By Jordan Long
The Tennessee Titans face the Houston Texans on Sunday. Tennessee is vying for the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs which guarantees them home field advantage throughout them. It would also give them a bye for the Wild Card Round. If Tennessee were to fall against the Texans, they would need help to clinch the top spot. Kansas City, Cincinnati, and New England would all have to fall. Another way they would end up as the top seed in a loss is if Kansas City, Cincinnati all lose and Buffalo wins. The task is simple though, a victory gives them the top seed. They are expected to have the services of running back Derrick Henry possibly for this week. If not this week, for sure the postseason.
Henry has been out since week 8 of the NFL season. During the 1st quarter of the Titans 34-31 overtime win over the Colts, Henry suffered a broken foot and had surgery to repair it. It could have ended his season but there was a possibility of him returning in week 18. Before the injury, Henry rushed for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns. This still leads the Titans.
The Titans had to go with running back by committee to match his production with D’Onta Foreman, Jeremy McNichols, and Dontrell Hilliard carrying the load. All of them have been able to run the football with Forman leading the way with 497 yards. They have combined to rush for 946 yards and 5 touchdowns. It took all of them running the football to take the pressure off of quarterback Ryan Tannehill. He didn’t have to do it all with his arm.
On the other hand, they shouldn’t rush him out there too early. Even if practice goes well, there is the possibility he isn’t in the lineup. The Titans could keep him out one more week which would give him more time to be ready, especially if they earn a first-round bye.
Tennessee will do what is best for Henry. All signs point to him being able to play not only this week but in the postseason. Henry is Tennessee’s key to advancing far in the playoffs. He is one of the top running backs in the NFL. Henry has the speed to make defenders miss for long yardage. He can also stiff arm a guy trying to tackle him, which generates even more yardage on the ground. Besides running the football, he blocks a pass rusher to give Ryan Tannehill more time to find his receivers. Hopefully, Henry is ready to go for the postseason.
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