’s holding the ball too long or uncertainty about when to run.

That’s not to say Jackson has a major deficiency in any area. But the forte of this offensive line has and remains run blocking. That’s what they do best. And if that’s a strength, stick with it. It should be, especially with Henry.

The postseason is almost upon us.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 atndx.com/MikePrestonSun.