If Tennessee Titans’ running back Derrick Henry runs 100 yards against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, the former Alabama All-American will tie an NFL record held by Barry Sanders.
And that can pierce the Titans’ passage to the playoffs.
Entering the competition at Lambeau Field, Henry ran for at least 100 yards in each of Tennessee’s last nine road games. Sanders holds the NFL record for consecutive road games with 100 yards in 10.
Sanders also holds the NFL record for 100 yard racing games in December, with 19. Henry made eight 100 yard race games in the 12th month, including seven from his last December 11 games.
Tennessee won all eight of those games. Only one NFL player produced more 100-yard run games in December without his team losing any of them – Edgerrin James, who had a 17-0 record in 100-yard games in the 12th month.
If the Titans defeat Green Bay, Tennessee will guarantee a playoff spot with one week remaining from the regular season.
In his last nine games on the road, Henry ran 1,268 yards and 14 touchdowns in 230 races. Henry’s statistics on the road do not include last season’s playoffs, when he ran 446 yards and two touchdowns in 83 runs in three away games.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur worked as a Tennessee offensive coordinator in 2018, Henry’s first season as an NFL starter.
“He’s a beast,” said LaFleur of Henry. “And you can see that. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. You can see all 11 guys, they are very efficient in attack, both in the running game and in the pass game. Obviously, when you have a guy of the caliber of Derrick Henry, who is a big man who is very, very fast, everything prepares for you. They know that every week everyone will try to stop the race and nobody can do that ”.
Entering Week 16 of the NFL season, the Titans scored more points than any team in the league with 436. The Packers scored just two less. Sunday night’s game is the first in NFL history at Week 16 or later in a season between teams averaging at least 30 points each.
For Packers ‘defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, the reason for the Titans’ offensive success is no secret. It’s Henry.
“For me, this is what makes this attack so difficult to defend,” said Pettine. “You think of it as one-dimensional, and it really isn’t because it starts with the race, and then the race opens everything up. The game pass, just a few of the open skins they managed to get and that is just a credit for the way they manage football. If you are not stuck and flying downhill and reacting to these racing looks, you will be hurt in the racing game, so that is why you see so many open eyes or just really advantageous in terms of coverage for an attack. …
“The tape doesn’t lie. It is a special lap with a year of career, so it is a great challenge for us. Our guys are looking forward to it. It’s December football at Lambeau. I just think that being a night game and national TV, everything will be accelerated. “
The Titans and Packers are scheduled to start at 7:20 pm CST on Sunday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. NBC will broadcast the game on television.
NFL WEEK 16: CALENDAR, TV, ODDS
The weather forecast indicates a temperature of 29 degrees with snow at the beginning of the “frozen tundra” on Sunday night.
“It’s football,” said Henry. “The climate changes with the passing of the year. Just go out there and play. No matter what the weather is like, you have to go play. You have to go there and do your job, so, whatever the weather, you have to go play football. “
For the season, Henry has 1,679 yards and 15 touchdowns in 321 race attempts. He has a 122-yard lead over second-placed Dalvin Cook in the 2020 crown race, and the Minnesota Vikings running back has only one game left from the regular season. Henry led the NFL with 1,540 yards last season. LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 and 2007 is the most recent player to lead the NFL in races in consecutive seasons.
With 147 running yards in last week’s 46-25 victory over the Detroit Lions, Henry overtook former Auburn star William Andrews for third place on the one-season racing list for NFL players from schools and colleges in the Alabama. Andrews ran 1,567 yards for the Atlanta Falcons in 1983.
The only state player ahead of Henry is another former Alabama highlight – Shaun Alexander, who had 1,880 run yards in 2005 and 1,696 in 2004 for the Seattle Seahawks.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @ AMarkG1.
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