How a few runs from Derrick Henry changed the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise.
Derrick Henry is no joke, just ask the burning husk of what used to be the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise.
What you have to understand about the Jaguars is that they are a franchise that has struggled to adapt to the modern NFL, much like the Tennessee Titans. So much of that falls on the failure of front offices to bring in a franchise QB or to surround average QBs with top talent.
In the last 20 seasons, the Jacksonville Jaguars have only had 3(!) winning seasons. To put that in perspective for Titans fans who think they have had it hard lately, Tennessee has had 10 winning seasons in the same stretch.
This matters because a “winning culture” is a fragile thing in the NFL and if you are trying to change a culture of losing into that winning culture, you have to find a way to have sustained success.
That is why many Titans fans (and fans in the AFC South) took notice of the Jaguars 10-6 record in the 2017 season. They had just done the hard part by taking a massive leap forward from 3 wins one year to 10 wins the next, they were just one or two more good seasons away from having an entire locker room that believes in the team.
Unbeknownst to most, the reason for the eventual demise of the Jacksonville Jaguars had already gotten into the heads of that front office. The team was metaphorically dead by the time the 2018 season started, and the cause of death was Derrick Henry.