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Titans tracker: Updating Derrick Henry’s race to 2000 yards

By Will Lomas

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 22: Quarterback Ryan Tannehill #17 hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans in the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 22, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 22: Quarterback Ryan Tannehill #17 hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans in the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 22, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Oct 18, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) and his teammates celebrate the overtime win on a five yard touchdown run during the over time period at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) and his teammates celebrate the overtime win on a five yard touchdown run during the over time period at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports /

Potential lucky break

I have said this since I wrote my first article on this months ago, this final stretch of defenses makes this really interesting for Derrick Henry.

With the games now in the book from Week 13, the updated rushing yards per game allowed by these teams are:

-Detroit Lions (29th in the NFL): 132.8

-Green Bay Packers (11th): 109.7

-Houston Texans (31st): 152.3

-Total: 394.8 (131.6 per game)

Now, here is an interesting note. The league average is somewhere around 117 yards per game which means that these defenses are allowing about 15 more yards rushing yards per game than the average.

If Derrick Henry adds 15 more yards to his rushing average, that means that Henry would end up with 1,975 yards rushing without any additional workload involved.

And look, you can argue a lot of things, but you can’t tell me that Mike Vrabel wouldn’t give Henry every chance to break the record if it was that close. Not after we saw Derrick Henry stay in a game last year against the Houston Texans and rip off that long run late in the game to secure the rushing title.

It is going to be a very close race and another 200-yard game could take a lot off of his mind, just like another 80-yard game could make it an almost impossible task. However, the exciting thing is, there is a real shot for him to get this goal and for him to make a strong argument as one of the best running backs of all time.

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