When the Tennessee Titans come to town on Thursday night, they will be bringing several notable players with them. Rookie QB Will Levis had a historical performance in his first start last week, throwing four touchdown passes, three of which went to WR DeAndre Hopkins. The Titans also have a stout defense headlined by DL Jeffrey Simmons, who has become a force in the middle for Tennessee.
However, when you think of the Titans and the face of their franchise, your mind immediately turns to one man and one man only: RB Derrick Henry.
Henry is a thoroughbred as a runner, having the size, strength and speed that make him a unicorn at the running back position. Standing 6-3, 247 pounds, Henry is a giant who invites contact, punishing opposing defenders with physicality and violence on contact. He is a powerful runner in-between the tackles who can churn out the tough yardage but also has the burst and acceleration to pull away from the defense if he gets into the second level, being a home run threat any time he touches the ball. When it comes to pure runners in football, it’s hard to create a list where Henry isn’t near the top of it.
The three-time Pro Bowler and 2020 first-team All-Pro has 120 carries for 526 yards and three touchdowns on the year along with 15 receptions for 138 yards and a passing touchdown. He’s coming off a game in which he had 22 carries for 101 yards and caught all four of his targets for 21 yards in Tennessee’s win against the Falcons, complementing Levis and the passing game as the Titans strive to have a balanced offensive attack heading into Pittsburgh.
However, despite Henry’s success since getting drafted by the Titans in the second round in 2016, he hasn’t fared well in his two previous appearances against Pittsburgh. Henry only saw seven carries for 32 yards in a 40-17 blowout win for the Steelers against the Titans back in 2017, still sharing a backfield at the time with RB DeMarco Murray. Henry’s most recent game against the Steelers came back in 2020 when he ran for 75 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries while catching two passes for -3 yards, losing to Pittsburgh 27-24 in a tight contest.
How were the Steelers effective at slowing down Henry the last time they played the Titans? Well, they did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage and not allowing Henry to get past the second level of the defense, relying on DL Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, and Tyson Alualu to hold the point of attack. They also were aggressive with the linebackers coming downhill, having LB Vince Williams pick up two tackles for loss in the contest with LB Robert Spillane dishing out a nasty hit on Henry at the goal line that is still remembered.
The Steelers managed to keep Henry to a long of 17 yards in their last matchup, keeping a lid on the thoroughbred horse from taking off in the open field for an explosive run. This time around, Pittsburgh needs to have quality play from its front seven to stop Henry for running wild in the open field. The improved play from Pittsburgh’s inside linebackers should help, and possibly getting Heyward back this week would be a huge boost for the defensive line to control things up front. Henry also has been splitting carries more this season than in years past ceding snaps to rookie RB Tyjae Spears, who has nearly 200 rushing yards this season as Tennessee’s change-of-pace back behind Henry.
The Steelers’ mantra on defense has always been to smash the run, as OLB T.J. Watt likes to say. They rank 27th in the league in total run defense heading into their matchup against one of the league’s best runners, meaning that Pittsburgh’s defense will have to elevate its performance to get the job done. Slowing down Henry is the first step Pittsburgh needs to take to achieve victory, but this team has shown already this season that it can slow down one top-performing back in Raiders RB Josh Jacobs. The Steelers will look to do the same to Henry on Thursday night.
